Morale isn't as low as it was, but still low

As a wee lad growing up in Detroit, I remember my grandmother telling me the old adage, “if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.” It’s a wise saying that was probably made up by some poor soul who had a friend in the Army in order to politely tell that soldier that they complained too much. Regardless, it is an attempt to tell the whiners of the world that while we know things get tough and life sucks, we only want to hear about it in short spurts. If it takes longer than a commercial break to complain about something, then maybe you should wait until you can put a positive spin on it. I see too many military blogs where people just complain about their plight. Yes, it sucks, but all that bitching just makes the support structure back home worry. We will all have our share of good and bad days, but the hard thing to do is refrain from spilling the poison and wait until you can see things in a different light. I started reading some of my older blogs and found that I was getting a little more cynical lately. Things are hard here and things get tougher when there are problems at home that you are powerless to affect. Complaining about it doesn't make it all better.

I have been absent from writing lately because I didn’t have anything positive to say. Morale was low for a variety of reasons but it has significantly improved in some areas while it simultaneously got worse in others. Oh the joys of deployment. I have had a lot of support through these rough days; from members of the Mafia, from mothers of members of the Mafia, and from coworkers, friends and family back home. From packages to emails and even a letter or two, I’ve received more support than one person deserves and I will be forever grateful. Leading off with the most support are my mom and dad, or more specifically my mom. It’s not that my dad doesn’t support me, but I think it was just that my mom was hogging the computer to make sure she sent out a lot of long emails in order to get me out of my funk. Sometimes its in the form of tough love, but the important thing is that they love and support me.

I also have a wonderful girlfriend who has been an angel through all of this. Not only did she help prepare me for this difficult time, she has continued to send her love and support in what you would call an extremely difficult long distance relationship. Most people tend to focus on the folks who are actually deployed, worrying about them getting hurt or worse, but for every person in uniform over here there is someone back in the US who is struggling to keep the home fires burning until our safe return. We must not forget about these wonderful people. Alissa is one of the most wonderful people for me and it is good to know that she has family and friends nearby to get her through her own tough times. She and I have had some rough points in our history, some of which have come up lately as we approach the 6 month mark, but we are strong and we love each other and are working through things which is difficult given where we are at. She is a wonderful person and our relationship is what keeps my hope alive. Without hope, well, I would hate to imagine what life would be like without the important things like hope and dreams. I will see her and my family in about 2 months, and I can hardly describe how anxious I am for that day to come.

I don’t like airing out the details my problems in a public forum, but I can say that things are better now thanks to the support of some wonderful people. Morale is still a little low right now, but it's getting better due to the "surge" of support, hope and love I've received. I’m about to crest this deployment mountain before me and I pray that the downhill side will be easier and faster than the first part.

Thank you everyone.