Pssstt...since you are a fellow Rocketeer, I'll let you in on a secret...

[Viperfixr]

I've been deployed to the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, for the last (almost) 13 months. Some of you, like those in the ICBM Orangeburg and Tripoli Vegas clubs, know my Rocket Buddy and youngest daughter, Lauren. She and I have gone to launches together since 2008, and she plans to get her NAR Jr. L1 this summer with a Wildman Vindicator. While rocketry has been loads of fun for me, something that I truly love, it's also been the most wonderful bonding experience between Lauren and I. I wrote an article on Rocketry Planet about it a couple of years ago, which is attached below.

Over two years ago, Lauren saw a few warrior return videos on YouTube and asked that if I was ever deployed again for a long period of time that I would surprise her when I got home. I asked her if she was sure, and she said she was. Not long after she said that, I got the first indications that I would be gone for a year, and she's long forgotten the conversation. I have not. And, BTW, she does not read TRF.

I left home on 26 April 2012 and missed her birthday last May when she became a teenager. A couple of months ago, I announced to the family that I would be home on 2 June 2013. Lauren was very disappointed that I would be missing her second, consecutive birthday (14th). She said her peace, then got over it as a true, brave military 'brat'. She's currently planning for my 2 June return and developing a schedule for every minute of my day on 3 June--where we go and what we do--her plan. There's just one problem, sort of.

Lauren doesn't know the truth that the rest of the family knows. I will actually be home on her 14th birthday, 26 May. While we tried to work with some local Vegas shows to drum up a big surprise for her, there was little interest in it. That's fine, as I was not totally comfortable with a public show for what's really a personal event (you all are different). So, we plan to keep it simple. Lauren will have her friends over to the house on the evening of the 26th, and my wife will order pizza for the birthday party. A friend will pick me up at the airport around 7pm, drive me to pick up pizza and take me home to deliver it. I'll ring the doorbell as the pizza deliver guy and Lauren will be sent to answer the door...surprise!

If there is interest, I will keep you all posted on how it goes. As I write this, I am in my house in Islamabad and three days away from getting on an airplane. The excitement of going home is so palpable that I can barely contain it. Three days and counting...

View attachment RP Return to Rocketry Article.pdf

 

[troj]

Fun!

 

[JRL303]

What a cool thing to do! I for one would love to hear how this goes. And thank you for your service!
Jim

 

[Peartree]

Awesome! Be sure someone has a hidden video camera somewhere... I know I'm not the only one who would love to see this.

 

[WillMarchant]

Cool! Just don't let her drop the pizza!

 

[Leo]

Great!

PS: Mark, are you related to Art Rose?

 

[TALON]

By all means I want to see the result, hope for a video! Thank you for your service, and a big thank you to your family. The family does not get enough praise for the hardships the have to deal with while our warriors are deployed. Stay safe and CHEXVI!

 

[Onebadhawk]

First, Thank you so much for your service. That statement alone seems so insignificant for you and your family's sacrifices,
but I don't know what else to say.
Second, forget the pizza, it's gone, the best you can hope for, is it doesn't go all over you.
Third, please, have your wife or anyone have a video camera in their hand when she opens the door.

Thank you, sincerely,,,
Teddy

 

[dlazarus6660]

Yes, Welcome home and Thank You for your service.
Be sure to leave the pizza in the car and deliver an empty pizza box or two.
A please, video is a must with a full report when you have time!
Did I say Welcome Home?

 

[GregGleason]

VERY cool plan!

Maybe a keychain cam in one of the boxes to see her expression?

Greg

 

[powderburner]

Be extra careful for the next few days!

And thankyou for your service

Good luck on your "secret mission"!

 

[skybuster]

Welcome home, and thank you for your service! Sounds like a great plan and a good suprise for Lauren's birthday

 

[Salvage-1]

Excellent idea!!! Can I throw in an amendment that may save the pizza? Get the guy to deliver at the door, whilst you are hidden slightly out of sight. When the pizza goes into the house and the door closes, you scoot to the door and then ring / knock, get someone else to answer it, and when the door opens, you say in a loud voice "That was a real lousy tip, dont I deserve more than that?" and wait for the house (daughter) to explode!!

Keep safe! Enjoy your family on your return!

 

[Zeus-cat]

By all means we want to know what happens. Thank you for your service.

 

[hornet driver]

What a great plan---by the way --WELCOME HOME!! in advance---H

 

[Creeps]

If there is interest, I will keep you all posted on how it goes.

Yes Please.

 

[ArthurSull]

Aw this is so sweet. I hope it goes well!

 

[Viperfixr]

First and foremost, thank you to you all for the many positive comments--much appreciated. As hard as the past year may have been on me, it was much worse for my wife, dealing with two, teenage daughters, a house move, broken down cars, sick dogs, an ailing Father and probably many more things I never heard about, all by herself. While I am a trained volunteer with 26 years of experience behind me, the families often get the short end of the goodness, staying at home and dealing with 'real life' without help. And, my kids never got a vote to accept this lifestyle or not. I honestly feel that my wife and two daughters are better than I deserve and stronger than I ever gave them credit for--a true Powerball 'win' in Life's lottery. I am very lucky & blessed that they put up with me and this life. You (fellow) US taxpayers ensure I get a nice paycheck each month, which is all the thanks I need.

So, that's a long way of saying to please let the thanks and well wishes go to the military families, especially those enduring without their loved one in uniform.

Now, on to the plan...my oldest daughter, Alyssa, will go with my friend to the airport on some excuse like a Dance class or something. She will bring with her an HD camcorder and be standing off to the side when the door opens. I'll be quickly passing off the pizzas to my gracious friend (must be a friend to come get my butt on Sunday night) before the Lauren Missile impacts me. I get Verklempt just thinking about it...

Lauren and I luckily have a lot of garage building and playa flying time coming. She's so excited to build her Vindicator and try for her NAR Junior L1. I've got an Aerotech H170M waiting in the wings for her cert attempt either in July or August (she loves sparky motors). And, as anyone in Tripoli Vegas knows, Lauren has the absolute best flying luck/skill of anyone there, certainly more than her Dad! Her flight attempts almost *always* work. We've also got a few other projects to keep us busy--a Wildman Blackstar 3" which will become a two-stage project, a 54mm MD scratch we want to exceed 10k and Mach 1 on sugar motors and my Wildman Darkstar Extreme for a potential L3 when I have the time to knock it out. Oh, and we are going to start some EX with sugar motors very soon, just for fun.

Lots of good Daddy/Daughter time coming compliments of rocketry. And, I am so happy that my soon-to-be 14-year old daughter STILL WANTS TO SPEND TIME WITH ME.

BTW: I am not ignoring my oldest daughter in this mix--I actually do not have a favorite between the two. They are both the light in my universe. Alyssa and I hike together whenever we can, plus movies, sushi and whatever else strikes her fancy. Alyssa leaves for Fordham University to study Pre-Med this August :y:.

 

[soxfan121]

Thanks for your service Mark, it's really a small thing to say considering what people like you do for this country but it's all i can really say at the moment. I hope everything goes very well for you and your family, welcome home.

 

[gdiscenza]

OK, you gotta post the vid of that reception!

G.D.

 

[Pantherjon]

Sounds like fun! Would love to see her face as she opens the door!

Safe journey home, Mark!

 

[Screaminhelo]

13 months deployed in the AF? You must have really PO'd somebody! Seriously, WELCOME HOME!!

I want to second Mark's response to those who say a thank you seems inadaquate. A thank you from a complete stranger means more to me than you can imagine. It reminds me that patriotism is still alive in the USA! I won't speak for Mark, but you pay me to play with guns and helicopters at the same time! There is no other place where I could do what I do for a living, I thank y'all for the opportunity!

I love your plan!

Mark, tell Lauren happy birthday for me, then give Alyssa and your wife an extra hug from me. Last of all, let them know that I thank them for their service.

Again, WELCOME HOME ZOOMIE!!

 

[cwbullet]

Mark,

Good to hear your tour came to a close. 13 months is tough. I have done it twice.

 

[Viperfixr]

13 months deployed in the AF? You must have really PO'd somebody!

Almost. While I had deployed several times in the past, all less than 6 months each in duration, until now I have never been away long enough to get "short/remote tour credit", like a 1-year assignment to Korea. I got the "chose or be chosen" phone call from the AF Personnel Center (assignments people) about 18 months ago, so I chose my poison. I *could* have retired since I am past 20 years of service....but I did not 'feel' done yet, not even close. I love wearing this uniform and serving my nation. Plus, there was that last promotion I was hoping for. The hard part was that I had to commit to coming to Paksitan before knowing if I would be promoted or not, and promotion rates plummeted to the lowest levels in decades compliments of the money crisis. I threw my name in the system to come here, very luckily got selected for promotion a few months later and got to 'put it on' while here. Then the icing on the cake--I was selected to command a Group-level unit (Brigade in Army terms) right back at Nellis AFB, so the family didn't even have to move for the post-Pakistan assignment. The bad part is that I will not be able to go to LDRS as a result (again)! So near, but so far...

I wanted to go somewhere I had not been before, doing something new and contributing to the Global War on Terror fight. Coming here satisfied all of those desires and then some. This was my first joint assignment serving alongside my Army, Navy and Marine fellow warriors, which was so much fun, enjoying the various US military cultures. Funny thing is that we are all really so similar. Together, we have done more for Pakistan than any other nation--monetarily, capacity building, regional stability, etc. An editorial in the local paper summed it up nicely yesterday on the eve of the Chinese Premier's visit--Pakistan loves to praise the Chinese in lavish terms, but they receive very little from them. The article went on to list the countries that DO assist Pakistan, and leading the list was unsurprisingly the US, with the next closest nation (The Netherlands) at almost 5 times LESS assistance than the US.

BTW, please don't let this thread degenerate into the relative merits of US assistance to Pakistan, or tangential topics I have nothing to do with (like the so-called drone strikes)--books could be written on these topics. I feel my time here was very well spent and I leave here with a much higher opinion of Pakistan and its military than I came here with. Reciprocally, my opinion on the media had dropped in seeing the spin and bias from afar. I would suggest that you do not believe everything you see in the media, especially when it comes to Afghanistan and Pakistan. It seems to be more about ratings and sensationalism than honest journalism.

Today is a lot of out-processing, enjoying one last gym run, having dinner with my boss and finishing packing. Under 48-hours to departure.

 

[bobkrech]

Have a safe trip home Mark.

Bob

 

[qquake2k]

What a wonderful homecoming this will be!

 

[thomcat00]

Welcome Home! Blessings to all.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

Welcome home! This sounds like such a fun surprise and something your daughter will remember forever. It's amazing the timing is so perfect. Enjoy your time back with your family!

 

[Sailorbill]

From one veteran to another thanks for your service.
As a Vietnam Vet I really wish the appreciation of service to our country had been around when I was on Active duty. I was really happy that it was when as a Reservist I returned from Desert Storm. The country has really come a long way in that respect.
Our oldest (1st SGT Army EOD) is still active duty with five deployments to Iraq under his belt. I will be real happy when he retires.
Mark stay safe and enjoy your reunion.

 

[Eric1]

Welcome back! Look forward flying with you!
Homecoming sounds awesome!!