My First Mission!

January 24th, 2011 was the first time I ever stepped outside the wire for a mission. It was a pretty unique experience, going to Sinjar and Qataniyah along with DOS colleagues for their mission, I don't think I had a huge role to play in the whole thing. I'll finish this later... gotta sleep early!

One of the things that stood out to me was the large number of children in the local villages - seems like every street we passed had a couple of kids on it, and I had two big thoughts:

1) Al Qaeda in Iraq had targeted Qataniyah in 2007 with dump truck suicide bombs - essentially, they were targeting children. Absolutely disgusting.

2) Why weren't the kids in school?

Can't imagine living like this...

Something else that was kind of interesting - a lot of the locals had never met an Asian American soldier before, so one of the guys who spoke English translated a conversation for me, and a couple of them whipped out cell phones to take pictures with me. Kind of weird, I wonder if that's what celebrities deal with... haha.

On Second Chances

The ball whizzed through the lane at an extreme velocity. The hardwood lane was no match for the strength of the man who was bowling! As the ball traversed the 60-foot length of track to the pins... it ended up in the gutter. The pins were safe, this turn. I chuckled at the failed effort, but then the bowling sage spoketh:

"That's the thing I love about bowling, you always get a second chance."

He patiently waited for the ball to return to the rack. Again, he attempted to vanquish his foes! His arm extended backwards as he prepared his special delivery, 12 pounds of plastic and urethrane! The ball leaped into the lane upon command, exhibiting its master's signature spin, and smashed with righteous fury into its opponents! A diagonal slash was displayed on the score screen... spare! Redemption!

Much like bowling, I think that life also offers the opportunity for second chances. Yes, things can get serious, and maybe things might not ever be the same again, but I still believe that redemption is always there, if people choose to use it. A lot of things happened in Iraq, and at the time I was extremely burdened with everything emotionally and whatnot, but since then, I don't think I'm all that mad at people who I perceived to have put me in a tough spot. We all reacted to the deployment in different ways, and we're only human - if I didn't grow from the experience, I gained a lot of insight at the very least.

Shoulder Sleeve Insignia - Former Wartime Service

Funny how a little piece of cloth can have huge significance in our lives. Basically, the SSI-FWS is something you earn from deploying to a combat zone (combat patch on your right shoulder) and you typically wear the patch of the unit you were assigned to.

For me, I looked forward to earning my first patch, and got it a week or so after I arrived in Tal Afar. Nothing formal, just asked the military guys if I could get one, and they told me I could have had one as soon as I arrived. Formerly the policy was 30 days, but it changed because of soldiers dying as soon as they arrived in theater or something like that. This particular patch is the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, and I will always treasure it.

On Rest

Yesterday morning I submitted my first job application since I got back from Iraq! I feel like taking the time to decompress and not really do anything has been really helpful. I know not everyone makes the transition successfully, and I wonder if it's because they didn't get the space they needed.

On Weddings and Photography

One of my closest friends got engaged recently, and I (as well as many others) am extremely happy and excited for him. We've been talking about it, and agreeing that it's crazy (in a good way) how things turned out this way, and in my words I think it's a certain kind of unexpected blessing, but a blessing nonetheless! I am so glad that God has given him the wisdom and maturity to figure these things out, and for our friendship over these years. Other friends are getting ready to marry as well so it's looking like 2012 will be a year of great blessings and joy! I only hope I can help them celebrate in some fashion whether it's taking pictures or simply showing up, it's the least I can do.

I'm not sure if this is the most appropriate place to put this, but one of the reasons I photograph people is as an attempt at selflessness on my part - I feel like I need to be more intentional about being kinder as opposed to taking advantage of other people's hospitality, but sometimes it's too much, gotta find that balance! Anyways, it's important to capture moments and memories, and I know I've taken a damn good picture when it gets reused on facebook or other online medium. I try to be intentional about snapping good portraits of other people, as opposed to simply getting self-portraits in different touristy locations. For example, with the military police unit escorting us out on PRT missions, I tried my best to get good shots of them soldiers to express my appreciation for what they did - part of it was feeling guilty that I was able to take off my body armor to attend meetings and whatnot, while they sucked it up in full battle rattle the whole time. Granted, I had a specific job to do, and so did they, but I still felt like it was the least I could do.