It's hard to believe our whirlwind trip to Iraq is nearly over. I'd be lying if I said we weren't exhausted. It was truly a mixed bag of emotions. We had experienced so much beyond even my crazy imagination.
And yet, unknown to us, one of the most profound moments was yet to come. As we packed our bags that last morning in our spartan sleeping quarters in Iraq, we couldn't help but notice how much lighter our luggage was. Gone were all the "goodies" we had hauled from helicopter to helicopter, from camp to camp. We had given out our last loot to the boisterous crowd at Camp Summerall the night before. I profoundly thank BASS and the companies who provided all the caps, T-shirts, tackle and other special items.
I wish they could have seen firsthand the bright moments their generosity provided. Each and every gift was a token of love and appreciation from home.
You helped make our mission a success. As we started our journey back to the small country of Kuwait where we had started what seemed like a lifetime ago, I had a moment to finally take a break and reflect on where we had been and what we had done. I played back the memories trying to capture them in my brain. I didn't want to forget one soldier or one handshake or one comment. He wrote: "I was deeply touched that you all took the time when you didn't have to, to bring some of the real world to us.
Fishing for me is a passion, as we discussed, and I miss it deeply. During your show, it struck me that for the first time in six months, I did not once think of where I was, what goes on outside the wire, or have any other thoughts about being here. I was enveloped in your show. That speaks volumes, and I am sure I was not alone. You have no idea the impact you had on me, and others. When we finally boarded the waiting C at our base in Iraq, it seemed so incredibly massive and lumbering compared to the agile Black Hawks that had ferried us all over the desolate terrain to camps that seemed to pop up in the middle of nowhere.
