Pinpoint of light at the end of the tunnel

We have been Boots On Ground for 250 days. We landed in the Combat Zone officially last 29 August when we reached Manas AFB in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan very early in the morning. We are supposed to be out of the CZ No Later Than this coming 29 August, probably sooner. We have also learned the names of our replacements who have just started training for deployment. My Afghan counterpart, Col. Azim, is deputy commander of the hospital and expressed his wish that I stay another year. Nice compliment, but...