With fewer than 2 months left until I deploy next, I feel like time is flying-by at an increasingly accelerated rate, and frankly, I am not sure how I feel about it all. To say that I have mixed emotions would be the understatement of the year. On one hand, I really do not want to leave my family and the woman I love behind, but on the other hand I am growing tired of all the inspections and silliness that goes with being back in the States.

When we are home in the States, it is very easy for your work to quickly start to feel like it is pointless. It gets very hard to figure out exactly what goal you are working towards. Whereas when you are deployed your goal is as focused as a Laser Beam. You are working towards getting home (and in one piece)!

Another big benefit is that the sooner I get back from this deployment, the sooner I can get on with the life I am trying to build for myself. I have an absolutely amazing woman, who is going to move in with me when I get back from the deployment, and we are finally going to start building our lives together, so I am eager to get the deployment out of the way.

The real perk of being deployed is being able to settle into a productive routine, and knowing what you are doing and why. My days are so busy underway that time just seems to fly by, not to mention the fact that the entire time I’ll be saving money.

I suppose, all things considered, I am actually looking forward to getting on with it and getting it out of the way. There is a good chance that this could be the last deployment of my career (a small chance), so I hope it turns out to be a good one.