Gratitude

at around evening time on Wednesday, the 16th of July 2003 by Chad

Yesterday I went to lunch at TGI Fridays. The waitress took me to a table and at the table right next to me was Reds. I stopped and chatted with him for a while.
Reds was in the same National Guard unit I was in. He’s been in the military since VietNam. He was spit on by protestors when he came back from Nam. His airbase was fired on by VC infiltrators while he was there. (I’m hoping I remember all this right, its been a while!)
We were both in Gulf War part I while I was in the avionics shop in the 166 CAM squadron, part of the 166 Tactical Airlift Group. Its now the 166th Airlift Wing. I learned a hell of a lot while I was there. I was good at my job. Reds, Kevin, Danny, Big Al, Jimmy D., Billy, the NCMFs, and all the rest are the ones that made me that way.
Reds just got back from part II. I found out that it was worse this time. Last time we could go into town a lot, even while forward deployed. While we lived in tents, we had all the makings of a full base. And everything was nice and ready for us. We had a great crew with us.

This time was harder. Two months in full desert near nothing at all. Really bad accomodations. Then two months on the coast in full humidity wasn’t any better. He didn’t have too many cool stories, most of it was just a bad situation. It was better the first time.

But thanks Reds. I appreciate it, and from everyone else too.

Take a look at this posting from Sgt. Stryker. It does truly illustrate the difference between the branches of service. Not all the time, but it shows what you can expect.