I'll stick with the garbage, thanks....

Earlier today I was talking with another soldier and he asked, "How in the hell did we end up here?" Like most guys in my unit, he knew in the back of his mind that we'd eventually be sent overseas, but it still came as an absolute shock to him when we were given our orders two months ago. This made me stop and think about the first time I was really sure that my time in the States was up.

Every soldier likes to get new equipment. Most of the time the National Guard is working with such garbage that we get excited when they give us something, anything, that actually works. A few months back (long before we had been mobilized) we all waited eagerly in the supply room to receive new issue. When I got to the front of the line the Supply Sergeant handed my a Camelbak drinking system. But this wasn't just any Camelbak, these ones just happened to be desert camouflaged. That struck me immediately as slightly odd, seeing as everything else I've ever been issued is green and brown. As I looked around at all the happy idiots testing out the new gear, I could almost imagine myself standing in a barren wasteland sipping on the damn thing. From then on, I've grown increasingly wary of any new equipment.