It’s That Time of Year Again

"Last weekend we said goodbye to the next detachment from 1st Radio Battalion destined for Operation Iraqi Freedom. I did not deploy with this detachment, as my contract with the Marine Corps expires on June 1st. It was a bitter-sweet feeling to get up early on Saturday and see the detachment off. Actually, the part about getting up early (0430) was all bitter–nothing sweet about it. This detachment is much more experienced and capable than our first OIF detachment that I deployed on. Almost all of the officers and staff non-commissioned officers have deployed to OIF in some capacity, some just last year. There was much less of a feeling of unknown with this detachment, as everyone knew exactly what they would be doing, how they would be doing it, and in some circumstances in what chair they would be sitting at the place they just left in August."
The Midnight Hour