Military Monday!

Yes, this is my bathroom. And yes, I write on my mirror with dry erase marker.

Welp, I am two weeks down on this deployment. I can't really say the exact number of days I have left due to OPSEC. But, let's just say I could pretty much have my own little bundle of joy in the time I have left. Boooo! But, I thought since it's "Military Monday"I would explain some of whats going on with Matthew's deployment. The first thing anyone affiliated with the military has endure is the OPSEC lecture! Sounds fun, right? OPSEC stands for operations secruity. It basically means we can't post any specific dates, locations or important information for the world to see. It's not only in place for spouses and family members to obey, but services members to follow as well.

Sometimes one could hear someone talking about an "OPSEC Nazi". Let me just point out that I am not one. But, OPSEC is only there to ensure the safety of our troops. All it takes is for one person to send a tweet or post a status about specific date and the dam breaks. And by dam breaks I mean; homecomings get moved, communications to your loved ones get cut off, or the worst case loose lips can quite literally sink ships. 

But, how about I share something that I AM allowed to give details on. Starting with some information about the ship Matthew is on.

The USS Iwo Jima is apart of the 24th MEU. MEU stands for the Marine Expeditionary Unit. You can actually look online like here and find a lot of interesting information on the 24th MEU and all the ships apart of it. I am sure there are a lot of different explanations of what they are doing while out to sea. But, what I took from the pre-deployment briefs was that they will sort of be like "first responders". If anything happens they will be prepared to help. Of course they will be doing things on the ship that doesn't include waiting around for action. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean they are waiting for war to break out. They can be there to help in situations like natural disasters. I hope my explanation helped give you some sort of insight especially since I am not an expert on the subject by any means.

I can't thank those who have supported me and Matthew enough. The kind words and gestures have helped more than anyone could possibly know. Please continue sending prayers or good thoughts our way and the whole 24th MEU!

For I am the Lord, your God. Who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you-Isaiah 41:13