Life on Post

As this is my first experience with deployment — and therefore my first experience with redeployment — I’ve been searching the internet for resources that have some tips on how to make the transition back home go smoothly for all involved.

I’ve been looking for months, and I cannot tell you how many times I have come across this brochure. In plain black-and-white or four-color, updated for a specific unit or a general document, the same bullet points every time.

There is some valuable information in this document. The section on expectations is very useful when I start to get caught up in making plans; if you read my last post, you know I am all about appropriate expectations.

At the same time, there’s a little voice in the back of my mind whispering, “How can they distill everything down to a two-page leaflet?”

~*~

Oh, and regarding the recipe from yesterday?

I actually sat down and had a full slice of pie, and realized that the gelatin and tequila had settled to the bottom. So I truly have in my refrigerator a tequila meringue pie.

It’s not so tasty as first sampled. Clearly, I need to find another recipe.

Now that Sgt. Crankypants’ deployment is coming to a close, a lot of people say to me, “You must be excited.”

This is a hard question to answer. Because while yes, him coming home is very exciting, until the unit touches down on American soil and they can well and truly say that their mission overseas is completed there is still a very real possibility that they might be extended. Or sent back.

It happened just last summer, to a unit from Alaska. Troops had actually arrived back in the States, and were informed that their deployment was extended and that they had to return.

Until I know that the unit is home, and home for the next several months, there’s a part of my mind that reminds me of that fact. Physically prepare for the best case, mentally prepare for the worst, and reality will likely fall somewhere in the middle.

Furthermore, we have little clue about the travel plan. Operational security dictates a level of non-communication, of course. But part of it also stems from flexible travel arrangements. Will they get on XYZ flight? Maybe, maybe not. And depending on whether your soldier gets asked to help load bags, that promise to “call when we leave” may or may not be able to be kept.

When my husband came home on his R&R, he called when he left the Middle East, and promised to call when he got to Atlanta, to let me know when I should pick him up at the airport. Except he managed to catch a flight to New Hampshire leaving immediately, and didn’t get that chance to call. He ended up calling from Manchester Airport, and instead of being able to meet him when he stepped off the plane for a joyful reunion, I got to rush to the airport where he’d been sitting for an hour.

My fault? Of course not. Was I glad to see him? Without a doubt. But it wasn’t according to the plan I had in mind, and that taught me a lot about setting reasonable expectations.

So what do you do when you’re sitting at home, wondering when you’ll get your soldier back?

Well, I clean like a fiend. And make margarita pie.

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