Job Well Done

Journal Entry Sun 6 Feb 2011
It’s official…RCT-8 is in the driver’s seat. As of 0001 (one minute past midnight) we own battlespace in Northern Helmand and Nimroz provinces. This morning we were part of an official ceremony that gave us that authority. It’s more symbolic than anything else. High ranking officials from the coalition forces and the Afghan National Army watched as Marines representing both RCT-8 and RCT-2 stood in formation. They watched as the Commanding Officer of RCT-2 furled and cased RCT-2’s guidon and battle streamers. This simple act closed another historical chapter in this war on terrorism. RCT-2 had completed a successful tour of duty in Afghanistan. They deployed over a year ago on only a few week’s notice. They partnered with an Afghan brigade that didn’t even exist before their arrival. They built FOB Delaram II from nothing. They constructed an airstrip capable of landing cargo planes. Most importantly they took the fight to the enemy. They hunted down the Taliban and struck fear in the heart of the insurgency. All the while, they won the trust of their ANA brothers and endeared themselves to the population. They did everything a unit has to do when fighting a counter insurgency.
Now, they’ll dust each other off, heal their wounds, put on their best smiles, and head home to their loved ones. They will do so proudly for their job is done here. Back home their families will hang banners, fly flags, and wait with open arms. The band will greet them as they step off the busses and finally they will be reunited. Sadly, there will be some there who will not have a Marine to welcome home. For some there will only be the memories of the person they said goodbye to. For them, the unit’s homecoming is a means of closure, an opportunity to meet Marines who fought with their son, husband, or father, and held their hand as they breathed their last breath.
The homecoming is a time of celebration and healing. Families and individuals are made whole again. It is a time to look back on accomplishments, a time to catch up on all the milestones, a time to hold the ones you love. It’s hard to explain it to someone who has never sent a loved one off to war or never said goodbye to their family not knowing if it would be the last. It is a wonderful feeling. RCT-2 will know that feeling. Relish in it my brothers, you deserve it.