day three

3 Down, 397 to go!!!
The past two days have been somewhat of a waste of time. We arrived on Monday and have had several briefings and some classes that do not really pertain to those of us who have been deployed before. I was a little disappointed to find out that not only will I be in charge of one of the toughest missions, but also my original team was pilfered by some of the other teams. In speaking with the commander I was told that "I had to put strong people (meaning the 68X mental health specialists) with this officer or that one as they need help and we knew you could handle your mission with whoever we put you with.” Not sure if that is a compliment. At any rate, I was able to talk the commander out of one of our SGTs, who I get a long with pretty well and am happy to have as my team member. My other team member will apparently be some soldier from active duty who is being activated with us and none of us have met yet. We leave for Ft Lewis tomorrow and will be there for about a month or so. I'm excited to find out that I'll be getting a pass while there and that Liz, Jacob, and my mom will be coming up to Seattle to spend time with me. I appreciate all the comments of support. Thanks especially to Carrie and Jim Miller; your comments are much appreciated.