July 1st

Greetings to all,

July 1st brings a welcome day off. It's difficult to find time for individual practice when your drums are in the same room as everyone, so today is my day. During rehearsals, I'll find things I want to do better- change a groove in a breakdown, work out a fill, be able to sing the backup line and not lose time, etc- so I keep a note pad next to me to keep track of these things.

Our unit is based on a naval air station/joint reserve base. It's a former nuclear bomber base that was closed by an old BRAC but stayed open in this capacity. The navy runs the base and therefore the culture is much different than I'm used to. The Air Force really does have it better when it comes to facilities, billeting, and especially food. Additionally, because this place is a reserve base, it sometimes seems like a ghost town when there's not a drill.

Yesterday, we were visited by the colonel in charge of Air Nat'l Guard bands. He dropped by (from the east coast) to give us the standard "go get 'em" speech that these guys give for a living. While I am rarely moved by these things, he brought up a few key points that resonated. One, since we'll be playing for a lot of army soldiers and marines, we may very well be playing for some that won't come home. The other point he touched on had to do with the fact that this war is creating an overwhelming number of disabled veterans our country will have to care for for the next 60 years and the public at large needs to be prepared for the reality and responsibility. The military band programs can get that message out. The first point he made really makes you think... especially when you are civilian (for most of the year) that gets your information from CNN and can easily overlook the reality that this war doesn't affect numbers, but real people.

Well, enough about that...

I cannot express how much I am looking forward to returning home for a few days... I miss Tracy and the house full of animals. While we've talked every day, it's not the same.

Ever since I found out I was going on the deployment, Tracy has been absolutely amazing (of course, she was amazing before that as well). From being supportive, to allowing me to move through the different phases I've experienced in my preparations, to allowing me to enjoy my abbreviated summer off from teaching, I cannot thank her enough. She's been absolutely perfect!!

I suspect this summer will be tough for her in the sense that she's alone and in the dark. I'll be with friends and know where I'm going, what we're up to, what we're facing, and how we're doing, while she is waiting to hear from me when I can drop her a line after the fact. Staying at home and managing everything is tougher than what we'll be doing in the desert, hands down. While we all know there are spouses dealing with longer deployments, loved ones involved in direct combat, etc, it doesn't lessen the situation when it happens to you. So please keep Tracy, Gabriel (the dog), Leo and Mila (the cats) in your thoughts this summer. Thanks!

Take care to everyone and happy July. I'm off to find some lunch- something other than Navy food.

Cheers!

J