DISPATCH 014--21 APR 2007

EXTENSION
The crown of life, the conquest of evil, the establishment of righteousness among people and nations comes only to those who refuse to stop too soon, to cry ‘quits’ before the job is done. --Thomas S. Mutch

• Q: How does one begin to discuss the topic of extension?
  
• A: You don’t and pretend that it does not exist.
  

I, however, do not have that luxury. By now it has sunk in that our tour has been extended beyond the original 12 months. Before I move into any attempt at an explanation, let me first acknowledge the emotions, ranging from frustration…to outright despair…to numbing ambivalence, that almost everyone is feeling. I liken our response to grieving. What we thought was going to be a happy reunion in five months or less is now going to be longer. Dreams are deferred, another birthday missed, another anniversary dinner delayed, and a vacation cancelled. If we combine these things with the more important reality of further exposure to danger while deployed, it is easy to see that dealing with these new challenges can seem overwhelming.

What I am not going to do is to tell folks, in essence, to suck it up, nor will I remind you on how much extra money our soldiers will be paid. I will not tell people that our soldiers have obligations and must do their duty. Why? Because all these things are already true. You have sucked it up, we have and will continue to perform our duty, and no amount of pay is going to buy back the time we will miss with you, the ones we love. Sometimes, when we as an Army deliver bad news, we want to quickly rush to the fix it and forget it stage without dealing with the inevitable emotions that come with disappointment. We cannot sweep under the rug, no matter how many briefings we attend, another fall of getting the kids to school on your own, another Thanksgiving missed, another soccer game without daddy on the sideline, and all the other sacrifices that come with a wartime deployment.

While I cannot speak any magic words or phrases to unmake the decisions that have been made, I can tell you that there are people out there who do understand your sacrifice and share your anxieties over further time in theater, and more time apart. These are the same people that can all too easily become the enemy or the folks on whom we take out our anger. These people are your fellow wives, soldiers, and families.

While we cannot change or control the bad news, we can control how we respond to it. Turning to, and not against, one another for support is the only real positive way to deal with this news. One of the best ways our soldiers cope with the stresses and disappointments that they face is that they can rely on one another. This deployment brought together many strangers that have now become closer than brothers. For better or worse, we have come to Iraq during a time of increasing stakes in the outcome of this war combined with a greater intensity of the actual battles. For a while we can rage against the powers that be, but eventually that will only involve kicking an unmovable boulder until we break our feet. The way that most of us, the deployed, have worked through the news is to realize that now more than ever before we need to rely on each other, our professionalism, our training, and our shared sense of sacrifice. We do this first in order to not let one another down, but we also do it knowing that we want to bring honor to you and all that you have done to help keep our minds focused on the battles here and not on worries about home.

As one who is a witness to the daily displays of the honor and courage of your loved ones, I want to also acknowledge your acts of heroism on the home front. You may not receive medals or awards, but we can only do what we do, remain positive and focused, and continue with our responsibilities by resting assuredly in the peace of knowing that we have your love and support. We need you, and we pray that you still need us, and we can and will be able to navigate through any shadowed valley knowing that you are with us, together, for better or for worse.

The hopeful dawn of redeployment will shatter the dark night of this extension. May God continue to bless you with strength of character, the honor of purpose, and the courage of heart that comes from knowing that what we do now matters and that we can gain strength from the actions and attitudes of one another. God bless you.

Honor and Courage

Warhorse Shepherd