On the road again...

Almost exactly two years since I arrived in Iraq the first time, I'll be arriving again.

Once word got around that I was heading back, I received--well, my mother received--a deluge or questions as to whether I would be blogging again. I am. Day to day blogging is not my thing. There is something strangely narcissistic about the whole blog/twitter/(insert new manner of virtual exhibitionism) that doesn't really appeal to me. But here I am, and it remains the most efficient way to stay in touch with everyone back home.

Ground rules will remain pretty much the same. I'm going to try to maintain as much anonymity as I can in my posts. I will also try to avoid naming anyone specifically. The primary reason is to maintain a certain level of security to protect the missions that I am supporting. The other reason is that it apparently makes for a great game for my readers. As shocking as it may be that I have readers, with an "s", I'd hate to bore them.

To catch everyone up, I got the word that I would be deploying a few months ago. My wife would probably want me to clarify that I technically volunteered. The team I am with had more requirements than they had people. They called my unit. All of the qualified guys working for me were already either deployed or preparing to deploy as well. I am their leader and this is the job. I'm going to too now.

Deploying as part of a team is very different than deploying as an individual, which is what I did last time. I went to school with one of the team leaders and had met many of the other team members in past travels, which made integrating with them fairly easy. Over the past few months I have been to various training iterations with them to prepare for our upcoming trip. We had specialized briefings and classroom work. We had some outstanding tactical training. I got to play in the snow in the mountains out West. I was prepared to do my job last time. This time I am better prepared.

Another change this time is that I am the ranking guy in my specialty with both formal and informal command responsibilities for the part of my team that will be where I am.

Right now, I am dealing with the usual hurry up and wait. My bags are packed, I'm ready to go. But we're not. We don't know when exactly our jet plane is leaving.

Hopefully, I can post again before I leave. Otherwise, see when I have my next layover somewhere.