D-day

Since my last post, we have deployed to our mobilization station. The hardest part of this past week was the departure. Saying goodbye was so hard. Most of my family was present to see us off. The media was also there and was able to capture several interviews with me, as well as my family.... See pics of departure from Columbia Metro.... When we left Columbia, it was 60 degrees, as we started our desend to Fort Riley via chartered American Airlines Flight, we realized that all bodies of water were frozen. We knew then, that we were in trouble. Everyone started finding extra clothing for what we knew would be a dramatic change in weather. Riley did not let us down.... We arrived to 18 degree weather with snow in the forecast.... This week at Riley have been dedicated to in-processing to ID our readiness for deployment. We did medical/dental/finance/and records checks. Almost everyone of us had to get at least 3-4 shots to include the dreaded Small Pox.....(15-16 punctures). The most difficult part for me was adjusting to the cold. Every day this past week temperatures only got up to 18 degrees... (I would go outside and my ears would feel as though they were going to fall off). Other than that, many things have gone right for us. Our great state did a great job preparing us for the SRP, (soldier readiness process). Some states had significant problems, files and many records were not loaded into the system. We did not have that problem, this is a credit to our state.... I guess I need to learn more about Kandahar....WOW.......