Wow what a week it has been I that I will say............ so glad it's Wednesday only problem is I work Saturday 8am-1pm lol! Oh well I'll get through it and to be honest I don't mind working at McDonald's and sure there are a few people I don't care to work with, but oh well (wow where did that rabbit come from cause that's one heck of a rabbit trail lol).
Okay back on topic. I'm going to share with all of you who read my blog some of my experiences from Iraq with you in the coming post. This is the first and therefore a bit of an introduction to what life in Iraq was. The setting is Tallil Air Base right outside the city of Ah-Nasiriyah which is located in the south central part of the country. It's December 2nd and I'm in chow hall getting my dinner or lunch cause at that time I was on the night shift. A buddy of mine is chatting it up with one of the medics who rides along with us when we do convoy escort missions up north. My buddy is the type of guy who can talk to anyone, anywhere, and instantly strike up a conversation. Well once again he's just talking to someone as I walk by I just give him a "Hey what's up." and continue to fill my plate with food. Little did I know that it would be the last time I would see him a live. Two days later I would learn of his fate and what began to be a hard month for all of us. It affected all us in many different ways, some took it hard while others dealt with it less painfully.
We were on the trucks to do a quick recovery mission to a small patrol base..... basically a walk in the park. I remember walking around the trucks talking to my buddies, getting everything situated for the mission. From the beginning I knew there was something wrong the way our leadership were constantly being called away and the way they reacted when any of us asked a question. So fast forward to about 12pm or 1pm some where in that frame. We had gotten back from the mission, gear off loaded, and trucks dropped off. A few moments later our squad leader gathered us around to inform that we had lost a soldier in a vehicle accident. That soldier was Nicholas Trucotte, who was infamous because of a certain situation which I will not recall. Nick was the type of guy you could go to when you were in a funk, needed help when you couldn't figure something out, or someone to talk to. I remember playing Tiger Woods Golf on his XBOX 360. He was a great friend and a good soldier. By now many of you might recognize the name because just recently was the fifth year marking his lose.
There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't think about him and what he meant to all of us. Sharing the good time, the bad times, and the times where it was just like life wouldn't move forward. I can't believe that it's already been five years................... wow time truly does fly honestly. You know this is my second December out of the military and away from everything that I understood and now look at me. There are times when I do think that I'd rather be back in the military and I'm not sure that feeling, urge or whatever you wanna call it will ever leave, but I'm becoming okay with that. I'm just grateful for coming home.
Like always I hope you all enjoy reading my blogs and I will continue to write them as long as their is material to put on the net lol There will be a few more parts to this blog and this was just the start of it.
© Nathan Fahlin
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