It's Halloween, and I've just been given a slight scare... after months of hearing how sick he is of the Army and that he's anxiously awaiting his return to the U.S. so that he can start a normal civilian life, I get this e-mail from my friend stationed in Iraq:

Hi all
First off, sorry for being out of touch for so long, however circumstances were out of my control. Secondly, for all those who sent packages, thank you. I understand that blanket thank you’s are less flattering than personal responses, but I’m limited by time. At any rate, the guys and I have enjoyed all the food and supplies sent over. Life of army chow and MREs grows old, so it’s nice to mix things up every now and again.
As for our current situation, Ramadi is a tough town. We’ve had some difficult losses and are stretched thin on both manpower and vehicle strength. Right now it’s just a waiting game until the units in Kuwait come to relieve us. Rumors as always circulate as to when that might happen, but Jan 26th sounds like a common date for flights home.
I’m doing fine though my motivation rollercoasters daily. Like I said, Ramadi is a tough town and it gets to all of us. I don’t know what the army plans to achieve here, but they need to Fallujah this place and restore some sense of balance. There are neighborhoods here we just cede to the insurgents because we get our asses handed to us every time we roll through. So it’s become a standoff game, we’ve circled the wagons and are waiting for the cavalry to arrive. I’m not sure how the rest of Iraq is faring, from the Stars and Stripes one would think it’s all according to plan. I guess that’s why they don’t send journalists to our town. Some of the "headlines" we read on CNN make us laugh, they should send some dudes here for a month. We’ve figured out that once the cameras appear then nothing’s happening in that area anymore. Has anybody seen any pictures of al Qaim, Haditha, Habaniya, or good ole’ Ramadi lately…thought not.
Anyway, sorry to get you all down with my venting, but that’s news around here. We can’t wait to see this city destroyed and get the hell out.
As to my personal plans, I’m waiting for leave when I return to decide for certain. I will spend a couple weeks in California with my best bud Jon to see what opportunities are lying in wait. However, I still have the Army bug. In spite of all the BS (and there’s a lot), I enjoy the work. If I could eliminate the dress right dress junk and just boil it down to the job, I’d stay for another tour. But then again, who knows? The civilian life is mighty tempting…I’ll just wait and see.
Ok, enough for now. Take care and I hope contact you all again soon.
K
ps here's a recent pic...enjoy

While I'm thrilled to hear he could be headed home in January, this prospect of re-enlisting is not a pleasant one. I don't understand how he can constantly bitch and moan about his surroundings and experiences but still have the "Army bug." I guess I never will understand unless I've done what he's done. And I hope that will never happen.