What's deployment like?

1. Use 18 scoops of coffee per pot and allow it to sit for five or six hours before drinking.
   
2. Replace your garage door with a curtain.
   
3. Sleep on a cot in the garage.
   
4. Two hours after you've fallen asleep, have someone rip open the curtain, shine a flashlight in your eyes, and mumble, "Sorry, wrong cot".
   
5. Spread gravel throughout your house and yard.
   
6. Don't watch TV except for movies in the middle of the night. Have your family vote on which movie to watch and then show a different one.
   
7. When you take a shower, wear flip-flops and keep the lights off.
   
8. Sandbag the floor of your car to protect from mine blasts and fragmentation.
   
9. Have the paperboy give you a haircut.
   
10. Set your alarm clock to go off at random times during the night.
    

From http://www.armywives.com

I haven't been deployed to a combat zone but I did spend a bit of time on exercises and based on my experiences this is dead on.