Valentine's Day

"More than yesterday, less than tomorrow, I love you today" - Unknown at this time.

"When you don't know if there'll be a tomorrow, today is the only one that matters" - Red Dog, Hawkeye 3-1 RTO

"Love is like a river, never ending as it flows, but growing deeper with time" - Unknown

Author’s Warning: This post contains references to actions which may or may not be in violation of General Order #1 as it applies to US service members. The author offers no apologies to any Fobbits which may be offended. We're truckers and soldiers, not saints.

Valentine’s Day. Back home in the States there is undoubtedly many a plan for a romantic evening being made. These may include candle lit dinners followed by a quiet night at home by the fire while sipping a fine red wine. They may include dinner at a restaurant followed by a night out at a movie. No doubt a large number of roses will be purchased and given in the spirit of the holiday. For the really lucky guys various tools will be given as a sign of love and thoughtfulness (Please note: the guys will be lucky because they will be giving the tools to their gals).

Here in theatre, and I’m sure in parts of the Afghanistan theatre as well, it is not so easy to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Granted some of the AAFES (Post Exchange) locations in the rear have the token silk roses, teddy bears, candy hearts, and other clichéd items. Maybe some desk jockey will be able to give something to someone and no one will notice or care. From what I have observed admin types can do that sort of thing and get away with it. This post however is about how the rest of us celebrate the holiday.

Myself, I have the deepest of sympathy for married couples this time of year. I can only imagine how it must feel to be over a thousand miles away from your spouse/significant other on a day where togetherness is so closely focused on. I think just as bad, possibly even worse, is the couples that are deployed together. Many of them are spending the holiday separated by mission requirements. It is hard enough being separated, but knowing that your other half is in Harm’s way must be torture.

Even if both parts of the couple are together there are still regulations and restrictions on what they can do together. The military is only now realizing that letting married couples have time together is beneficial to the morale and welfare of not only the couple, but ultimately the entire unit. Here on Camp Arifjan, and other bases from what I have read in Army Times, there is actually housing for married couples to live in. While this is good for couples that are able to take advantage of it, from how things were explained to us the requirements for the housing are rather unrealistic for a transportation unit.

Then there are those who bend the rules as much as possible. Depending on how they go about things determines what, if any, punishment is to be given. Despite the military’s stance on things, from what I have observed most commanders understand their troops are only human after all. I’m not saying troops are allowed to get away with breaking the rules, only that the situation dictates any course of action to be taken.

That being said, I’ve seen a few examples of romance here in theatre lately. One soldier revealed a rather impressive mastery of poetry for someone he was sweet on. Another purchased a hand-carved box at the local bazaar, placed a complete spa package gift certificate in it, and topped it off with seven songs that always remind him of his gal on a red memory stick. Then there was the soldier who had a silk rose sent over from home, placed it in the arms of a small Valentine teddy bear from the PX, and around the bear’s neck hung a necklace with a custom made pendant of something that was special to the gal he gave it to. Finally there is the soldier who gathered pictures he had of his wife, put them to a romantic song, and made a video he then sent her.

Ever since Camp Dodge there have been rumors of couples within the unit. Some were true, some false, and some actually caused people to think about the situation and end up being a couple. I can safely say that to my knowledge, none of the unmarried couples violate GO #1. From the couples I have talked to, both married and unmarried, over half the ones that first got together on a deployment have gotten married and doing well, or in the least still together and doing well.

So in closing, even though we are soldiers and deployed Romance is not lost to us. I have heard it said that “Love finds a way.” To my knowledge this is still true.

Everyone be safe, and I hope Love finds us all at some point.

~~~


(Photo of a rose I sent to a rather special bartender back in November.)