Keep in mind while you observe this day in American history that just as America fought for it’s freedom and independence from Britain we now have a duty to help other nations achieve their independence weather its from another nation or from a dictator.

We are very close to ‘mission success’ here and soon enough we will all be home with a job well done. Do know that contrary to the media, we ARE making a difference here and the general people of Iraq do appreciate the changes made in the last 6 years since we have been here.

God Bless America

Now TOA, is the second part of the process and the most exciting for us. It happens when RIP is complete, on the last day we have a TOA ceremony where we Transfer (of) Authority over to the oncoming unit. Once this is complete our mission is over and we head home. Now currently our date for this is November 13th.

However please understand this is NOT the day we will be home as there has been much confusion on this as many soldiers and NCOs, yes ya’ll too, have told their families back home about “November 13th”, and whatever went along with that story got lost in translation and many of them think we will be home around then.

To clarify the process on when we will be home, we TOA on * REMOVED *, hopefully weather permitting we should fly out the next day, if not it could be a day or two as there are sand storms here that will shut down all air assets. Once we do leave Iraq, we have several days (4 – 6 days) still on this side of the world, which will be chock full of boring briefings, personal records and medical checks. The names of these ’stations’ have been withheld for security purposes.

Once we get through the first out processing we have an almost 24hr trip home with awaiting the initial flight, loading the plane, layover, flight time, and unloading the plane. Here we arrive back on American soil, we will be there for several days again ( 4 – 6 days) doing medical and personal records checks. If anyone got hurt while on deployment or in transit home they could be held up on this station.

Once we are ready to leave that stationn we will have been out of Iraq for at least a week, probably 9 – 10 days at this point. So now it is probably * REMOVED * by the time we get ‘Home’ in Ocala and the surrounding areas. Our Soldiers from the 450th MP CO in Alabama, Tennessee and other areas, I have no idea when you will be home from Ocala, as there has been no word of the plan for that yet.

I hope this clarifies the mystery of when we will be home and helps people understand that as with everything else in the ARMY, to get home is a process just like it was to leave. It is not as simple as past deployments, there are many more records and medical checks now and it takes a few days to get almost 200 people through all the stations. If you have any further questions please post your comments below and I will do my best to answer them.

I also added a new counter to the sidebar on the right, to show the number of days until our TOA.

If there are any news stories that are in your local paper that are listed on the newspapers website, please send me the link so that I may add it to our list below.

The general mood is somber but content, hopeful for a warmer climate and anxious of the unknown. Many are speaking to loved ones for the last time on friendly soil, the next time they speak will be via internet or MWR phones in Kuwait. For the loved ones at home that we all leave behind, rest assured that our leaders will lead, and our soldiers will do their job as they were trained.  Our leadership is knowledgeable and experienced, our soldiers trained and proficient, we have been validated by those who have deployed before us and have returned to work at mobilization stations like Fort Dix.  Their job is to ensure that new soldiers going to the field are taught the skills they need to do their job and return home safely.  We are required to prove those skills in mock scenarios and earn the confidence of those who have walked before us.  The time has come as they say, we are  ready.

Below are just some shots of the night we sit here in this hanger awaiting our bird to fly to a far away place.  I have tried to capture the mood and convey that for all to see, we ARE ready!

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One observation I have made over the two months here is a rather new common saying which has turned into a slogan from our troops, “It is what it is”.  It can be heard walking through the halls and even sitting in meetings, it’s a simple statement that is a way of coping with the obvious shortcomings of any organization with mass management of  personnel. Anyone who has ever been part of a large organization or worked for a large company knows that sometimes things that make no sense are done just because “that’s the way it’s done” and for no other reason. Well I am sure that at a given level it may not seam to have a good reason but someone, somewhere made that particular rule or regulation for a good logical reason, even when it may not be so obvious to all, it probably is to the person who made the rule.

Now so far I have not heard an acronym for it, and in honor of the ARMY turning anything more than one word into an acronym I have taken the pleasure of creating one for it, I call it “IIWII” spoken as “ee-wee”. Today has been a long day for most of us  here, I know I have gotten a lot done and I am ready to get moving on the bird, but we are not there yet, the next day or two will also be long days, oh well, (IIWII) I guess it is what it is.

Tonight the previously #2 ranked Florida Gators lead by quarterback Tim Tebow beat the previously top ranked Oklahoma Sooners 24 – 14. This has been a great night for all us gator fans. I personally will enjoy walking into the TOC everyday in Iraq and looking up at the only team flag worthy of hanging in our operations headquarters. It’s that little piece of home that will serve as a daily reminder of the small sacrifices we make and why it is all worth it. Below are a few shots from the game tonight.