Today was bittersweet, as three members of my company left Al Asad for elsewhere. CPT Daphne Sims, the pediatrician who will be on the same freedom flight with me in a couple of weeks, left to take care of some business before she goes. CPT Sims is one of those people who seems to always be happy, and genuinely so. She was fun to have around for the three weeks we had her. We’ll meet again in Kuwait soon.

Also leaving today were SSG Clementina (”Carla”) Cano-Perez, the 5′2 Staff Sergeant who is sort-of the “floor boss” of our clinic, keeping things moving and ensuring quality care is given and received by all. She is one of those rare leaders who is able to get tough with her soldiers when necessary, but also maintains a friendly, professional relationship with all of them. SSG C-P is a truly great medic, and a great Army leader. She has aspirations to go to Physician’s Assistant school, and is one of those self-motivated people who will excel at anything she chooses to do. She is going to an Audie Murphy competition which recognizes outstanding Non-Commissioned Officer, and it won’t surprise me if she comes back with a new medal. Unfortunately, I will not be here when C-P returns, so we said our goodbyes tonight.

Finally, SFC Langer, who is the ranking enlisted soldier in our unit, has also gone to Audie Murphy. SFC Catherine Langer is the strong maternal figure for our clinic, and has kept us on an even keel with her very steady leadership style. I have noted on several occasions when SFC Langer has made sacrifices for her soldiers (including this soldier) which have often gone un-noticed by the recipients of her kindness. She is a sweet and fun person, and is also aspiring to become a Physician’s Assistant, and again would excel at it. For both of these soldiers, I’ll be honored to write a letter of recommendation.

Clinic has been hectic over the first days of this week, but we were blessed today to have electricity throughout the day, with only a few flickers here and there. I was going to take tomorrow off to get some things ready for my impending travels, but with the departure of CPT Sims, I am a lone man in the clinic, so will have to find another day to get my stuff together.

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Got the following e-mail from my Dad today, and it made me smile just to read it, so I thought I would share it here. The kindness toward all living things is very very typical of my goodly parents.

Funniest thing: I mowed the lawn, today and after it was done, I came back to go into the house by the back door and I saw two little birds that appeared to have fallen out of the tree (the one adjacent to the big kitchen window). We had a summer storm last night and perhaps they were blown out of the nest. We looked around and saw the nest high up in the tree. I got my ladder and gently put the birds back in the nest with their bro/sis. While cutting the grass, I think I may have mowed over the top of them both, without injuring them. They may be a bit hard of hearing for a while, though. Mom and dad bird were close by and mom covered the nest a few minutes later. If the little rascals don’t fall out again, they should be ok. Maya might be interested in this little woodland drama since she is our resident omnitologist, loving all things living.