This is supposed to be the week of "death by powerpoint," which it is thankfully not yet living up to. We have had several briefs, most worthwhile. The most interesting brief was given yesterday by a naval aviator assigned to NMPS to "break it all down for us." He gave us a glimpse into what we will be experiencing both during the Army phase of our training (Fort Lewis, WA for me) as well as downrange. He also provided a hand full of interesting factoids like the various allowances and bonuses we are to receive (I get $3.00 per day for 'incidental expenses' such as shaving cream -- who comes up with this?? -- as well as $100/mo hardship duty pay + $225/mo for hostile fire pay + $250/mo for family separation pay ==> all once in theater, or once "boots on ground." This begins once I am in Kuwait).
Some of his more interesting revelations were about what not to do: "Just before returning home DO NOT send any of your personal effects without notifying someone. Guess what what mom thinks when she gets Seaman Johnnie's cd collection in the mail?" (she thinks he was KIA'd, when he was just lightening his load for the trip home). "Do not go busting down doors and throwing lead, even if you ARE the world's most motivated Navy corpsman! That's NOT your job and you are NOT trained to do that job! It can lead to very bad things..." Here's another TO DO: "Make sure you update your wills and your page 2's (the part of your record which delineates your dependents and next of kin). Guess what would happen if something unfortunate were to happen and you didn't come home, and your EX-WIFE's name is still on your page 2?! She gets your life insurance!" This got a big moan. He was very entertaining, but serious. He let us know that he mentioned all these scenarios because they had happened before. It stuck, for sure.
You learn these interesting buzz phrases as well - my new parlance, like "boots on ground." I apparently am a "ripped to fill" augmentee, i.e. an active duty asset "ripped" from my command to fill a deploying billet - sounds Schwarzneggian. That as opposed to GSA which is a Gulf War on Terror Augmentee (what happened to the "s"?), which is an active duty person rotating between duty stations who has volunteered to go downrange to effect the billet of his/her choice once completed. And there are also reservists called to serve from their civilian jobs. There are 136 of us in this group. A small handful are going to Haiti and the vast majority of the others to Kandahar or the local area surrounding it. We are all going to support the mission of the warfighters on the ground, the Army and Marine Corps assets. From what I can tell, many of the 140 that went through last week were going to missions in Haiti, which is why I and my colleagues were delayed by a week.
In addition to the briefs we were also fitted for camouflage attire yesterday. We get two different types: green digital cammies and brown desert cammies. Also, boots, cool Crocodile Dundee style hats, two pairs of sweats, socks, tee shirts, etc. All Free! Well, not exactly free - there is the time spent downrange aspect...Today we spent the better part of the day getting checked out by the medical staff. Never mind that I spent many hours doing the same thing at Bethesda Naval hospital, to include a full dental check up, PPD placement, small pox and anthrax vaccinations, and so on. But not all commands are like Bethesda: I heard some folks in the Soviet era-style lines we had to wait in today say that some people they had seen downrange on previous deployments had arrived on blood thinners (not smart in a combat environment) or asking for their kidney transplant immune suppression medications (!!). That's not good, trust me. I passed medical - this time. (that's a big deal because there are numerous stories of people who have gotten this far and for whatever reason not been allowed to advance -- that would be maddening from my perspective, not only because you are mentally prepared to go NOW, but also because one of your peers who is not mentally ready to go now will be going now). I say "this time" because apparently the first 3 days of our next Army training is devoted to medical check in. Heavy sigh. So far so good, though.
you write so great. i want to be like you when I grow up. someday ill reach your achievements and be better than you. i had my mama saw your blog and we cried for days because they are so proud that i read such emotional and scintillating blog.
ReplyDeleteMy dentist in Moncks Corner keeps on telling me stories about his father who had served as dental assistant in an overseas Naval command center. It was where he grew up, decades before he became a full-blown and acclaimed Hanahan dentist. I do not have a deep niche in your career, but, for one big thing, a reason maybe, I cling into your blog posts as if I were and am a part of it. So please, just keep on writing and writing, and I’ll do my part: I’ll read and continue to share it.
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