Active Duty----Mission TBD

So hear I am, on active duty once again.  It is my first tour of duty I've been on under the provisions of Title 10, U.S. Code, since 2008.  Officially my Commander in Chief is President Obama now.  It was George Bush the last time.  You can guess who I am happier to serve.  Now about the mission I'm on.  There are a lot of unanswered questions at the moment.  There is a serious question about what I will be doing and where I will be going and how long I will be gone.  I just got back from a deployment ceremony but that could be just for show for most of us.  Right now I know only one thing for sure.  I am in Syracuse NY.  Day after tomorrow, I should be on a plane  bound for Camp Shelby, Missisppi.  After that?  Who the f--k knows.  Kuwait, Afghanistan, Bunfuck Egypt, or back to Albany.  I am ready and willing to do whatever they need me to do.  I will try to keep you posted...but for now, I am just doing this crazy Army thing.  You all should sleep better knowing that I am on my post.

Last week of Civilian Life

Well it looks like this thing is happening.  Although there is still a lot of uncertainty.  But I am use to uncertainty when it comes to the Army.  As of this moment, I will be reporting to Syracuse one week from today, be there for a few days and then fly to Mississippi (wow, I can spell that) and then start my training for (insert secret location here).  Or I could get there and they say...thank you for coming now go home soldier.  You see, in case you haven't heard peace is breaking out all over!!!!  Troops have left Iraq, some are leaving Afghanistan soon, and Kuwait is getting over-crowded.  So, there is a possibility that this trip won't pan out the way the other one did.  But if it does, well then I am ok with it.  I have a nice life and a tremendous job.  So if Uncle Sam says they don't need me I will go back to being a veteran again and wait for the next war to come around.  Ha ha.  I was being sarcastic earlier, peace is not breaking out all over.  No actually, the problem is that we can't afford war anymore.  A trillion here, a trillion there...before you know it you're  talking about real money.  And we don't have it anymore unless we borrow it from the Chinese.  On another note, I was excited to see that someone was reading my blog besides me.  My big bro, John.  Thanks John for giving me more reasons to write.  I want to plan a trip to Florida when I get back, so hang in there, I'll need a place to stay.  So this week I have a lot to do of course, including packing and making final arrangements at work.  Work will be busy.  I plan on working until Wednesday and than taking the next two days to finish getting ready.  Have a great day everyone.

Short timer blues: Pre-deployment Thoughts

Two weeks from now I'll be in Syracuse NY with my new unit waiting to fly down to Camp Shelby, Miss., for the beginning of deployment training prior to heading to the sand box some time in early spring.  I feel really strange.  At work, everyone is acting as if I am already gone.  Ha ha.  I think my boss is worried but I keep trying to reassure him that everything will work out.  I have about 7 working days until I go, so there is a lot of wrapping up to do.  I will miss my co-workers a lot.  They are a crazy but very dedicated bunch.  It has been an honor to work with each and everyone of them.  I have  not told my family that I am going yet.   The last couple of days I have been getting in touch with my friends and slowly spreading the word.  Back in 2006, I let everyone know as soon as I first was alerted, but if you read my blog from back then you will see that I had several going away parties because the Army kept delaying my departure to Fort Hood.  Ha ha.  Unlike then though, I actually have mobilization orders so my departure is more of a sure thing.  I guess I need to do give my family a call soon.  I don't want them to be surprised to find out I left the country without telling them.  My life seems to be in limbo again.  I hate the way that makes me feel.  My friends who I have told can't believe I'm going.  My old friend Lou kept saying to me "You're  old!...why are they taking you?"  He didn't mean anything about it, but like most of my friends he couldn't imagine do anything this crazy.  I will not be a civilian 12 days from now.  I will be a active duty soldier again.  For me, the fourth time in my life that has happened.  But for the next 11 days, I will try hard to be a good civilian.  T and the dogs are getting ready to send me off.  For us all, it will be a long year.  But, hopefully it will go fast.  Next year this time, I hope to be back here getting ready to go on a vacation.  Good night my peeps.

How you feeling Soldier? Good enough!

Almost six years ago I took my then 41 year old body down to the Federal Office Building in downtown Albany and took a physical in order to qualify for the Army.  I was with of group of about 30, 18 to 24 year olds who were trying to do the same thing.  First was the blood pressure---which came back a bit high--but the guy gave it a second time and it was better.  Next came my height weight.  My max weight allowance that day was 177 pounds...and I had starved and exercise myself nearly to death just to get down to that weight.  I stepped on the scale and the scale read....177!  There was a vision and a hearing test and those all went well then came the ultimate physical test for me...the infamous duck walk test.  There I was --in my underware--with 30 young bodies--trying in vain to do this damn duck walk.  The kids--they did just fine.  But me, I couldn't figure the thing out.  The guy running the show asked me to do it over and over.  "You are not making it if you can't do the duck walk!", he shouted.  All eyes were on me as I was doing it...or trying to do it.  Very humbling and embarrassing.  "God," I thought, "I lost all this weight and worked so hard just to get here and fail because of some stupid fucking DUCK WALK!!!"  Finally, I did a very half assed attempt and the guy got frustrated and said he hoped I wasn't going infantry and he let me through.  Whew!  After that some 90 year old doctor stuck a cold finger up my butt to cap the day off--which somehow seemed less uncomfortably and embarrassing than the duck walk incident.  Fast forward to today.  Today was my final SRP--soldier readiness processing--before my deployment later this month.  I always hate getting physicals or going to the doctor.  I always think their gonna find a tumor or something.  But today--it was easy.  Blood pressure good...vision good...hearing good...overweight yes but all and all...fully deployable.  So now, there is nothing holding me back.  I have less than three weeks of civilian life left.  Then its goodbye Albany and hello Camp Shelby Mississippi.  Than it's on to the Sandbox!