(U) Blog 12.15.2012 - The Sad Day of Deployment

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What a rough 24 hours. I came to work last night as details were just
emerging about the massacre in Connecticut. I kept it together pretty
well until Obama spoke (I don't care what your political affinities are,
that was a moving speech), and it was all downhill from there. I was
then alone watching coverage in between bouts of work for the rest of
the night. Translation: I was crying off and on all night.
Heartbreaking.

THEN, at the very end of my shift, I learned of a Ramp Ceremony
happening here at Bagram later in the day. For those of you (like
myself) who do not know what that is, it's a ceremony to see off a
fallen service member who is traveling home for the last time. Service
members of all military branches and civilians congregate on the flight
line as a flag-draped casket is taken onto a waiting aircraft. As
strains of 'Amazing Grace' were heard from the Army Band, the Honor
Guard presented the colors and the service member was carried with the
utmost care off of a humvee and onto a Little Rock C-130 while we
onlookers saluted or held our hands over our hearts, respectively...
respectfully... and cried. It's entirely voluntary and there were
hundreds of people who came to pay their respects. It was almost worse
after our formation was released; my mind was whirring with all the
possible questions and wonderings of, "Does this person's family know?
Do I know before the family that he or she is gone?", "What a terrible
Christmas this will be for them," and "I wonder how his unit is dealing
with the loss of a friend and comrade." I managed to keep it to two
tears during the formation, but they were certainly free-flowing as I
walked back to the office.

When I returned to the office, my team (who all showed up for the
ceremony even though only one of us was on shift... this team is great)
was discussing how difficult the ceremony was and then we found out that
we had a suicide on Bagram the previous night. It's just sad. All of it.


However, Felicia has declared today as the only sad day of this
deployment, so I'm leaving you with a link that a friend of mine posted
on facebook with the quote "In case anyone else needs some happy
tears..." And happy tears they were indeed.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/moments-that-restored-our-faith-in-humani
ty-this-y

And in case you're wondering about #25, I did a bit of googling:
http://timdoddphotography.com/blog/do-you-know-my-friend-taylor-morris
(p.s. please note that about 1/3 of the way down they are snuggling with
a Steelers blanket)

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