I was looking through some old boxes today and ran across a stack of little pieces of paper that I kept. The little stack contained several prayers prepared and read during various times throughout my first deployment.
I found these prayers especially interesting, as they mark my movement from Fort Campbell.
This one was given at one of the several departure ceremonies before boarding the plane to leave the country;
The next occurred when I prayed at the end of the flight briefing, as the crews were preparing to take their Apache Helicopters through Iraq to their destination.
Then a final prayer given while my “chalk†waited to board the plane to take us up to Forward Operating Base Speicher.
I look at these words written while I was under stress and uncertainty. I remember the emotions that I felt as I sat to prepare these words. They are simple—as many of my prayers are—but they express the heartfelt concerns as I prepare myself and my unit for Operation Iraqi Freedom 2005-2007.