Talking R&R...

R&R - two letters that stir my emotions and cause me to glance at a calendar. May of '08 - still a ways off but not too early to start planning as we look forward to seeing Chris...

How about you? What comes to mind for you as you think of your warrior and his/her upcoming period of rest and relaxation?

I was reading some war blogs recently and stumbled across these thoughts on R&R. You can read the entire blog by clicking here.

In preparing soldiers to go home for their leave, the Army really does a good job in making sure they are emotionally ready. Many times, they reinforce things we already know, and help ease us in the transition, even if it is only a few weeks of R&R. Clearly, a lot changes while we’re away. Some soldiers have compared deployments to being in a coma, with a world full of friends and family that grow accustomed to you not being around. People change a lot in a year, and seeing the glimpses of those changes in the span of a few weeks is shocking for some soldiers. I considered taking a vacation to some exotic locale instead...

Interesting and something to consider...

Also, how many days do they get and when does the clock start? Here is the policy...

The new policy, signed into effect by Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness David S. Chu, increases the amount of time for rest and recuperation, commonly known as R & R, given to military personnel deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Periods of leave away from the combat zones have been increased from 15 days to 18 days for those service members who are deployed for 15 month tours. The days away from the Central Command area of operations are charged to each service member's leave account, similar to vacation days for those individuals employed in the private sector.

While the 18 days of rest and recuperation away from the combat zones are counted against a military member's leave account, the days required for travel to and from the area of operations are not charged to military personnel and are not included in the 18 days allowed by the new policy. According to the announcement, a military member's rest and recuperation leave "...begins when the service member arrives at the commercial airport nearest their leave destination." (Source: U.S. DoD Press Release No. 888-07; July 17, 2007)

Here is a video package about 2nd SCR Soldiers expressing what they are looking forward to during their upcoming leave. Produced by Staff Sgt. Jose Colon.

Enjoy the video and your weekend...and feel free to share on how you will be preparing for your warriors R&R...

Chris, it was great to hear from you son. We love you more than words can say and we are praying for you and the entire 2nd SCR team!

Be safe!

v/r,
- Collabman