Home Fires

Being deployed, we are all focused on the mission, staying alive and doing a good job. Each member of our team depends on the other members to be at the top of his game, all the time. We get so tied up in what we are doing that we forget (or try not to think about) the tremendous stress on our families back home, especially our wives. Occasionally, the stress of a family crisis, a sick loved one or tragic event back home totally consumes us. When something major happens back home, it is unreasonable to expect a man to keep his focus and to perform at the same high level this mission requires.

Captain Killion has valiantly kept pace with the mission here although his heart and mind have been fixed on home and family. For back home his wife has been in a real fight of her own which, in the last couple of weeks, has become so intense that I could not justify keeping him here one minute longer. So, yesterday, with the Red Cross letter in hand, we said farewell to our little brother and sent him home to take care of his beautiful family. The team just won’t be the same without Captain Kangaroo (a.k.a. Bruce almighty), but that’s okay because he has a more important mission to tend to back in Texas.

Here are some pics of the good captain. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. I know he’ll appreciate it.

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He's a tanker....so he just had to have his picture made in front of these T55s.

Posing with our Iraqi Non-Commissioned Officers. They don't really like Bruce, they just like being in the picture.

Here he is posing with Major Nouri. Major Nouri don't care much for Bruce either.

Bruce has been a great advisor to 2LT Osama and 1LT Osama. These guys are not related to each other or the other Osama.... (Bin Laden). Actually, I'd go to war with these two guys. I wish they were in the U.S. Army!

Farewell buddy. I'll see you in Dallas.