Well, that's it folks....I'm done. Flew my last mission the other day. Had one mission in the morning, then went the rest of my shift without an incident. That night, I pulled my flight gear out of the helicopter and the new guys form the Nevada National Guard took over. I didn't waste any time packing my gear up and locking it away- to avoid being called back in to cover them if the need arose. So my little tracker over there on the right side is done. It wasn't much of a 'last mission'...the guy had an infection...not very glamorous.
Now my days are strange. Going to the office and seeing a whole new team taking over. With 6 Captains rolling around and almost 100 people, it's impossible to get anything productive done- and don't even think about getting on one of the 3 working computers....
Today I didn't even bother getting into uniform...and I doubt I'll even go down to the CP. In a couple days our crews out at the remote sites will do the same thing and swap with the NVANG, then we'll all just be sitting around until we can fly out of here. We're all living together in one huge tent now. It's nice to actually hang out with everyone- after all these months of just seeing them in passing, we lived in 4 separate buildings here, and with teams out forward, you could go months without seeing someone. It's kinda like a big reunion.
I think I'll keep this blog going. Maybe my time in Afghanistan is drawing to a close, but my life as a MEDEVAC pilot and Army officer is still ongoing....

Creeping up to the half way mark out here. Finally took the plunge and made contact with my career manager. He just took the position, so I had to catch him up on who I was and why I’m here. Because he and I are unknowns to each other, there is always some trepidation. Approach it wrong, and I could be manning an outpost in Ethiopia for the rest of my life. Maybe not that drastic, but it definitely has the potential to be just as painful. So I spent considerable time contemplating what it is, exactly, that I want. I’m not going to get it all, so I had to prioritize what really mattered. You all should know what I didn’t tell him…..
I had one ambition when I joined this man’s army. I wanted to be a Captain flying MEDEVAC in a real combat situation. That’s it. And here I am. I had no future plans, no great agenda with stars gleaming in my eyes. So when my commanders tout my ‘great potential’ and dangle to proverbial carrot, I am torn as to what my response should be. It’s not a question of ability…it’s a question of ambition. Trudging through the years of operational staff positions to check all the right boxes and maybe, someday, be able to complete for a chance to possibly be considered for a higher level commander- just doesn’t resonate with me. Why can’t I just stay where I am. Let me keep flying. But the road is coming to a fork. And I know which way I have to go….