So my time as a JNN Platoon Leader is quickly coming to a close. I've spent the first part of this deployment at two small FOBs. Just as I got settled in at the first one we received word that we had to pack up and move again. We've been through a lot in the relatively short time that we've been here. I only have a few more weeks to spend with the people that I've shared nearly every waking moment with for about 2 years. In garrison i spent on average about 12 hours a day with these guys, sometimes including weekends and holidays. Now we are together 24/7. When you spend that much time with people you become like a family, the office becomes your second home, and your co workers are more like your siblings and your subordinates like children to a certain degree. It will be difficult to leave and place the well being of this family into the hands of another. But we all have to move on at some point.
It seems like just yesterday I was tossing my hat in the air happy to leave NY behind, excited about the few weeks of vacation ahead, and looking forward to the next stage of my career. After that I was still a brand new 2LT fresh out of OBC not really sure of what to expect at my first unit. Now it is almost two years later and the "kids" that I was in charge of, in what I consider to be my first real leadership position, are about to graduate and embark on the same journey.
"Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived."
