Hi... Kevin... as always, thank you for your words from the front. The harsh reality is for me very difficult to digest today as the man I am in love with just recieved deployment orders for October 8th. I guess it is the fear of the unknown that is most frightening to me. But everyday, I put a smile on my face, tell him how proud I am of him and move to a subject that is less impactful and reality based. It is almost a game really, because I don;t want him to think about me worrying about him. I just want him to think about what he needs to do to be safe so he can come home to me. We have only known each other a short time. He is a Major with the Reserves and is 35 years old... we have discussed marriage and engagement.... what we will do over the next three weeks I am unsure of. I pray everyday that he is deployed to Kuwait because I heard that it is not nearly as dangerous. (Is that selfish of me?? Still I hope he does.) When I read about the infantry men.... what struck me most was the fact that their lives are changed forever. What they see, hear, do, etc.... these experiences will stay with them forever... and at such a young age........ It also saddens me, and worries me even more that the military is not granting our soldiers the ability to go home. Shouldn;t they be home after one tour? I wonder... will my love go over there only to find he can not come home to me...... maybe ever....???? As I write this... I think of you Kevin..... because I know that you have done several tours over in this part of the world beginning with Afghanistan after 9/11. Although I do not know you personally, I admire and respect you and am so very proud of you...... You are a beautiful person to bring the human story home to all of us. I better stop writing now... tears fill my eyes, my heart aches, and fear is breeding sickness inside.....

Why can't this all end????

Scared-

Walid - how do you think the families of the 9/11 victims feel?

Scared - I will do anything to help you and your Soldier / Marine -- Thanks so much to our troops and their families!

I've enjoyed reading your reporting; it's given me an insight and perspective that I would not have had. I have a son currently stationed at Camp "Dirty Bird," that's how I happened to find your blog site - googling for info. I'm proud of him and all our troops. His younger brother is a Marine and was there (Iraq) during the war. As tough and ugly as this conflict is, I nevertheless believe that it needs to be done. This conflict, unlike previous military engagements; it cannot be ignored. If we relax in our approach, we'll get 4 more planes. So we either confront the problem there, or we can confront it here - kind of a no-brainer to me. So as unpleasant and costly as it is, I say let's deal with this toxin at the source. Go Troops! OORAH!

Well, I took the liberty to delete all the other sarcastic posts I made today. In retrospect, it was very juvelile and inappropriate. I apologize.

But, something good did come out of it--it gave me a chance to read much of Kevin's older stuff. He interacted much more, and on a personal note, a few months ago. I can see why most of the dedicated followers were backing him so diligently. Had I had dug a little deeper, I would have handled the situation better. For that, Kevin, my deepest apologies.

I reverse my doubt about your motives, and know that when the facts are all laid out on this issue, you'll be vindicated. And I hope it's sooner than later. There's a lot of hate on other blogs in you name. It's not healthy, and we don't need it.

Keep safe, Kevin.

Thanks, Kevin, for your side of the story. I know it was a very long time coming for you. I don't know what you're doing right now, or in the very near future, but I wish you the best.