Lest we forget our fallen,…

My heart is heavy this week.  Today (January 20th, 2007) is the anniversary of my friend Sean Lyerly's death.  He was also a helicopter pilot in the Texas Guard and an old friend of mine from college.  I think about him every day.  I'd like to think that he watches over me daily and helps me from time to time when I need it.  I have often prayed to him to ask him to help me through some of the more difficult phases of my training in the military.  If he were still here I know he would expect a lot from me… So, it makes me want to try a little harder whenever things get tough.  If things happen the way I'm told, I'll be deploying to Afghanistan later this year with a medevac unit from Texas.  All the time I've spent in the Army so far has been training.  Soon the training will not be in a "schoolhouse" environment anymore.  Soon, the training area will become a foreign country.  The "notional" training objectives will become real "mission" objectives.  People will be depending on me to make it to the PZ/LZ on time.  I will be responsible for human life, property and equipment worth more than any portfolio I've ever managed in the civilian/corporate world.  I hope as the time draws near I can soak up every last bit of information and knowledge I can squeeze out of my instructors along with the old salty pilots at my unit.  Things are about to get real,… and sooner than we probably expect.

June 4, 1975 - January 20, 2007

"… Sometimes I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged.  Their feathers are just too bright… and when they fly away the part of you that realizes it was sin to lock them up does rejoice,… but yet the place you live in is that much more drab and empty now that they are gone… I guess I just miss my friend..."