Seven Things Soldiers Look Forward to after Returning Home from Deployment

Returning to the United States after spending nine months to a year in a combat zone is something only a fraction of Americans can understand. Going back to a civilian life is exclusive to even a smaller group.

A few of our fellow Utah Guardsmen said goodbye to Kandahar last week. They will be touching down in Salt Lake in a few days and melting back into communities across the state.

These Soldiers will make an abrupt change from a regimented military life-- one with everything they need provided for them-- to the life of ordinary Joe.

So what does GI Joe want to eat when he becomes Joe Public back in the states? Compared to the scantness of choices at KAF, the sky is the limit. Here are some of their answers:

• Olive Garden. Yes, you read that right. Sometimes its the consistent simplicity of endless bread sticks, bottomless salads, and the one and only zuppa toscano soup that provides the most comfort. After all, when you're there, you're family!
• Longhorn Steakhouse. Steak was near the top of many lists. Steak isn't rare out here (read that any way you'd like-- overcooked is written in the regulation). We have it every Friday, but to Soldiers just days away from Longhorn or any other American steakhouse, boiled t-bones don't wet the appetite.
• Ruth's Chris. For the Soldier who saved a few bucks and isn't afraid to splurge.
• Buca di Beppo. For families that won't fit in a booth at Olive Garden, or the soldier who can eat as much as a family. 
• Iggy's. The best thing about Iggy's is the bread, the sauce, and the beer.
• Beer. these guys have been dry for a long time, and to the men are already tasting the brew. After a year on the wagon, beer will make a nice addition to anything from zupa toscano and bread sticks to a porterhouse. 
• A home-cooked meal. Any home-cooked meal, according to a young lieutenant whose wife is probably looking forward to making a family dinner for her whole family. Or maybe he will make dinner, giving the new mother a much deserved break after nine months. 

Lack of good steak and beer aside, deployed life is often free of some of the distractions and worries back home. "Sure there's the occasional rocket attack," one of them blithely mentioned, not noticing the oxymoron, "but in a lot of ways, life is care fee."

No longer, Ye Homeward Bound. Here are a few things these returning Soldiers are not looking forward to:

• Taxes. A little secret-- money earned in a combat zone or hazardous duty area is not taxed. It's one of the ways Uncle Sam takes the sting our of being away from home for so long. He's going to start collecting again. 
• Trying to find a job. Job security is part and parcel of serving in the military during war. Back in civilian life there are no guarantees.
• Having to buy food. They joked about habitually walking out of the store with fruit and soda without paying for it, a habit developed at the D-Fac. 
• Having to cook food. A homemade meal might be a comfort of home, but it can quickly become a drudgery. At any forward military base, the food is always available and ready to go. The transition explains many a fast food habit.

But there are some things the Army just can't provide-- little things that most people at home take for granted. These soon-to-be-there Soldiers told us what they are looking forward to the most.

• Watching my little girl start to walk. 
• Watching my baby start to crawl. (His daughter-- his first and only child-- is about five months old).
• Walking on grass bare foot.
• Remodeling the basement bathroom. 
• Doing home repairs. (Another officer said he anticipates a honey-do list about a year in the making).
• Dr. Pepper.
• Changing outfits every day. 

The simple joys of life, made more joyous, courtesy of the U.S. Army.