It's funny how a song can bring back so many memories - memories of a place, a point in time, a person or a thing.

Right before my first deployment, the song 'Far Away' came out and like any new song the radio overplayed it in those last few weeks I was in the States.  I liked what the song said, but it was also a reminder of the pending deployment.  The emotions were like a constant roller coaster - there was fear of the unknown, not knowing what to expect, the uncertainty of folding under pressure, and even a little bit of excitement to finally feel like you were doing something and putting all of our training to use. 

When we arrived in Kuwait, is was mid October and later in the evening, so the full-fledged heat wasn't quite at its peak.  Even at that, stepping out of the plane felt like hit a wall - the heat, humidity - it was like nothing I had ever felt before.  We were quickly ushered from the plane a large bus to be transported to the camp we would be at for the next couple weeks.

As we were all settling in for the long bus ride, tired from a long flight where the energy level was so high it was hard to sleep, we had planned on trying to catch a quick nap.  The bus doors closed and we began pulling away, and then as if by some twist of fate 'Far Away' began to play on the AFN (Armed Forces Network) radio.  The bus went silent and it was as if the words were really starting to sink in.  We were in Kuwait, we were officially beginning the deployment, within a few weeks we would be in Iraq. 

That song isn't played much anymore, so the memories that come with it aren't anything I'm reminded of very often.  But every time I hear that song, it reminds me of that group of soldiers on a bus in Kuwait - most of us not knowing what to expect, knowing that it was our turn to serve our deployment and hoping that we would somehow make a difference.