COMING HOME!!!

DADDY & THE KIDS
I FINALLY KNOW I'M HOME

THE NEIGHBORHOOD DECORATIONS "THANKS"

RITUAL OF HANGING BOOTS AT CAMP LEJEUNE MEANING END OF DEPLOYMENT

OVER 70 IN OPEN BARRACKS IN KUWAIT
CDR PINELLA AND LCDR CARR FIND A JACK DANIEL'S AND COKE DRINK IN GERMANY
ENJOYING MY FIRST BEER IN GERMANY
HEADING HOME

LOADED C-17 HEADING HOME

HAPPY BUS RIDE FROM TQ

MUCH LOVE AND A BIG "BRAVO ZULU" TO TQ ORTHO CLINIC STAFF!

The long 8 month journey is finally over. We arrived home on Monday, September 17th, 2007, after 3 flights and a tremendous amount of waiting. We returned to a hero's welcome at Camp Lejeune at Michelangelo's Pizza place. After spending 3 days in Kuwait 70 deep in open barracks, we started out on what was a very long day getting to Ali Alasem Air Base to go through customs. This process took us roughly about 5 hours. I've never been through a customs check so thorough. They make you unpack all of your bags and empty your pockets, then you have to re-pack everything in front of the customs agent. You're also scanned several times and well as your bags. After customs, we were sent to a holding area on base that actually was quite nice. We stayed there for about 7 hours. Our flights back were great. We stopped in Germany where I had my first real beer in months. I slept most of the way home. We arrived at Cherry Point at about 10am local time and were joyfully reunited with family at Camp Lejeune about 5 hours later. I was met by my tired but happy family. After 3 days of check out we drove back home. Amazingly, we suffered a flat tire on the New Jersey Turnpike!! With the help of a kind driver, we changed the tire before roadside assistance arrived, but managed to run right into the heart of New York's evening rush hour traffic! We just chalked it up as part of my enriched deployment experience. To my wonderful surprise, all of my neighbors (some old, but many new ones) lined our street to greet us as we returned home! It was a wonderful homecoming complete with banners, presents, and even sparklers! We are blessed to have caring people so close to home. I also want to thank the nurses at the Same Day Surgery Center at Backus Hospital in Norwich, CT for sending me a great care package while I was gone. Everyone in our company enjoyed the homemade cookies.

I'm quite overwhelmed with how nice Tanika has decorated the house. She's truly made our house a home. It sure does beat 120 degree heat and dust storms. Well, I'll end my blog now that I'm back home. I'll send out some updates in the coming months to update my shipmates. I hope to get some updates back from them in the future. I want to give a final BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO CHAD AND LAURA DEATON FOR THE BIRTH OF THEIR BABY BOY BORN SEPTEMBER 7TH. TAKE CARE AND STAY SAFE!!

DOC TALLY