Why I'm at Camp Shelby

This morning, I was admittedly a little frustrated at my current boredom, having to walk everywhere, and the prospect of potentially having very little to do for a while. Call it my own little pity-party. So this afternoon I decided to spend some extra time on PT (physical training- i.e., working out). I went to the gym, lifted weights, ran on the treadmill, and then decided to go shoot baskets. I was the only one in the gym, and shot for a few minutes, and then went over to examine a large flag that is hanging in the gym. It brought me to the verge of tears, and reminded me of why I'm in the Army, and why I'm at Camp Shelby right now. The flag is a giant (2-3 story) flag, made from around 3000 smaller flags. Each of the small American flags bears the name of one of the victims from 9-11. Along with these American flags are the flags of each nation that lost someone on 9-11 (over 80 nations). Maybe of the flags have messages of condolences as well as encouragement for the US. I have posted some pictures in detail on the web, and you can find them by clicking here. (If that doesn't work, the web address is: www.magnell.info/flag)

The flag made me proud of what we're doing over in the mideast. While nothing we do is perfect, I firmly believe that this world will be blessed if we can see this whole thing through, and help to foster the fledgling democracies in that part of the world.