It's interesting - I feel like I've put up certain barriers with the people I've met during my time in service, to avoid emotional attachment. In emails to old friends, I've characterized it as the difference between the people I fight alongside with, and the people I fight for... maybe it was to prepare myself in case one of us died or something, maybe I didn't want to make a firm association, I'm not exactly sure. When I visited Columbus for a Yellow Ribbon event, I reunited with colleagues from my time in Mosul and realized just how wrong I was, there doesn't need to be such a distinction!
Honestly, I'll be pretty damn happy when I can connect my circle of Army friends to my circle of old friends.
On a related note, I was talking to another friend, who had gone through AIT with me and deployed to Iraq a few months earlier, who informed me that one of our number had been blown up in Afghanistan - he survived, but basically his lower body was completely shattered by the blast... wow. I didn't know the guy very well, but it definitely hit closer to home. Another AIT friend was in a convoy where one of his close deployment buddies was killed when he stepped on an IED. I always thought it was kind of crazy that the vast majority of our class has deployed, I don't have an exact count but in the past two years I've seen countless pictures of my classmates overseas. One was awarded a commendation medal for valor, several have received combat action badges... and who knows what other wounds of war have occurred?
Honestly, I'll be pretty damn happy when I can connect my circle of Army friends to my circle of old friends.
On a related note, I was talking to another friend, who had gone through AIT with me and deployed to Iraq a few months earlier, who informed me that one of our number had been blown up in Afghanistan - he survived, but basically his lower body was completely shattered by the blast... wow. I didn't know the guy very well, but it definitely hit closer to home. Another AIT friend was in a convoy where one of his close deployment buddies was killed when he stepped on an IED. I always thought it was kind of crazy that the vast majority of our class has deployed, I don't have an exact count but in the past two years I've seen countless pictures of my classmates overseas. One was awarded a commendation medal for valor, several have received combat action badges... and who knows what other wounds of war have occurred?
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