Dear all,
Today I received a unit coin from the military unit I've supported for the last few months. I got a handshake from the colonel, a certificate of appreciation, and a few warm "thank you"s. That can only mean one thing: my time is coming to a close. It is almost time for me to go.
I passed 99% of my time out here yesterday. I'm officially a one-percenter now. Not in the economic way, of course, although they do pay well for those willing to volunteer to work in a war zone halfway across the world. But I am a 1%'er as in I can see the finish line. It's right there. A few days away.
If you have kept up with my blogging or emails throughout this adventure, you know I have learned a lot. I've met a lot of great people, many of whom I might never see again. I've learned a lot and become smarter, both in my job and about this part of the world. There was recently a comment by a senior general in Washington who said when he planned to visit the top general in Afghanistan he would ask if the general in Afghanistan had learned anything. If the general in Afghanistan said "no", the Washington general was going to admit he picked the wrong man for the job. That's the reality out here. You have to learn and you have to stay fluid, flexible, and adapt to whatever comes your way. That was the only way I stayed sane. I learned you can't control a war zone, especially one with this many moving parts. I just tried to stay on top of the wave and not drown.
My interaction with the locals on the bases is also a part of my adventure I won't soon forget. From working with Afghan government officials on my first base to just saying "hello" and "thank you" to the Afghans who work on the base laundry center or at the dining facility, they have all been great people and I wish them the best. I hope they can live in a place that let's them live healthy and prosperous lives. I think if just one person is able to look back at the US intervention in Afghanistan since 2001 and say that their life is better than it was under the Taliban or during the civil war, then we have done our job. And if that person is a woman who is able to attend school, walk independantly down the street, divorce out of her arranged marriage, and even move out of Afghanistan if she wanted, then we have done very well.
As for me, I have a whole new road ahead. I have to determine which way I want to go. Do I want to keep going along the same career path I've been on? Will I be able to with budget cuts and other Department of Defense rearranging? I've put in an application to an MBA program. I thought about going back to school a few years ago, only I didn't due to financial restraints. Now I have the money, and an MBA would be great for career flexibility. And as I am working on that, maybe one of my creative endevours will pay off.
Speaking of, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, the rough draft of my first book is done. It's very, very, very rough and will require a lot of re-writing and editing. But the plot and the characters are there. When finished, I don't want to self-publish this. I want to look for a real publisher and maybe even look to get published. I think my story is that good and now I have to convince someone else that it is as well.
I also definitely want to get back into comedy wherever I end up. Between watching a documentary on great Boston stand-up comics such as Steven Wright and Denis Leary and keeping in touch with Michael James Nelson, a former co-writer of mine at the FSU newspaper who wrote the jokes for the recent MTV Movie Awards, I again have the itch to get on stage and attempt to make someone (yup, just one person) laugh.
I'm also getting an itching to see some live music, a comedy show, a pro wrestling show, and a baseball game or two. All of which I should be seeing in the first few weeks after I get back.
What I don't have the itching for is work. But we will see about that after I spend a week at the beach and then a few weeks in Tampa catching up with friends. I guess I'll have to work again at some point, but after seven months of 12-hour days and the stress and wear and tear of Afghanistan, I just want a vacation.
And that will start in a few days.
In conclusion, it's been fun, it's been a great experience, but now it's time to say good-bye to all my Afghan family.
