I'm gettin too old for this

So we went on an Air Assault mission. We went to an "area", to cordon off the area while another ongoing mission would try to flush out the Taliban and push them into the "area". Historically they liked to come to this "area" when things go sour for 'em.

Um ya.

This time?

This time we pretty much just became the bait. It was supposed to be a 2+ day mission. Those who get paid more than I do cut it short.

Why?

Because all we were was fucking fish in a goddamn barrel.

We took indirect fire 3 times, and on the 3rd and final time we had to MEDEVAC our wounded soldiers. We couldn't go anywhere, because our mission was to hold the area.

This isn't exactly the Ardennes Forest. This isn't Bastogne.

And it was so predicatable too. The enemy didn't fire on us until our birds left to refuel. It was like clockwork. Our overhead protectors leave, and boom boom boom...Incoming.

Thank god the injured wasn't life changing. Just shrapnel and concussions. I helped put the injured on the MEDEVAC blackhawk. I had so much anger and frustration in me I could've cried. But I couldn't show weakness. Not in front of my guys. It's absolutely strange, but they look up to me and go off how I am, so I have to be strong, whether I'm scared or sad or angry. I have to keep calm so that they know that things will be alright.

My son is a little over 7 months old now. He looks amazing, and I miss him so much. But what I do is that 23 hours and 55 minutes of the day I forget he exists. It's too much of a distraction. It's when I can relax, be on my own, that I think about it.

and it hurts that I can't be there with him, for him.

He's crawling now :)

but I'm not there...

This is the only was I can deal with this...

Oh, ya.

The weather's getting warmer.

The indirect fire is getting more accurate.

Good times ahead indeed