I have now been “In Theater” more than 180 days. Many of the Individual Augmentee tours are only 180 days (after stateside training) and if I had volunteered for one of those I might be on my way home now. Lucky me! Actually, I probably will be lucky and spend something significantly less than the 365 planned. I’m holding off on updating my counter until things are a bit more certain, though.
I also have less time between now and my R&R leave than I will spend on R&R leave. That’s a ratio that we called the “Happiness Factor” at the Naval Academy, and it’s now greater than 1.0, always a good thing. Part of me wants time to fly by so I can start R&R but the other part of me wants this amount of time to actually be “long” since it’s what I’ll get to enjoy back home.
I’m chatting online regularly with my wife, making plans for R&R and even for my eventual return. It’s nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Still a ways to go, though, and lots of work between here and there.
1 comment:
I recall counting the DTG (Days To Go) on Patrol. Watches underway always seemed to drag for eternity, but the days went by fairly qickly, if you didn't pay too close attention.
When I was making patrols out of holy Loch we would break it down by what boat was "next" to fly, then it would be down to our opposite crew.
When we had 16 days to go, since we were the Gold Crew, we had a little cardboard cutout of a bluebird, called the "Bluebird of Happiness" that would make it's appearance on the Launcher Panel Tube 16, and each day go to the next lower tube number, counting down the "tube days".
Then, we would note the time when the Blue Crew would be on the plane - "the Blueies are in the air", and then finally, "we're next".
We'd do turnover, and then we'd be in the air ourselves, drinking the plane dry in about 3 hours. Then some jackass would say "Hey, only 105 days until we come back!" "Shut the f##k up, @$$hole!"
It's strange how a great deal of military life is spent counting days. Hope yours go by fast.
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