Instead of PT, we were on parade at 0515. At 0530, the flag rose to the sounds of reveille, then it dipped, and then lowered to half mast. A few poems, a letter from a daughter who'll never see her father, then taps.
A missing man formation of combat jets flew overhead just as the last bars of taps played out ... a simple but awesome ceremony to remember the deadly duty we do.

A moment of silence.
Then to chow, and back to another day in the Gulf.

Brian