16 months and I'm home. Finaly made it fellas. 3 of my guys came home early due to combat injuries, 30 total from my battalion and 3 of my colleagues were kia and the rest of my men came back with me unharmed. No injuries, just ptsd. But hey, we're home right? Fuck Trashghanistan! Fuck that place to holy hell. I'll gladly wait down there to make sure none of them can get away. Been a fucken year. 23 fire fights total and that doesn't include the 50 times my forward base came under attack. Only 2 effective ieds and 2 effective car bombs. Thanks to the navy eod we found about 80 ieds the whole time we were there. I turned 27 in Trashghanistan and I turned 28 at home just 4 days ago. Can't ask for anything more.

-SSG Roeun
Time Served

First welcome back. My little brother is a marine and came back about a year ago(iraq) so I kinda know how you feel. So the big question is are you staying in or getting the f&^$ out.

Welcome home, glad to see you made it back safely :cheers

Time Served and time to move on. I've put in 8 years. Now it's time to move over and make room for the young gunners. I have other obligations like law school and fiancee. Besides I've passed on everything I know to 10 other guys who'll make great leaders. The army isn't loosing anything with me. They only gained 10 dudes who learned from me.

Originally posted by DSMRoadster
Time Served and time to move on. I've put in 8 years.

Glad that you and your team made it through all that. I have to say that without Americans like you protecting the rest of us, it just wouldnt be the same here. Thanks again.

and now its time to make a smaller sig :-) Welcome home bud, thanks for your service, I know less and less people appreciate the sacrifice men like you make every day over there.

Welcome home V! A BIG thank you to you, and the rest of the guys!!!! :cheers

Originally posted by eclipzGST
Welcome home V! A BIG thank you to you, and the rest of the guys!!!! :cheers

:bowdown :thumbsup

Word. Welcome home man.

Welcome home, V. Glad you're finally back and in one piece.

Welcome back, thanks for all your work over there. Glad you made it.

So... did you do any www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcM3VZpUnCA while you were there? :D

welcome home bro. i'll be having my 25th birthday in the shitty land south of where you were. oh well, jobs a job and we get payed atleast. take care man.

later

welcome back V.

as everyone else said, thanks for all that you and your team has done for us.

If you ever make it to MD the drinks are on me brother.

I was just thinking about you the other day, brother V! So happy to hear you're back home safe. Time to wrap up law school and focus on the Presidency, right?

:thumbsup

Raise a glass to heroes coming home. Then raise the rest to those who will not.

welcome back.. happy b-day... time to relax, imo..

Welcome back, V! :thumbsup

Yeah I think I'll be taking 2 months off. I'll call that my decompression time. So its real good to see some of you guys still around. Of course I knew Brian and Dino wasn't going anywhere. Looks like I'll be going for the g35 coupe fellas. Still have my bike and my 95 accord that wont start. But damn I miss all the bsing on this forum.

Originally posted by DSMRoadster
I knew Brian and Dino wasn't going anywhere.

There's some place else to go? :wary

It's really good to know you're back, brother. Really good.

Welcome back and more importantly, great appreciation for what you have done. Good luck and patience for the assimilation back into the "normal" society.

:cheers

yeah V!

now's time for some fun

So are you still in the army or marines or are you done for good meaning retired and can't be called back?

Thats great you are safe. I remember way back when you were shipped off – I think I was still in undergrad at the time. Time flies. Take care of your mental health since you speak of ptsd. I work at a facility dealing with that and it can cripple you months or years after the event.

I'm done bro. I was going to reenlist and do drill sargeant duty for 3 years, but I really don't want to put my fiancee through another deployement. I'm on terminal leave right now and will be released from active duty at the end of may. Yes time flies very fast. It's like you wait your whole life to turn 21 and when that comes, you wish time freezes. Everything after 21 is a blur. As for the ptsd thing, I never really had the time to feel or react like a normal person would when I was over there. The whole time I was in country, I've seen and been through things that 90% of americans will never experience and even 70% of soldiers won't expeience. That's the life of an infantryman. But now that I'm here, it all starts to catch up. It's fucked up cuz I can't control it. It's like having a cold bucket of water thrown on you and you can't avoid it even though you see the bucket getting filled up. That's the only methaphor I have for it. But I'm surrounded by people who love me and understands, so I think it'll get better.

Are you at least getting treated for it? Yes family will certainly alleviate some of the symptoms or feelings–I know for a fact social support does, but you also need to process those events with a professional who has years of training/hands on experience regarding the condition. I read through another thread you posted in and you mention the condition again so that indicates something. I'm sure that the VA or even your health insurance's doctor can help you out and give you a good referral. And like finding a good girl or good friend, you can switch therapist if you feel it is not the ideal match, which is perfectly normal. PTSD is sooo common amongst returning soldiers so there is a lot of help out there.

Just looking out for a Asian/Pacific Islander Brother (I'm one too!). Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Yes, most definitely ask about it at the VA. If there is something you "can't control", like you said, you will be much better off if you start dealing with and working on these issues early on. There are so many important services at the VA, and unfortunately many people don't want to use them. When I was doing rotations at my local VA, I met a few patients that had held in things since the first Iraqi war, or even Vietnam - it wasn't uncommon - and they were just starting to face these issues. For real, just check it out. I always considered it an honor to help veterans, because they've done so much for us.

Thank you for your service to our country!

VA is being extremely helpful and we have a group session with my guys who were in Iraq 2 years ago. Close group of friends and colleagues who went through the shit. I'll be ok. Thanks for the lookout fellas.

I'm glad your back V. I really can't say thank you enough for what you did. I never wanted to see the post about you injured in action.. I'm glad you made it back in one piece. Now it's time to move on and let life get back to normal. Good luck in Law School, any idea where you want to go?