December 24

Hello all,

Well, I'm finally home and CST is over. I have to admit that I enjoyed most of CST with all of the training and the chance to learn all of the survival things that will help me stay safer while deployed. The Army does a great job of teaching and should be complimented.

Getting home was a challenge as we flew out of Sea-Tac airport. The problem was that we finished with CST and tried to fly out while the airport was primarily closed due to excess snow fall in the region. We arrived at the airport at 2:00 am and had three flights canceled before finally departing at 9:00 PM. Overall we were lucky as some travelers are still there and have been waiting for days and days. It surely pays to be nice to the ticket agents and the airline staff as you could see and watch how other travelers were treated when they were rude and basically got nowhere with their requests. So, I used a bit of kindness and charm and sure enough made it home in time for Christmas. What a joy it is to be home. I look forward to the next two and a half weeks until the big adventure really starts and off to the Desert I go. I hope that you have all enjoyed the few updates and I will plan on continuing to add a little to the blog once I depart on my deployment. Have a wonderful Christmas and a Great New Year.

Lincoln