Finally

So, it has been a very long time since I have updated my blog.  I have been busy with all the training and have had limited access to the internet.  I am still in Indiana but will be leaving very soon for the Near East.  I am looking forward to finally getting this going and to come home.  

I talk to my wife almost every day and am amazed at how much happens when I am not there.   We have bought a new house and she is going to move on her own.  This will be the second time that she has had to move our household without my help.  

In the next few days I will be in a part of the world that I only know of from the news and academia.  I am looking forward to being in the part of the world that has witnessed so many changes in human history.  Not to mention the birth of civilization.  I hope I will walk away from this with a positive mindset and a greater respect for the people in the region.  

One last point, the soldiers that I am going with and will lead are some of the best I have ever known.  I have the greatest confidence in them all!