Well, one thing hasn’t changed: I’m still in Iraq. Yep, i’ll be getting back to Georgia here sometime in January, but the major change is that I reenlisted for six more years, and (here it comes) will be stationed in Germany for a while! Yeah, I can’t friggin’ wait, it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun. Hopefully I can meet some of those RPGCers from Europe while i’m over there, at least that’s my hope. I rarely get to check the boards over here, so if you would be so kind, could you fill me in on what’s new?
Bad: Six more years are you nuts? o.o
Good: Germany! woot. where there? 
What led to your re-enlistment?
You’re alreayd eligible for re-enlistment? I though you joined in like 2003 or 2004. Did you only have a 2 or 3 year contract?
Guh, why Varan? I guess your deployment hasnt been the epitome of retarded army bueacracy like mine has? Also, hurry the fuck up and get home you damn grunt, I’m gonna be back home-home by like dec 1( and no that isnt opsec anyone that thinks it might be, just to clarify)
Yay, Germany. When you get there, tell me how Knödel tastes.
They taste absolutely awesome if done right. <3
Yeah, I was on a three year contract, a decision I will always cherish. I was planning to get out, but do you realize how hard it is for a white male with an 8th grade education it is to get a job, ex-military or not? Very. Plus, i’m already looking at getting my E5 sometime in the next year, and I like my job. There are a lot of things I don’t like about it, naturally, but there’s something about being a grunt that makes certain times very satisfying. For instance: this morning I was with a team that captured two insurgents. Sure, this doesn’t happen every day or anything, but when it does it’s really cool. That and they let me carry a machine gun 
As for where in Germany, some place called Graffen or Graffenvier or something like that. I’m not completely sure where it is. Info and Deadtear, are you guys looking at maybe staying in?
Let’s meet up next year in Munich for Octoberfest, ya?
enjoy trying to keep warm in the german winters with your coal stove. i met some army guys while i was in germany, and despite my ultra-liberal, atheist, pacifist outlook on life decided to talk to them. they were all right, though some of the stuff they told me freaked me out. i mean, considering how technologically advanced germany is, the fact they had to use a little coal stove to keep themselves warm in the winter was just downright insane. Yet another reason for my distaste of the army - if we’re going to have one, the troops should at least be treated better than horses.
I am SO looking forward to Oktoberfest! (or Octoberfest, or however you spell it…) And yeah, it’ll be cold, but that’s fine. I’m getting used to harsh temperatures and climates. By the way, i’m completely convinced that Iraq is actually a part of Hell that broke away and attached itself to the Prime Material plane of existance.
What makes you say that Varan?
Well, when I first got here in the beginning of February, it was about 50 degrees in the day and 30 degrees at night with constant rain. Over the course of about, oh, 3 days sometime in April, it went up about 30 degrees. There’s never any kind of warning with the temperature changes, it’s almost as though God hates the people here and is trying to kill them. It went from about 105 during the day and 85 at night to around 65 during the day to around 45 at night over the course of about a week and a half. No warning or climitization time. That and I saw it hit 145 three times, and at that time the average temperature at 1400 was about 135. Really, really sucked.
It’s like that in any sand desert, and don’t tell us you weren’t prepared for that beforehand.
I see, I still have another 2 and half years on my contract (it was 6 years). I probably won’t re-enlist though. Unless I get promoted soon and they offer me Segeant to re-enlist, I’ll be out there once I get the opportunity. I don’t even want to consider going active duty right now. I’d sort of like to , move out on my own, settle down, and have a family, etc. Besides, with my job it is so fucking hard to get promoted, especially since one guy ruined them by always marking hard (which is bad when all other places inflate the scores). If I get my degree and have a hard time getting a job after that, I might just put all my effort into becoming an officer, but that is sort of a last resort right now. Plus, the Marine Corps has screwed me over so much (especially recently), that it has given me no option but to say “screw you” right back. I’ve alaso just given it more thought now that I’ve got a deployment looming and realized how much I’ll be missing. That is the strange thing about the Marine Corps, pretty much everyone I know gets out after their first term (whether it be, 4, 5, or 6 years). From what I’ve seen, the change usually happens around the 3 year mark (which is where I’m at right now).
How’d you get in with only a 8th grade education? I mean I know they have waivers for not having your diploma, but you have to at least have a GED.
You can try to prepare for those temperatures all you want, they still hit hard, especially when you’re wearing damn near 70 pounds of gear.
Well Info, that’s why I preach about the Army. I know a lot of people who leave the Marine Corps just to find that the outside world has no job opportunities for them and rejoin the Army. You get rank at a decent rate (especially in the Infantry), which makes a world of difference. Plus, the Army gives bigger reenlistment and primary enlistment bonuses. I know my cousin is pissed because the Marine’s aren’t at all what he expected, and I always pick on him that he should’ve joined the Army. I mean shit man, I got my E4 at 20 months in service! As for the education, yeah I have a GED, luckily. That doesn’t count for much on the outside though.
So. Will you be in Georgia for MLK weekend?
Hmmm…when’s that again? Probably not as I will only be at Benning for a week and a few days before I go home on leave. I’ll be on leave for anywhere between half of the month of February to the whole thing and a little of March.
MLK is early January.
Looks like a big “no way possible”, but i’ll try to maybe see you guys sometime before I leave the country.