Buffiniraq

Farewell my Fellow Americans in Iraq...
As I complete my tour and prepare to leave Iraq, I want to tell each of you what a privilege and honor it has been to be a member of the USACE family for the past 12 months. I will return to the private life of teaching and developing active adult retirement communities in NC (of which some of you may at some time in the future be a resident of). My plan is to continue to develop environments conducive to “Boomer interests” which mainly revolve around staying active, physically fit and helping others as long as the good Lord allows...anything other than “watching grass grow” or hearing the famous “honey , can you do this”…LOL

Along the way, I have begun the “rest of my life” by returning to the COE this past year in an effort to help other COE professionals and Iraqis “gedderdun” under the most extreme and sometimes unimaginable circumstances of my lifetime.

In retrospect, my year here was truly a blessing as I’ve met and worked with really wonderful, unselfish and dedicated folks who’ve showed their courage and willingness to help others in spite of the myriad of headaches and heartaches that permeated the environment throughout GRN both “inside the fence and out”. The bottom line has always been from the COE standpoint, to find out how to get the job done by communicating with each other, then cooperating to get it done, and finally contemplating the end results with others here to make a record of what was good and not so good about the choices we’ve made. This retrospective overall review will lend itself to others in the years ahead who will learn from our successes and failures. The COE is indeed making “footprints in the sand” for generations to come. For me to be part of that experience has been a blessing and I have only the COE to thank for giving me the opportunity to serve a second time after all these years since my Combat Engr days during the mid 60’s.

I leave you all with a brief overview of what you have done here for the Iraqi people. Your unselfish, determined effort to give these folks a reasonable chance to “find their own way to the grave peacefully”, under these circumstances, will not ever be forgotten by them nor by us “civilians” back home. It is not surprising to me that one day history will show that USACE efforts in the post Saddam era were the very “seeds” of the massive on going reconstruction effort this country will be undergoing for the rest of your lifetime. I am reminded that it took the U.S. almost 150 years after our “Declaration of Independence” to create a USACE…perhaps Iraq’s “ learning curve” will be shortened because of your efforts and willingness to teach and train Iraqi engineers how to “gedderdun” under these circumstances. One can only imagine what that will be like for them when peace finally comes…

It was indeed an honor for me to be part of it and I thank you and General Strock (a fellow VMI man may I add) all the very best. My family and I will keep you all in our prayers and I will endeavor to support your efforts from afar upon my return. Rest assured, you will one day see “the fruits of your labor” and my children and grandchildren are profoundly thankful.

Good luck to all of you and may God continue to bless us all. Doc