more news from D.
Hello all.
I just wanted to let you know that I recieved 2 letters from duncan in the last week, interestingly enough, they came in reverse chronological order. On the 18th he wrote a long letter, here it is:
written the 18th of November:
"Things change faster around here than anywhere else I know. Rumors are deadly, and expectation is a double edged sword. One moment we think we are going south, then we hear we are all going home in December. No on really knows. All I know is I pull a lot of guard duty, am on my 6th book (Riddlemaster, which Beth sent and is very...pecular) and wish we would do something else. While standing guard I have plenty of time to reflect on life-past, present, future. THere is a certain sense of inevidibility about being stuck in a three year contract. Now about halfway through and on my first real-life deployment, I have a better perspective on the choice I made. No real regrets. The time has been way too interesting to regret, but thoughts now flow toward my two year mark, at which time I will be able to reup and reclass to a different MOS (job). WHat will I do? What do I want to do? I sure do miss regular life, with friends of my own choosing. Don't get me wrong, I like Army stuff, but not my current situation. THe National Guard or the Reserves might be the answer. THat means I will have to finish my third year in my current situation. That might not be so bad, since I will be a sargent. I'm not sure I told all of you, but I passed the sargetn's board with maximum points! They could pin me as early as next month! THis means more money, more work, more responsibility, and finally getting my way. HA! Watch out, here I come! Anyway, I look forward to leaving this place and cashing in some vacation days. You might not realize it, but we do not have weekends. I have worked six weeks straight without a day off. The Army will repay us those weekend days and any missed holidays when we get back. I was hoping to go skiing this season, but at this point I do not see that happening. Well, that means I will miss the harsh Ft. Drum winter. YES!!
We have moved into tent city now, with all the ammenities of home. HUge chow hall, laundry services, sewing shop, px, etc, etc... This place is a bit like a temporary village. I guess they are planning to stay for a while. The ground is covered in gravel now, preventing the dust from blowing too much (or turning to georgia mud when it rains) THis morning they forgot to wake me up for guard duty, so I was over an hour late. Bummer! So now here I sit, yawning, as they sun tries to come up on a windy morning. I stood outside for an hour and counted 50 shooting stars!! That's a lot more than the usual 10 I see. Is this the time of the peleides (sp?) They made me lock down the entrance I guard for about 20 minutes because they lost a gun. Turns out he must have left in on his bunk. THat was the big excitement of the shift. THey have opened a post office, so I think I can mail packages now. I will finish off my roll of film and try to mail it. That way you can share the excitement. There is also a movie tent w/ big screen TV and surround sound. I watched "the professional" there the other day. Rough life, eh! More and more people are shipping in here from all over the place. A very interesting mix...I bet if it was just us infantryguysthey would not bother with all the frills. For those just arriving, this place must look pretty nice, but for us old timers, we remember when all there was was dust and sandbags. Back then we actually thought there might be a serious threat here. Now, with the taliban running like the cowards they are, life seems pretty normal around here. Well, that's my update, Hope to hear from you all soon (the mail was screwed up for a while, but this is still the right address:
(contact me if you'd like his addy)
pax, Duncan"
The above letter I actually recieved second. Here is the first letter I recieved, which he aparently wrote second:
"somewhere else, 30 Nov, 01
Dear Friends,
A quick newd flash: I have moved. We took a little ride and are now where I thought we were going several times. Jhimm, I got the dirt you asked for :)
All's well, thought, so no one start worrying. Our mission here is very much the same as the other place, there are just less of us here, and the locals all have guns. They are quite friendly, though, and don't seem to mind us being here. There are some other folks here too, as well as the UN, you will probably read about it inthe news sometime soon. We live in a blown out building with none of the ammenities of home, but hey, we are here. Not sure how long we will be here either, but I'll try to keep you updated. Hug to all of you,
Duncan"
So there it is, the latest news I've had from Duncan. Keith and I also recieved a christmas card from him about 3 weeks ago as well.
I just wanted to let you know that I recieved 2 letters from duncan in the last week, interestingly enough, they came in reverse chronological order. On the 18th he wrote a long letter, here it is:
written the 18th of November:
"Things change faster around here than anywhere else I know. Rumors are deadly, and expectation is a double edged sword. One moment we think we are going south, then we hear we are all going home in December. No on really knows. All I know is I pull a lot of guard duty, am on my 6th book (Riddlemaster, which Beth sent and is very...pecular) and wish we would do something else. While standing guard I have plenty of time to reflect on life-past, present, future. THere is a certain sense of inevidibility about being stuck in a three year contract. Now about halfway through and on my first real-life deployment, I have a better perspective on the choice I made. No real regrets. The time has been way too interesting to regret, but thoughts now flow toward my two year mark, at which time I will be able to reup and reclass to a different MOS (job). WHat will I do? What do I want to do? I sure do miss regular life, with friends of my own choosing. Don't get me wrong, I like Army stuff, but not my current situation. THe National Guard or the Reserves might be the answer. THat means I will have to finish my third year in my current situation. That might not be so bad, since I will be a sargent. I'm not sure I told all of you, but I passed the sargetn's board with maximum points! They could pin me as early as next month! THis means more money, more work, more responsibility, and finally getting my way. HA! Watch out, here I come! Anyway, I look forward to leaving this place and cashing in some vacation days. You might not realize it, but we do not have weekends. I have worked six weeks straight without a day off. The Army will repay us those weekend days and any missed holidays when we get back. I was hoping to go skiing this season, but at this point I do not see that happening. Well, that means I will miss the harsh Ft. Drum winter. YES!!
We have moved into tent city now, with all the ammenities of home. HUge chow hall, laundry services, sewing shop, px, etc, etc... This place is a bit like a temporary village. I guess they are planning to stay for a while. The ground is covered in gravel now, preventing the dust from blowing too much (or turning to georgia mud when it rains) THis morning they forgot to wake me up for guard duty, so I was over an hour late. Bummer! So now here I sit, yawning, as they sun tries to come up on a windy morning. I stood outside for an hour and counted 50 shooting stars!! That's a lot more than the usual 10 I see. Is this the time of the peleides (sp?) They made me lock down the entrance I guard for about 20 minutes because they lost a gun. Turns out he must have left in on his bunk. THat was the big excitement of the shift. THey have opened a post office, so I think I can mail packages now. I will finish off my roll of film and try to mail it. That way you can share the excitement. There is also a movie tent w/ big screen TV and surround sound. I watched "the professional" there the other day. Rough life, eh! More and more people are shipping in here from all over the place. A very interesting mix...I bet if it was just us infantryguysthey would not bother with all the frills. For those just arriving, this place must look pretty nice, but for us old timers, we remember when all there was was dust and sandbags. Back then we actually thought there might be a serious threat here. Now, with the taliban running like the cowards they are, life seems pretty normal around here. Well, that's my update, Hope to hear from you all soon (the mail was screwed up for a while, but this is still the right address:
(contact me if you'd like his addy)
pax, Duncan"
The above letter I actually recieved second. Here is the first letter I recieved, which he aparently wrote second:
"somewhere else, 30 Nov, 01
Dear Friends,
A quick newd flash: I have moved. We took a little ride and are now where I thought we were going several times. Jhimm, I got the dirt you asked for :)
All's well, thought, so no one start worrying. Our mission here is very much the same as the other place, there are just less of us here, and the locals all have guns. They are quite friendly, though, and don't seem to mind us being here. There are some other folks here too, as well as the UN, you will probably read about it inthe news sometime soon. We live in a blown out building with none of the ammenities of home, but hey, we are here. Not sure how long we will be here either, but I'll try to keep you updated. Hug to all of you,
Duncan"
So there it is, the latest news I've had from Duncan. Keith and I also recieved a christmas card from him about 3 weeks ago as well.