It's begun

He's off! By about the time I wrap up this blog Derrick's flight should be pulling up to the terminal in Tokyo. The first of three flights will be behind him.

For most of you, you know what's been going on the past several months. This blog is for everyone else. I am going to try and condense it all into about ten to fifteen minutes of reading.

We were supposed to leave Okinawa last July but Derrick really wanted to deploy to Afghanistan with/as an embedded training team. When the first opportunity came around (back in 2006) his unit had other plans for him. He was a little bummed initially but that disappointment faded quickly when he found out what he would be doing instead. He was selected to lead a 21 man detachment in support of OEF and a part of JSOTF-P. I think I still remember what all those letters mean but I'll spare you. The bottom line was he was commanding his Marines in a sometimes hostile/combatant environment and assisting local forces to ensure that terrorist regimes in the area could not make progress is taking part of the occupying country for their own state. I will take a leap and say he must have made an impression with someone important in order to land this job, as he was the first Staff Sergeant (e-6) to ever hold this billet. He did well enough at it that they've opened it up for other SSgts to lead since then.

After returning to Okinawa there was a little bit of down time. He was able to take his career course and of course we saw a promotion too. Then his chance for Afghanistan reappeared, but because of dwell time (time he has to be home between deployments) he was passed over again. The third time was a charm for him but we ran into a little snag when they started calculating his expected return date, August/September 2009. He wouldn't be able to deploy AND move back to the states in July so in order to deploy he would have to extend his time here on Okinawa. So he did, and he went. That gave us extra three months here.

We knew when Derrick came home for R&R he would have to take some time and head up to work. It was time to start planning what we were going to do next. Something told us to start the process early in his time home and glad we followed that hunch. Turns out we would need quite a bit of it. We talked with the career planner and Derrick inquired about a job he thought he'd really enjoy. We had talked with his commander already and he was on board with Derrick's decision and eager to help us out in any way he could. Turns out Derrick was in the wrong career field and to high ranking for that job, but the career planner asked if we had ever thought about going on Embassy Duty. Derrick didn't even hesitate before chuckling and telling him "no, my wife would kill me." Thank goodness I was sitting right there. I was quick to clear the air and from there the process, the very long process began.

Tons of paperwork, screening upon screening for everything under the sun and interviews galore and less than two weeks to do it. We managed to get it all done and the waiting game began. And boy did we have to wait. Derrick went back to Afghanistan and still didn't have internet at his location so there was no communication on this matter for months. It wasn't until right before he came home that we found out he, and us of course, had been selected for the program contingent on one thing. His 30 and 60 day post deployment mental health. Okay maybe two things, those assessments and another extension here on Okinawa. Another six months tacked on bringing us to just under 4 years.

Thirty days flew by and he was A-O-K, sixty and still feeling just fine, and around that time the orders came too. Another round of check lists, paperwork and more medical and dental screenings followed by countless trips to admin to update, re-update and update some more then the time finally came. Uniforms are all in order, suits and dress clothes packed and he's off, on his way to Quantico by way of Tokyo & Chicago for 8-10 weeks of school.

There is plenty of mystery surrounding the next two and a half months, and the biggest is where we'll end up next. That's something they hold out on until the end of the school. They invest a lot of time and money into these Marines and want to make sure the Marines have what it takes to give back to the Corps and more specifically to the Embassy they'll guard and the Marines in which they'll lead.

It's all so exciting.

And here we are, our next big adventure courtesy of the United States Marine Corps has begun!