Short and sweet this week as we are actually PCSing from Nouakchott back home to the U.S., where I will start my congressionally mandated home leave, and the girls resettle into our Texas home. I’ll cover my thoughts on the end of my first tour in another post, but let me just say that it is a really strange feeling getting on an airplane and knowing you won’t be heading back to the place you called home for the last two years.

So many emotions come swelling up to the fore all at once. Happiness for getting our first tour under our belt. Joy to be back with family. Pride for proving we can succeed in this lifestyle in one of the harshest environments on earth. Sadness for leaving behind a great group of Americans and local staff that are doing incredible work everyday. Optimism that my next tour and future tours will be just as good. Fear that this tour might be the peak, and it’s all down hill from here.

All of those things and more. It’s truly the most bittersweet moment I have experienced. It wasn’t the nicest or easiest place to spend two years of my life, but it has easily been the most personally and professionally fulfilling.

Mauritania, you will be fondly missed. -Nick