Jeff's Award

This entry is today's weekly email from Jeff in Iraq. . . Sorry, honey. Had to do it. :o)

Lots to be thankful for this week and today in particular. I am grateful to my mother today and all the women in my life, most notably Sarah! I wish I could be with you all and join in the celebration of womanhood, but instead I'm here, helping my company commander shop for shoes online to help her feel better about being out here. So, in that way, I guess I was celebrating womanhood, the kind of womanhood that enjoys saucy high heels in shimmery colors.

While I do enjoy having a good mix of males and females on my FOB, when I travel around to the smaller outposts, I get to observe populations without females. And let me tell you, strange things happen to men when women aren't around. Strange, strange things. I'm heading out tomorrow to one of my favorite locations, but it's definitely a Lord of the Flies situation, with a bunch of grown up boys still living by the law of the conch. I think it provides a good illustration of what Paul taught in the Bible, that men are nothing without women. I don't know if I'd say nothing, but definitely a more carnal, harsh sort of beast.

Another week down, another week closer to taking leave (in Aug) and reuniting with my family. Looking back over the months, the amount of professional growth has really been remarkable. I wish, though, that the cost hadn't been so high. But, this is what we do out here and my sacrifice is no greater than anyone else's. I am really impressed with the soldiers that I talk with who have done this longer, more frequently and are keeping their values and families together.

Well, I hate talking about me (no, really), but Sarah made me bring it up. But, last night, the officers in my battalion got together for a social hour. They introduced the new officers, said goodbye to a few others, and handed out some awards. The first award was the "broken link" award, given to someone who really, really had a colossal failure in something, although it had to be funny and at least 50% accurate. There were some good stories, like the Major in charge of operations trying to explain to a company commander how when calendaring events, there are really 8 days in a week (Sunday through Sunday). But they also handed out an award to an outstanding officer for each month of the deployment so far. I was nominated and given the award for March, recognized for my support of the soldiers and leaders in the battalion and across the brigade. The battalion CO commented on my willingness to go to where the soldiers are and for frequent consultations with the command leadership. I was really touched that my work was noticed and appreciated. I really feel grateful that I'm in a unit that values the mission of mental health and support me in my role. Too often, it's marginalized or overtly disrespected.

I decided to attach a photo of the award, for its uniqueness and symbolism. It is in the shape of what we call "t-walls", barriers that are located all around the FOB and act as protection. Each wall stands about 20 feet tall, 6 feet wide (ish), and are linked together to form a protective barrier. As our battalion CO explained it, the t-walls allow for the soldiers inside to be protected from the danger on the outside. Especially when linked together, they form quite a shell. As we are in the support battalion, he drew the symbolism to represent the protection that we all contribute for the well-being of the brigade. Anyway, it's a nice little reminder of my time within the unit, containing within it the unit seal, a personal message from the commander on the back, and a metal plate on the bottom inscribed with a serial number, representing its uniqueness.

Well, that's enough about that. A quick shout-out to my cousin, Andrew, for graduating from Duke this week! Well done, and best of luck with your options. I have no doubt that you'll excel at whatever it is that you decide to dedicate your talents to. I hope that you all have a wonderful week and have time to stop and thank the women in your lives for not letting us live like savages! Thanks, mom, for teaching me to eat with a fork, to say please and thank you, and to mind my language. Love to all, Jeff