Just because we don't fly outside the wire anymore, doesn't mean we aren't still fighting battles that are just as stressful and just as frustrating. These would be more of the interpersonal and political type...
Realizing that nobody is worried about us...but us. As the Task Force pushes out their hundreds of Soldiers, we discovered that our little band of brothers is nobody's priority. Our 'planned, scheduled, locked in, good-to-go' fly home date....wasn't. Only when we started making scheduling arrangements for customs inspections and transportation to the terminal, did someone discover that there were no flights scheduled on that day...or any mission ID's assigned to move 18 personnel and 6 containers to Korea anywhere on the calendar, for that matter! This late in the game, the next available flight they could (or would) schedule was when? 2 days later, of course. Nevermind that we've been mission complete for a while now, just sitting around in a tent- while I strive to keep the guys focused, optimistic and out of trouble. (When Soldiers are bored- they tend to get creative when looking for entertainment...usually means trouble and paperwork for me....) Since we're on our own, our loyalties have gone to the wayside- so we've energized every alternative, back-door channel we know to try to get the flight scheduled earlier (i.e. Korea chain of command, Inspector General, Congressmen, and spouses- our most powerful lobby). With nothing else to focus on, this has become my defining battle.
We will be here so long that our reservation in this tent will expire....300 Jordanians are moving in, so they are going to move us BACK into our modular housing units. Feels like we're going backwards....pretty soon they're going to ask us to unpack our flight gear and start pulling missions again to cover these guys when they start going on their R&R leave....
My biggest push to get these guys out of here earlier (other than keeping them out of trouble) is their safety. 'Rocket Man' still lobs his rounds at us every other day or so. Those things can land anywhere, at anytime. My blood boiled the other day when a guy, waiting for a ride on a helicopter, standing in front of our TOC had a negligent discharge of his rifle. Only shot himself (chalk up another life saved to SFC Darden- my senior medic and Platoon Sergeant), but if that round had strayed into one of my guys....I was furious. (Yes, I can get quite upset at times...I've even raised my voice before....)
So we can't really relax and unwind yet. Frustrations are still high, and when you pack them all into a tent, with no other outlet, they get themselves worked into quite a tizzy (yes, it's a Scrabble word).
I'm ready to go...need a break. Christmas was a 'somewhat' depressing day, that I may not have recovered from yet. The party/meal was great- but the more they tried to make it seem like Christmas, the more depressing it really was. I think I would have preferred it if it was just another day. I think it was the music. Christmas music is usually what makes Christmas a special time. The live brass ensemble performing in the chow hall seemed to have the opposite effect. I went back to bed and slept a couple hours off the day instead of fighting the emotions.