From 2 Months Left to 2 Weeks in Just 1 Day

One of the reasons I took this deployment was to get a 180-day deployment out of the way so I wouldn’t get tagged for a 365 sometime (years) later. But now that it’s all but assured I’ll have to retire in summer 2011, I don’t really need to worry about getting a long deployment anymore. Fortunately, I’m deployed in an optional manning billet (vice the official ISAF manning billet) and it’s always been theoretically possible that I could leave early. In fact, they’ve been “threatening” to send some of us home early for months now. There are too many volunteer/optional people and IJC has needed to cut down the extra people. Of course, I never planned on that and just kept plugging away. After receiving the “Promote” on my PRF, I did start thinking about how I could start planting the seeds with the Group Staff to maybe consider letting me leave early. I knew they wouldn’t have that much of a problem with it and would probably support it, but I didn’t know how to start working it with IJC.

Then, totally unprompted, the Lt Col that tracks all of the Air Force manning came to my desk and asked me for my tour start and end dates. I told him, “31 Oct and as soon as possible.” He smirked at me like he had heard that tired joke too many times. Then I said, “Here’s the deal, sir” and explained the whole “Promote” PRF above the zone notification I received (just 3 days earlier). Being an Air Force Lt Col, he knew exactly what that meant and actually said to me, “So you don’t need this deployment.” Then he explained that the reason he was asking was because the IJC CJ1 (Admin) was scrubbing the optional billets and had my departure date as March. I told him that that would work for me and he said that if my Group agreed he would submit my new departure date. I checked with the Group, they had no problem with it, so I told the Lt Col that he could change the date. Then he asked me when in March I wanted to leave, so naturally I said, “The first week”, and we agreed on 7 March. So just like that, I went from being 2 months from going home to being 2 weeks.

I thought about waiting until 25 February to tell Val the news as sort of an anniversary gift, but I couldn’t keep news that good to myself. I had to tell her. And I’m glad I did; she said she would have been mad if I knew for a week before telling her the good news. Thinking about it, I realize she should get the good news as soon as possible as well, so she can feel as uplifted and relieved as me. I’m still coordinating with the Air Force Admin personnel to get all of the paperwork, requests, and travel arrangements officially approved and completed, but I’m confident that it will all work out. I almost can’t believe how coincidental all of this has been! It’s truly amazing and I’m extremely thankful to a gracious Lord that I’ll be going home as soon as possible to be with my wonderful family again. .