I will take it slow
That’s the motto of the day. It’s the phrase that the chaplain came up with. We went through some of our demobilization briefings today. There was also a liaison from legal and finance. They explained to us how our earnings would change and what we would receive. Legal told us about any legal issues that may arise such as court subpeona while we were overseas.I thought the chaplain was the best of the three. He entertained us with humor and gave us the pleasure of only viewing a few slides on his power-point presentation. The first slide was a picture of a stack of books. He explained how he had read all those books to try and get into a soldiers mind but none of them really helped. Then he turned to the next slide that had a picture of a Maxim magazine, The Cat in The Hat, and a few other simple books. That’s when he said that he had found a way into the mind of a solider. His next slide had the simple phrase "I will take it slow." He had us repeat it a few times and then he told us about issues that would arise when we arrived home. After every issue, such as drinking and intimacy, we would all repeat, "I will take it slow." That was about it. The chaplain discussed suicide prevention as well.
Today was the last day to turn in our laundry. We also got dates for the rest of our demobilization until we arrive home.
posted by A Guy on his Journey at Monday, October 30, 2006
5 Comments:
Sgt. Pete:
Repeat after me: "I will take it slow, and I will continue to sit inboard of Private Bubba."
Glad you're going home.
Don't know when I'd get down your way, now that my mother's moved out of Arizona, but you never know.
Stay in touch.
Great to hear that you will be taking it slow, but only after that fast flight back home. Thanks for all you have done, and a special thanks for all the times you've played the role of American ambassador, when treating the Iraqis, and especially the kids, with kindness. And by the way, do you know of any other military bloggers in Iraq, because we'll be needing a new source of news from a soldier on the ground in country. And will you continue the blog after you return home? I know some of us would like to follow your life story, and to make sure you take it slow!
Chaplains are the best, at least the ones I've come across over my career. My favorite was after my 1st extended deployment as we were headed home from 8 months in the Indian ocean. The ship's chaplain, like yours, wanted to remind us that things have changed while we were gone and to "take it slow" when dealing with the spouse and kids but also to remember that we were heading back into civilization and we should act accordingly. "For example, " he said, "don't ask your mother to pass the f*cking salt". Of course this brought a huge round of applause and laughter. I don't think I will ever forget that.
Take care.
Tim
When I went home on leave for my first Christmas I DID ask my mother to pass the fucking gravy. The whole table went completely silent and I could feel my ears turning red.
Well, I'm the mother of a soldier who came home from a year in South Korea to use all the words I never let him use when he was a boy. What could I do? I was too happy to see him to care what he said. I imagine his speech will be even worse when he returns from Iraq in a month. But I have a feeling I won't care much this time either..... :)
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