When I came home from my last deployment I found that my next door neighbors had left the island for a new duty station while I was gone. A new couple had moved in with their new born baby boy. Fresh out of Advanced Individul Training, (AIT), this was his first duty station. We never realy talked much, being that he was new I think the fact that I was an NCO kept him away. Anyway, I came home the other day and my wife informed me that all day long he had been loading a U-Haul truck and they were moving. He hadn't been here more than 4 months. I never did see him that day or the next due to my work schedule but my wife finaly caught up with him. He came over yesterday while I was at work and gave a box of canned goods, a couple of fans, and some other misc. stuff that he could not fit or keep in storage to my wife. Sandra convinced him to sit for a moment since we never realy got to talk and he explained that the reason for the sudden move was that he had to send his wife and his new born back home to live with her parents because he had to go to Iraq. Four months out of school, fist duty station, here is your weapon, see you in a year. Sometimes I hate the way things work here. What made me think of this this morning, was that he told my wife that the reason he brought that stuff over to our house was that we were the only people he even kinda knew. Outside of work and his unit, he had not been here long enough to make any friends. I wish I had done more to get to know him. I know he has to be scared out of his mind right now, no family, no friends, just sitting and waiting to go to war. You see, agian it comes back to the new Soldiers, they are the ones I feel for the most. I pray brother that you come home safe to have many wonderful days to play with your son. I am sorry that this ugly times we are in will make you miss alot of your sons firsts. They are truley special moments. Just remember, if you can send them or not, write letters every day, call as often as you can, keep a journal even, these are the things that will help you keep your mind clear and come home to your family.

my prayer for you

PSALM 91

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress
My God, in Him I will trust.
Surely He shall deliver me from snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover me with His feathers,
And under His wings I shall take refuge;
His truth shall be my shield and buckler.
I shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
A thousand may fall at my side,
And ten thousand at my right hand;
But it shall not come near me.
Only with my eyes shall I look and see the reward of the wicked.
Because I have made the Lord, Who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, my dwelling place,
No evil shall befall me, Nor shall any plague come near my dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over me, To keep me in all my ways.
In their hands they shall bear me up, Lest I dash my foot against a stone.
I shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent I shall trample underfoot.
Because I have set my love upon Him, therefore He will deliver me;
He will set me on high because I have known His name.
I shall call upon Him, and He will answer me.
He will be with me in trouble; He will deliver me and honor me.
With long life He will satisfy me and show me His salvation.