This blog as a thermometer

I thought that when I returned to the United States that I would be free to talk about everything I did and everything going on around me in the Army. I am not. I can't tell you what is happening in the battalion formerly known as the proud 1-503D INF. REGT. I can tell you I am sad.
My battalion has always had a reputation for wildness but certain things that have occurred since we returned have crossed the line. Behavior that was acceptable or even expected in Korea just doesn't fly in the United States. I've always said that people in the battalion where going to have trouble adjusting to be in a regular unit after being in Korea and Iraq, and I was right.
I can't talk about what is happening, but not because of OPSEC. I can tell you that this blog is most useful to the military families at home as a thermometer - as an indirect measure of unit morale. When posts are few and far between, and generally negative in character, overall morale is probably low. When I can write freely and openly about events in the unit, business is good. When post are few and far between and maybe a little confused, morale is very good - I've been out partying too much to post to the blog.
On a happier note, I have a tidbit of information to dribble out to certain interested parties. Stop-loss orders, unless I am grossly mistaken (which has happened more than once), only come down ninety days before a deployment or deployment availability. Regular readers of military newspapers have a good idea of when 2BCT, 2ID is available for deployment. If your soldier is hoping to separate from the Army or move to another unit it should be a simple matter to count back the days and decide whether stop-loss orders are likely to interfere. I, for one, have nothing to worry about (I get out of the Army May 6th). My life became much easier when I realized that I could stop listening to the rumors about stop-loss and plan for the future.