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With the end in view, a sense of uncertainty

Sep-21-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

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By JERRY JIMENEZ

SEPT. 13 -- There's no denying this mission is coming to an end. Our civil affairs replacements arrived yesterday -- proof there's light at the end of the tunnel. They seem like a good bunch. A couple of young Spec 4s (the rank below sergeant) and a middle-aged female major. The rest of their team is expected to arrive this month, leaving us free to fly home soon.

I remember when I first arrived in Iraq last year. Eyes as big as saucers. Other parts puckered up tightly whenever I left the wire.

Flash forward 10 months, and now there's some other new arrivals standing before me and I'm the expert giving them advice on how to drive in Mosul, how to clear a bridge and how to blend in with an infantry battalion. Man, time does fly.

People ask me how I feel about going home. There are mixed emotions. Of course there's the excitement of seeing all the people I miss and doing all the things I can't do here --like hang out with family, drink beer, eat sushi, maybe take a nice, long vacation.

But at the same time, there's a slight apprehension of what awaits me. I've seen my girlfriend only periodically over the past 17 months. What'll it be like when I return? We'll both be so different then.

And I'll have to say goodbye to friends I've made here. Like Sgt. Cedeno, the philosophical soldier who always offers a fresh perspective on life. And Sgt. Santiago, the cocky, wisecracking Puerto Rican who's always quick with a joke and a smile. Not to mention countless other Joes I've come to know, each with their own quirky personalities. I'll miss these guys when I leave. [...]

Salinas Californian reporter JERRY JIMENEZ is a civil affairs sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving with the 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Mosul, Iraq. His weekly "Letter from Iraq" column appears Tuesday on Local News.


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