Happy Thanksgiving from Baghdad!

As I close in toward the end of my deployment, I have quite a bit for which to be thankful. In addition my previous personal inventory (see “The Golden Ticket,” below), I’m thankful for the outpouring of support I’ve received from back home. You all really have made this experience a better one.

Anyway, lest you think this is all about being mushy, I’ll try to answer the question: So what is Thanksgiving like for a staff officer in Baghdad? Well, it was actually pretty good, or maybe I’m going a little insane—it’s a short trip. There’s still a little work, but I got to get a little of a late start—a little breakfast, then a run that turned into more of a leisurely walk. I really should take a leisurely walk more often.

Thanksgiving dinner (or ‘linner,’ as we were calling it, since it was at lunchtime) was pretty good, if crowded. There were all the normal Thanksgiving foods; I had the Cornish game hen for the first time in several years. I must have missed the cranberry sauce in another crowded line, but I also didn’t notice its absence until well after dinner. I’d had the pumpkin pie several times in the last week, so my friends teased me for having gotten the same dessert again.

After ‘linner,’ it was back to the office for a bit, then outside to play dominoes under a marvelous sunset. I didn’t get to call home, though—all the phone circuits were busy, indicating that I had chosen to call home at about the same time as everyone else on the base.

All in all, it was a pretty good Thanksgiving, and much better than too many people get, especially in these hard times. Too many people are going to have trouble making ends meet, and too many people will lose their lives. Thanksgiving should be about giving thanks, especially for having the ability to celebrate a nice Thanksgiving.

Thanks be to God for all the blessings of this life.

Amen.

The Golden Ticket

A few days ago, I got what deployers call the ‘Golden Ticket’.

The Golden Ticket is the letter that releases one from the deployed position and starts the ball rolling to go home. I got mine, in its final form, a couple of days ago, so I’m going home sometime in the near future, and about eight months ahead of schedule. As it turns out, my position was identified as one of those to be cut when President Bush announced troop reductions in September.

Well, it’s not quite Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. But it will be good to go home.

Anyway, what does this mean for me?

What have I lost from the time I’ve been in Iraq?

• Well, I’ll have been here about four months. Actually, that’s not such a big deal, since I’ve served with a lot of people who are serving in twelve- to fifteen-month deployments—and, in fact, my own deployment was originally set for a year.

What have I gained for the four months in Iraq?

• I’ve gained several great friends whom I never would have met otherwise.
• I’ve gained a little perspective on some of the luxuries I take for granted in the U.S.. For example, fast internet service.
• The time away from my normal commitments has been—as someone put it—a sabbatical. It has given me the chance to figure out my own path, with less influence from what I think others might think. (Here, I’m reminded of the late physicist, Richard Feynman, “What do you care what other people think?”)
• That sabbatical has given me the opportunity to explore my call in more detail, as you’ve seen in previous posts. I’ve decided to pursue a Master of Theological Studies degree, rather than the M.Div., and later on go for a Ph.D. in theology. The initial call I felt toward the priesthood, I think, was a little push from God to explore theological education.
• And, for a couple of purely practical gains, I’ve managed to sock away a little money from not paying for stuff in the U.S.. I’ll also have a few more awards to wear on my service dress, including my first individual military decoration.

I’ve definitely come out of this deployment in the ‘plus’ column.