Number One Brother Going On Location
My brother, Dave, who is with the 783rd Military Police Battalion out of Inkster, MI finally boarded a plane Wednesday evening out of Mississippi to make his way with his unit to the other side of the world to Afghanistan. I chatted with him briefly this evening while he was still in route before boarding another plane. I’m guessing that by tomorrow morning he will have reached his destination.
It comes with mixed feelings. I’m proud of him and his unit with the service and dedication to the country’s interests. He was a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom during its first year. Now he’ll serve as part of the ongoing Operation Enduring Freedom. At the same time, I’m saddened at the fact that I won’t know when I’ll be able to seem him next. I assume that he’ll get a break at some point and be granted some leave time where he’ll fly back and visit for a week. But since things don’t seem to be going as planned, I can’t rely on hope.
There’s been some confusion in regards to his discharge date. His term of service is to end in February of 2009. For instance, he’s not supposed to be deployed within a year of that date, but some wording in the official orders makes it seem as though they can hold him, an effective stop-loss, until the end of the tour. He had been trying to convince higher-ups that someone wasn’t interpreting the orders correctly, but to no avail. I guess there’s still a chance for the end of his term in February. We won’t know until someone else finally makes that call. Regardless of any outcome, he’s still in Afghanistan.
Here’s a quick video of my brother escorting his friend through an OC (aka Pepper Spray) training course.
