I’m rushed so I can’t think of a title: Journal 10/07/06

Posted by Ms. Babble
October 7, 2006

Damn the Air Force!  Grrr!  (Shaking fist manically.) 

 

My unit is delayed in getting to Kuwait.  Of course I don’t really know the details, but there was some sort of clerical error in getting my unit on a flight outa here.  Since I can’t blame anyone in particular, I’m just gonna point a finger at the Air Force.  Any branch that only deploys for 4 months at a time, doesn’t carry a weapon, and has very relaxed uniform standards (like females wearing their hair down to their asses) deserves a little blame I think.

 

We’re all nervous that our return date to Chicago is going to be pushed back.  It seems like our current flight issues have the potential of causing a domino effect on all the other flights too.  If we’re late getting to Kuwait, then we may miss the flight to Wisconsin and have to wait for another one to open up.  It’s all too irritating to think about.  Everything is completely out of my control which makes it all the more infuriating. 

 

Today we had a ceremony marking the official beginning of the new unit’s duties (and the official end of our responsibilities).  Ironically enough, I had to stand in the new unit’s formation because they didn’t have enough people to fill their ranks.  (Half their unit was busy running the show… life can’t stop because of a stupid military ceremony.)  I joked that I hoped it wasn’t some sort of omen.  A few of the people in the new unit became fond of me during their training week.  One of them said that he would be sending me a return ticket so that I could come work for them during their deployment.  As I was standing in formation with his unit for the ceremony, it felt far too real. 

 

Afterwards, our battalion Sergeant Major said a few words to us.  Some of us have had a really hard time with this guy for the last year.  He’s one of the toughest and scariest S.O.B’s I’ve ever met.  (Imagine a Hispanic Mr. T.)  He came into the command with preconceived ideas of the National Guard.  He was particularly hard on us from the moment we met him in Kuwait solely based on our branch of service.  (He will openly admit to this.)   So, I was really curious to hear what he had to say to my unit during our final moments in Iraq.

 

He told us that he was very worried when he found out we were a National Guard unit.  He didn’t think a Guard unit could handle such a daunting task.  But he said that now that our mission is complete, he had never been so impressed.  He realized that not only are we all soldiers, but we also have full time jobs back in the states.  We have college degrees, children, and professions.  We have a completely other dimension  to our lives that most full time soldiers don’t have.  And because of that, it made us much more flexible and knowledgeable in our life in Iraq. 

 

Military mumbo jumbo aside, it really honored me that he could admit he was wrong. 

 

The National Guard has had a lot of problems out here in Iraq with being discriminated against by the full time Army.  As cheesy as it sounds, it really impressed me that at least one active Army Command Sergeant Major had his mind changed.

 

So now we all wait.  It could be a week before we can all get into Kuwait.  We’ve been officially evicted from our old company area and forbidden to return for fear we’ll just get in the way of the new unit.  I’ve just been wandering around in circles.  It’s an unusual feeling to have no purpose.

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