I just finished the last trip with my team before moving to a new job. This team has been most of my life for the past several years, so leaving has been tough. I'm planning on leaving the army at the end of this year. As much as I'm excited to gain back my independence, I'll miss the hell out of this life. It was terrible and amazing in a million different ways. I doubt I'll ever be part of such a tight-knit work team ever again.

The past year has been a wild ride personally. I've been dating an incredible woman for over a year now. Out of that time I've been gone for 8+ months of work trips. I would not recommend long-distance relationships to anyone. While we have a much stronger relationship coming out of the time, it was beyond difficult. While gone I was taking college courses and applying to an early action med school. I ended up making it through interviews before receiving a rejection to the school. Sorry @nowaypablo, it looks like no NYC for me. Between all of this, I took way too much onto my plate. I burned out pretty hard and have had a hard time bringing myself back. I was supposed to have a couple weeks off upon returning home... until our eastern friends felt like being dicks. The little time I have had to decompress since then has been enough to at least somewhat level the bubbles. I'm looking forward to taking a real vacation sometime in the future.