Got this email today from one of my closest friends in the military. This family served with us at Relevant as volunteers last year before they had to move. I want you to be able to follow Mike’s blog as he is deployed over the next year. Mike loves God and hs family with all his heart. I love him even though he is a Pittsburg Steeler fan! Read this email…follow this blog!

Friends and Family,

A quick update and then on to the more serious stuff. This last six months has been a blur but we are finally settled here in Colorado. We have found true paradise. We thought it was in Hawaii, it is here in Colorado. We have been reunited with some friends here and have a mile long to-do list of things in the Colorado Springs area. Baylee and Jack have been accepted into a great school and are looking forward to starting in the fall (which makes Britin very happy.) We have been very busy trying to hike, climb, mountain bike, and sight see everything before either I leave or the attractions go away.

It has come to that time again when I must say goodbye. In less than two weeks I will begin the process of deploying once again. With all the practice over the years of being gone this still remains one of the hardest parts. All the training I go through, the late nights to get things ready to go, and the semi-sleepless nights before I leave never really get you truly ready to say, “Goodbye.” The fear of not returning or not being able to see somebody one last time always seems to be the strongest in the final few weeks before leaving.

During this deployment I’m attempting to journal / blog my experience from a perspective that you won’t receive from CNN or MSNBC. Please check out my blog at www.mackystan.blogspot.com. I would like to give a firsthand account of true life inside and outside the wire of what is going on. I would like to capture over the course of 12 months the difference we (Collation Forces) make in a foreign land. I hope to dispel some of the ideology that we are involved in war that is unwinnable and we are wasting time, money, and resources.

This is a difficult task to prove to some of you in this e-mail but that is the beauty of living in this great country that I love so much. The ability to have the freedoms we so easily take for granted continue to fuel my motivation to keep on fighting for what is right. As I pack-up last minute items, say good-night to the kids a few more times, and try to maximize every precious last minute with my family, I’m reminded of one thing; I would gladly go anywhere in the world to continue to keep my family, friends, and neighbors safe during these difficult times so they have one less thing to worry about.

God Bless, Stay Healthy, Stay Safe, and Happy Memorial Day.

www.mackystan.blogspot.com

Mike

MICHAEL R. MCGUIRE
CPT, LG
AS4, 4IBCT, 4ID