It's the FINAL COUNTDOWN.

There is light at the end of the 450 day tunnel.....this analogy came to me late one night (one of my many recent sleepless nights) and it seems so appropriate. Not that I am an advid explorer of real tunnels (you know the mountain, cave, spelunker kind), but I see those experiences quite parallel to a 15 mos. deployment. Day 1, there seems to be a rush of anxiety for what is about to come. You just strap on the backpack and start walking....figuratively I suppose, although those crazy people who go into real dark tunnels have to carry supplies somehow, right? About half way through, pure extreme exhaustion sets in and you begin thinking, "Are we seriously doing this again?" Smack dab in the middle...no turning back, yet no end in site. Get up and keep walking. You know everyday is one step closer, yet its not quite rational to get excited yet. Now the last tunnel you conquered was only 365 days long...and you figure, hey if I can do 365, I can totally do 450...but you forget that all your reserves were depleted at marker 365 last time....so what do you survive on to get to the end this time, because honestly, even at 365 days, there is still no light. As much as people congratulate you on making it so far...the next 90 days seem like an eternity. I am proud to say, we are down to 10 days or less.....WE CAN SEE THE LIGHT!! This strenous journey has taken its toll on all parties associated and has only been completed with love, commitment, hope, belief, trust, patience, understanding and God. So for those of you finishing up, I DO congratualte you for a trek well done and for those of you about to begin, strap on that backpack and start walking. (It does help to get pointers from those who have gone on before, so be sure to keep in touch.) I think that series of survival handbooks thats so popular should do a deployment one....it'd be a great seller!!