The Time Has Come

Greeting All,

The time has come for me to pack my bags and return to the greatest place in the world...the USA.

My replacement, a USMC LtCol CH-46 pilot from the Left Coast, arrived as scheduled last Saturday, 24 Oct. This past week has been really busy with shuttling him around to all the places he needed to go to get checked-in. We are still not done but will be shortly. When not getting situated with the command, we have been conducting a turnover of duties IOT (in order to) ensure he is as best prepared to take over when I leave. I'm sure I will overlook something but he will figure it out as I have.

This next week will also prove to be hectic. I have to check out of my parent command and will have to travel to Djibouti to do that. Great....the last place in the world I wanted to go to again. I will leave Germany on Wed night and arrive in Africa on Thurs morning. I will leave DJ Saturday in the early evening and will have to endure an itinerary that spans 30 hours arriving in NC on Sun, 8 Nov, at 7:30 pm (1930 for you savy readers who use the 24 hour clock). If you prefer Zulu or GMT, that's 1530 Zulu (after daylight saving, which is tomorrow).

Jodi, my beautiful wife, has been far busier then me. This past Wednesday, Jodi got the keys to our new home. She has been busting her butt getting everything packed so our things could be transferred to the new place right away. If anyone has moved their entire household recently, you know what a big job this is. Between Jodi and I have move a combined 5 times in last couple of years. It will be good to settle down for a long while. We are luck enough to have friends and relatives who volunteered to help us out with the move. Our thanks goes out to Tim and Susan O'L, and Jarod and Sarah F.

As Jodi and I walk throught life together, we will always return to this place. A house that we will make a home of for ourselves and our children. We have plans to visit each state over the years but we will always come back to our home port in Sneads Ferry, NC. We hope that we will be honored with a visit from all our friends and family.

Once I get back to NC, I will have to report back to the command that I detached from and start inprocessing. Thankfully, Veterans' Day is Wed, 11 Nov. We will have off from Tues afternoon until we report to work on Fri morning. That will give me a few days to adjust to Eastern Standard Time. Please take the time on Wed to reconnect with those who have served this great nation and thank them for the role they played in that endeavour. In most cases, these people are our neighbors, relatives, and friends.

As soon as I get back, I will have to dust off my Dress Blue uniform as I will be escorting my bride to the Marine Corps Ball on base. The birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps is 1o Nov and this year, we turn 234 years old. Happy birthday in advance to all the U.S. Marines out there especially my Uncle Ed, a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam veteran. Semper Fidelis.

Well, that is about it for now. I am very happy at the thought of getting back to life in the states. I will not be posting next week as I will be traveling but will update everyone the following week.

Until then.........

Michael