I have stayed busy for the past several months, and am finally blogging again.  There isn't much to blog about in the present, but there's plenty of catching up to do. 

At the end of June, I went home for 2 weeks on R&R Leave from Baghdad.  I had been telling my wife that it would be another month before I came home; she was surprised to see me, to say the least.  We had a wonderful time, and then I came back to Iraq.

When I got back to Iraq, my unit had changed bases.  Our old FOB had closed, in keeping with our agreement with the Government of  Iraq to draw down our forces, and we moved to one of the bigger FOBs for the rest of the time we're here.  My job at the old FOB was to escort the workers that maintained our facilities; this new FOB doesn't need that job, so they had to find a new position for me to hold.

It didn't take long for my NCOs to find a suitable position for me.  I now work in my troop's Tactical Operation Center, listening to the radios and running communications between the chain of command and our platoons when they go on missions.  My shift is noon to midnight daily, and I sit in an air-conditioned office for the majority of that time.  It's not bad, but it can certainly get boring at times.  The end of the shift is actually at a good time for me: My wife gets off work at the same time as me, so I get to call her each day after work. 

As for my future, I'm looking at several options.  The Army is willing to pay for my schooling, whether I pursue Paramedic certification or I choose to pursue a degree in nursing.  If I go for RN, then they have a program allowing me to continue serving as a nurse, after they pay for my school and pay me to attend.  There is also the Warrant Officer option, which would allow me to become a helicopter pilot.  One of my dreams has always been to fly, and the Army would train me to do it.  I have a lot of options, and I want to pursue all of them... perhaps now is a good time for me to discuss it with the wife, and see what she wants to do.