KAF at 2300 - Saturday (late night)
I have an hour left on this magical day of turning 40, albeit in a war zone, out-processing from my Afghanistan deployment for the US Army Corps of Engineers, and looking ahead to my future, and the future with, and of, my son. In retrospect, I would say the birthday was a lot like many others before, only in a war zone. I enjoyed my time here in the last few days with Leyton Summerlin, my nephew, and had a super-great day. Well wishes came in on Facebook from all over; I spoke with my son, twice, today. What else could be better, all things considered, in the moment and in the position I find myself in right now? I can answer this for you; nothing!
Tomorrow I leave Afghanistan for good. It feels strange to know this is my very last Afghanistan nightly blog post. I have diligently written, on both "good days" and "bad days." In the end, the good ones far outweigh and outnumber the bad ones. The analysis of this deployment may take months or even years to comprehend fully, but I can say with all certainty right now, this deployment has enriched my life immeasurably. I am a better person for having volunteered to risk my life here so that others, especially our Afghan partners and the local populace, have benefited from our presence here in many ways more than I have described in this past year.
Introspection is wonderful at times like these where I find myself measuring the worth of my efforts. I ask myself continuously whether I have positively impacted the lives of those near or dear to me. In this regard, I truly feel blessed for I have received countless emails and have had numerous conversations with many Afghans and ISAF (Americans and our allies) with regard to others giving thanks for our service here - and my service here. A few nights ago I was honored by PRT Zabul. Tonight I was honored by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Throughout my time here I have been simply honored by the opportunity to work alongside, for, and with some very many wonderful, outstanding, caring, and truly professional people. Tonight, in a few minutes, I will fall to sleep feeling content with the knowledge that I accomplished so much more than what I set out to achieve. Greatness in humility? Yes, absolutely. Satisfaction in performance? Most definitely!
I wish well all of you, you family, you friends, you interested few or more, for the unspoken companionship during this journey of mine. I know many of your reading this simply "tuned in" for the FOB Smart updates pouring out daily. Some for the status of my own goings-on and others maybe for brief periods here and there just to check-in, check-out, and check-up. Regardless of the traffic, I want you to know how much I have appreciated this opportunity to share my life, my story, and the stories of all of our brothers and sisters while here in Afghanistan. Godspeed, good luck, and God bless the United States of American and her allies.
143, Kaesen.
Good night and good day.
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