October 07, 2007
LETTER FROM IRAQ
Can you get homesick from a place you haven't left yet? Is it possible to miss somewhere you never wanted to go in the first place?
My buddy Drew, who is scheduled to leave Iraq later this week after 15 months there as a battalion commander, probably won't be homesick for that little slice of hell, but he does sound a little wistful about leaving the friends he made and turning the page on this chapter of his career.
Yesterday, he e-mailed this note:
Jeff;It is hard to believe it is almost over. We have worked so hard for the past 15-months that I am finding it somewhat difficult to just let go. Trust me when I say that I am ready to leave, but there is so much my unit knows about this area and what needs to be done that we almost feel like lost souls around here as we watch the new unit grasp for understanding of this complex mission.
My days have been filled with Farewell Dinners. They are in Ramadan which means they all take place after sunset. They have been stuffing me full of all the great Iraqi Food that I have truly grown to love. I am attaching a few pictures of some of my latest exploits.
Then this morning, I woke up to this e-mail.
I think he's ready to come home:
Jeff;Despite the fact that it didn’t make my Top 10 List of things I missed the most over the past 15-months, a Bucs home game w/ lots of tailgating and one of those INCREDIBLE CUBANS on the way home would be great!!!
My Top 10 List of Things I Missed Most Over The Past 15-Months:10. Grass.
9. A quiet neighborhood.
8. Neighborhood arguments that DON’T end in firefights.
7. Running without 100 lbs. of gear on.
6. Family movies.
5. The wind in my face and my wife on the back of the Harley.
4. Time to smoke a cigar.
3. Dog piles with my 3 sons.
2. Coffee and conversation with my best friend (Wife).
1. Driving on roads that don’t explode.
VR
DrewDREW R. MEYEROWICH
LTC, INFANTRYCommander, TF WOLFHOUND
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Big bad warrior misses grass. Whatever.
Attempting to deflate his fantasy, I replied to him:
Drew,I've considered your list. I have my own take on this:
Drew's Top 10 List of Things I Missed Most Over The Past 15-Months:10. Grass (Grass is highly overrated. Especially when your neighbor takes a few months off from cutting his. None of the neighbors in Iraq get upset if you don't groom the sand, I'm guessing.)
9. A quiet neighborhood (Sounds good on paper. Never really happens, though, as long as there are rice rocket cars with 2 millon megawat stereo systems in them racing through the streets.)
8. Neighborhood arguments that DON'T end in firefights (I would actually welcome one of these with the homeowner's association enforcer down the street.)
7. Running without 100 lbs. of gear on. (What is this running of which you speak? Sounds tiresome.)6. Family Movies (Unless you're the Aadams Family.)
5. The wind in my face and my wife on the back of the Harley. (I miss the wind in my face and your wife on the Harley, too. Oops. Did I just say that out loud?)4. Time to smoke a cigar. (This should have ranked much, much higher. You disappoint me, Fredo.)
3. Dog piles with my 3 sons. (I have dog piles from two actual dogs. Trade you.)
2. Coffee and conversation with my best friend (Wife). (I'm sure she has this one in reverse order.)
1. Driving on roads that don't explode. (Explode, smode. We have the Crosstown Expressway, pal. It decides to change elevation whenever the hell it wants.)
PREVIOUS LETTERS FROM IRAQ:
Saying goodbye to new friends.
Getting the job done.
Excerpt from Soldier magazine.
Walking tall.
Desert sombreros.
'Not the same Hawijah.'
Time out for toys.
Coffee and sunsets.
Get your motor runnin'.
"Wolfhounds don't do anything small."
Thanksgiving in Iraq.
"What sacrifice for the sake of freedom feels like."
"I am amazed by them every single day."
It's who you know.
Month two of deployment.
I'd walk a mile.
Boots on the ground.
Once more into the breech.