An Open Letter Thank You to BT (sorta long)

Dear BT,
  This is probably one of the last reliable times I'll be able to get on the internet for a few days because I'm going to be traveling.  I am an Army Officer and I'll be traveling from Baghdad, Iraq back to Killeen, TX after my 15 month deployment.  The reason I'm writing this is to say a HUGE THANK YOU to BT--meaning the people on BT.  About 4 months ago, one of my best friends was about to redeploy from here and she was telling me that I should get involved in triathlons.  I'd been training to do a marathon upon my redeployment, and she wanted me to do more.  I was unsure, I mean, triathlons, really...but I thought I'd check it out.  That's when I found BT.  That's when I became 100% convinced that this would become my new hobby and I started changing up my training here to be more conducive to setting me up for triathlon success upon return to the states. I lurked on here for a few days, and then decided, heck, I want to log, I want to keep track of my progress. Little did I know it'd probably change my life as far as fitness and a personal sport/hobby.
  Also, little did I know about inspires or all the different forums.  Within just a few days I had people inspiring me, offering advice, offering to send me things for training, you name it!  I couldn't believe the support, the friendships, the advice, the humor in places like CoJ, some incredibly intellectual conversations (yes, CoJ has these too) that remained within the bounds of professionalism, and the overwhelming support for me as a Soldier.  It was completely unexpected, but it was such a blessing! 
  The time I've been on BT has roughly been the time I was extended past my original deployment to the 15 months.  Training (and sticking to it cause y'all were watching! haha), sending Inspires back and forth, soaking in everything I can on tri's, learning the tri "lingo," and seeing some of the amazing events and obstacles many of you have tackled (Ironmans, Triple Ironmans, Marathon Maniacs, personal trials and tribulations) has truly been inspiring to me.  When my friend told me last summer that she had planned on doing an IM, I told her she was crazy. I told her she was crazy for doing marathons.  Now I've jumped on the crazy bandwagon, and proudly so!
  I could say a lot more, but the big thing I want to say is THANK YOU for your support.  This letter is not to bring attention to "oh, I was deployed yada yada" because that is part of what I do for this time in my life...it truly is to say THANKS for what you guys, this community (from creators to participants it is more than merely a "site" have done to help me sanely get through these past 3 1/2 months.  I'm faster, I'm stronger, I'm confident, and I am THRILLED at the chance of getting to, not just participate in a great new sport for me, but more importantly get to participate stateside in the BT Family.
 So again, thank you.  I'm gonna be scarce here for a bit...but expect to see all sorts of "look what I just bought" or "check out the scrapes from learning this new bike" posts from me when I get back to TX and can use some of this extra deployment savings to launch this new hobby! Y'all are great, God bless, and just let me have this chance to say thank you back.
From Baghdad, one last time,
Brittany