Keep Your Head Down

That is the equivalent of pre-deployment 'Good Luck!!!!!'

I have decided that much like I wouldn't wish Mr. McConaughey "Good luck" before he is about to head out on stage and instead would say "break a leg", people tell me to 'Keep your head down' as their way of wishing me well prior to heading into 'the shit'.  (This deployment euphemism is pretty self-explanatory)

I am not sure what the proper response is to this sentiment, but I must admit I am guilty of firing this line off to my friends and colleagues before they go in to harm's way.

For most people, they tell me to stay safe or be safe or if they know me really well, not do anything stupid.  People in the military usually use the 'watch your six' (meaning keeping an eye on your rear - like six o'clock) particularly if they like to talk about how awesome they are or what kind of cool stuff they have accomplished in the army.  If the person I am talking to has soft spoken about their prior combat experience, then they will always tell me to 'keep my head down' right before we exchange a hug, shake hands or get off the phone.  This goes for junior soldiers I work with now to my grandfather who is a veteran of three separate wars with combat experience ranging from France in 1944 all the way through the Vietnam war. 

There are other movies that don't star Matthew McConaughey that people sometimes quote.(Hard to believe, I know) and I always get a kick out of the 'Office Space' prison reference of 'watch out for your cornhole' - noted, wait for it, shout out warning - thanks Gus Tyler. 

No matter what the sentiment, know that for this soldier, it is appreciated and I will do my best to do all of these things:

Stay safe - this one is somewhat beyond my control given the neighborhood I will call my new home
Don't do anything stupid -  this is always a challenge for me
Good luck - I will take whatever luck, karma, dharma, omens etc. that I can get
Watch your six - shut up douchebag
Watch our for your cornhole - things like that don't happen to people like me
Keep your head down - Roger, Wilco

See you all soon,

Pete