I Realized Something Today...

April 27, 2005 (Right before he first left for Italy)

I realized something today. I realized that I am going to be in harm's way more so than I have ever been in my life. I realized that I am going to be in another country for the next 2 or 3 years, and I am going to be in the desert several times within that time period.

I realized that, while hopefully unlikely, that this may be the last time I see home. I realized that I may die over there. I realized that I may end up in an article in the newspaper - one last time.

I don't know exactly what it's going to be like, I don't know if I'll ever have to go tearing across the desert in a convoy looking for a downed plane, if I'll be in a foxhole during a mortar attack, or if I'll be near a home-made bomb when it goes off. Granted that I'm not in the Army or Marine Corps, nor is it my primary job to be the one actually out hunting terrorists down. I will, however, carry an M-16 with me while I'm deployed in the desert, because it is dangerous there, and there are real-life threats that could ultimately take my life.

Then, I realized something else; I realized that this is no different than any other day. I realized that...

(sic., that's where he stopped writing)