It has begun...

Good morning!
The first pic is of me wearing one of the t-shirts that was sent over from a group called "Hero to Hero's". Out of the 50 or so t-shirts that they sent this was the only one that fit. Ha! I better stick to my diet! The odd thing is that fire departments from all over the country take part in this program and the one that I am sporting is from the Edmonds (Wa.) Fire Department. Weird!
The real cool thing about this program is that in May I got a chance to go down to Ground Zero. I went down with a group of reservists and it was definitely one of the most amazing and heart wrenching experiences of my life. I recommend checking it out before they start rebuilding.

Pic two was taken just before we rolled out on one of our missions. Looking at the pic now, I am not so sure that painting the bucket in yellow was such a good idea. Crap.

Anyway, great news! We have now officially started the turnover process with the next battalion. We received word that they have started to trickle in to the base where they will go through their pre deployment training. There is always a fear that for some reason or another a battalions training will be put on hold but it looks like these guys had everything lined up prior to getting the call up. On this side of the pond we have begun with our demobilization process. We are going through some of the preliminary transition processes. And to be honest with you some of it is completely pointless but at this point I will do just about anything to get my ass back home.

Speaking of which, I received word yesterday morning that I have been approved to go home on the "early bird". I will be stateside about ten days before the rest of the crew which means that I will be home in time for the arrival of our little girl. Yes, we will be adding another member to our little clan. It is going to be an amazing time for us. No, I am not going to be one of those overly protective dads, that is a job that her two brothers have been groomed for. Ha!