Off we go ...

Today we launch out on our first mission. Our hope is to cover Airmen in Iraq as they help train the Iraqi air force and help with the transition to keep their own country secure. All in all some good stories as our folks are right in the middle of helping with this important and necessary endeavor ...

On my team are two other staff sergeants - Anthony Stone, our videographer, and Mike Keller, the photographer. My role is to do the majority of the writing and some backup photo work when I can. The trio of us will be working together for the duration of our time out here, so we're getting to know each other pretty well ...

Anthony is married and he and his wife are hoping to have a baby when he gets home. Mike's already got a quartet of kids. I can't imagine ...

As we've been getting ready to go out, I've started thinking about what I'm going to miss the most over the next several months. Here's my list, in no particular order:

- Jennifer, Zachary and Edward
- My wife's cooking
- My PlayStation
- Going to the movies
- Privacy
- Five Guys Burgers and Fries
- My friends
- The color green
- Best Buy and Barnes & Noble
- A bathroom closer than 176 steps away

Other than being hot and drab, Southwest Asia is dusty, hazy and humid. Everything is covered in a layer of ick and it's difficult to keep a clean work area, let alone anything else. Fortunately there are bottles of water EVERYWHERE. It's easy to keep hydrated, and in fact, is necessary with the weather. But it's especially frustrating to wake up at 2 in the morning and have to get dressed, put on a reflective belt, tuck in the shirt, put on shoes and then walk all the way to the bathroom. Ugh ...

I'm looking forward to my first foray into the Iraq. Going around to villages and provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan was rewarding because I got to see first hand how our efforts were making a difference. People were appreciative and we were welcomed everywhere we went. We helped a lot of people. I'm curious to see if Iraq will be anything like that now ...

When I left Afghanistan and Pakistan, I took home vivid memories of the children there - snowball fights, soccer games, handing out candy. Going to the villages was the best part of my last deployment. That was why I volunteered for this gig. Our mission is to travel to wherever there are Airmen helping Iraqis and Afghans rebuild their respective country. If I have to suffer six months of no Five Guys, terrible weather and missing my youngest starting kindergarten, at least it's for a worthwhile cause I believe in ...