The Beans
So here it is. I'm being deployed to Iraq for a period no longer than twelve months. This might not include time spent in Kuwait, before and after the twelve months in theater. Now I'll cut and paste a comment I made earlier.
I'd like to take this moment to point out that a 12 month vacation in Iraq isn't the end of the world. If you know nothing about modern military units, the 101st Airborne have been considered among the best fighting units since World War 2. Not to mention I'm a computer guy in an infantry/cavalry unit and considered by my superiors to be a valuable asset to the unit, so I'll be spending most of my time in an air-conditioned tent/bunker and probably won't leave the camp, ever. So worry not.
It's not like I haven't been told since day one that I was going to Iraq, it's just mostly been a matter of "when". I've had plenty of time to prepare mentally because of this and the primary reason I've never made a big deal of it is because I don't want anyone else making a big deal out of it. Like I said, it's not the end of the world. I'd rather go sooner than later, twelve months (plus whatever amount of time spent in Kuwait, if Donald Rumsfeld has his way) certainly isn't as bad as eighteen, and when I'm back I won't have to even think about going again for at least a year, if at all. It's just one of those inevitabilities, when you sign up for six years you can't expect to spend them all in the comfort of the states.
But thanks for everyone's concern.