Hurry Up And Wait!

A byword... or phrase... in the Army, it is now in full implementation. We know when we are leaving, and we know where we are going, and our mission is not exactly what we thought it was. So what? We are going somewhere a little more dangerous than what we thought, and we will be doing a little different mentoring than we thought.

So what?

What, really, is different? It is what it was always going to be... we just didn't know it. Our world was simply clarified a little. It will still be different than any of us can imagine right this minute. There is no way that I can adequately describe... even to myself... what my life will be like in two weeks.

Today I went with some of the other guys to the 1st Infantry Division museum. We had the time. While we were there, one of the video displays had a looped video of letters written by soldiers to their friends, family, and spiritual advisors during World War I. One of them really showed that men of whatever time are fundamentally the same. He said in his letter to his friend that the thing he was most afraid of was "getting a yellow streak." Yup. I can empathize.

Who knows exactly what they'll do when they are being shot at? Even if they've been shot at before, who knows how they'll do next time?

That kind of thinking is exactly what happens when you have too much time on your hands... when you have to, "hurry up and wait." Well, we're waiting. At least we know how long we're waiting, though.