I remember sitting in my room on May 2, 2011, talking to my parents during our weekly phone conversations.
I was three weeks away from graduation, three months from starting Basic Officer's Leadership Course, and three years from my first and, luckily, only deployment.
It had been a boring weekend: studying for finals, making final preparations for the summer, a few beers with friends, nothing unusual or noteworthy.
It was around 11 PM in New York, a light breeze was blowing through the halls cooling what had been a warm but not sweltering day.
My parents were talking about their flight into Newark, where they were staying in Highland Falls, which car they'd rented, and how excited they were to be at graduation. We went over when and where the commissioning ceremony was going to be, who'd be invited, what they should bring, what they should wear, all the things parents like to talk about when they're trying to hide their excitement.
As I was explaining when and where I would meet them after the ceremony was over, an email hit my inbox. I stopped mid-sentence to read it: "President to Make an Announcement on National Security Matter".
"Turn on the news," I told my parents, "the President is about to make an announcement."
I hung up the phone and listened as President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed.
A loud, continuous cheer could be heard all over campus. Videos of our celebrations hit Facebook almost instantly. A man who'd been "Enemy Number One" for almost half our lives was no longer a threat.
Naively, I thought the war in Afghanistan was over.
I assumed, with the leader of our enemies dead, we would bring everyone home, and that I'd missed my chance to contribute.
Three years later, I boarded a plane in Kuwait headed to Bagram Airfield. For six months I sat behind a desk, resourced missions, and planned the logistics for our flight back.
As our battalion left, a new one came to take our place.
Soon after, a different battalion replaced them.
The wheel kept spinning, service members kept dying, and no one could really say what we were doing there.
For two thirds of my life (my entire adult life), we've been fighting in Afghanistan, most of which was fought after bin Laden was killed. Every six months, generals and politicians would proclaim we'd turned a corner, that we were winning, and soon we could bring everyone home.
And for two thirds of my life, it was all bull shit.
But today, there's a glimmer of hope: the Taliban have signed a preliminary peace deal.
I'm hopeful, though not optimistic, that now we can finally start the process of leaving Afghanistan and start the healing process for so many who need it.
I'm hopeful that we'll stop seeing stories about service members killed in Afghanistan.
I'm hopeful that I won't lose anymore friends for nothing.
Maybe it’s naiveté.
Maybe this is all for show and nothing of substance or worth will come from it.
But I’m still hopeful.
Keep Your Feet Moving