Coming Home

When I returned from Afghanistan in November 2011, I was pretty worn out.  It was a tough year of combat with the 4^th Brigade of the 10^th Mountain, fighting in two of the most active provinces of the war Logar and Wardak.  Seen as the gateway to the capital of Kabul and therefore active with insurgents.  So, I just wanted to rest for a while.  The experts call this phase the postwar transition or readjustment.  In the old days warriors returned on slow ships.  I left my FOB and got home in 4 days, the day before Thanksgiving.  Right after we finished our big turkey dinner the next day, I heard a commotion in the family room by the backdoor.  My first thought was, where is my gun?  Why am I not carrying?  A second later, these "targets" were identified not as terrorists but as "non-combatant" family members!  My two daughters, their husbands and five children.  They surprised us with their unexpected return from Kenya!  It was party-time, not rest-time for this old warrior.  The holidays that year were fun but very hectic.  Living with 11 people in the home causes every day to feel like a party, which is fun for a while.  Of course, I'm talking about living in America.  In most of the world, it is very common especially in the Qalats of Afghanistan where it's a workforce of laborers or fighters.  Looking back, I hardly remember a thing from late November until April!  One of the early theories about PTSD was that you have problems remembering the traumatic events.  My experience is that I remember the traumatic events too clearly but the period for months afterwards are a blur with very few clear details.