Deployment Cost Me My Job

I have previously written that I got new job duties upon my return from active duty. The job was explained to me to be a promotion, and I got a small raise, so I wasn't greatly upset. I do miss the old job and don't like the new one as well.

Also, I had asked for the new duties. I had wanted them as extra duties to the job I held when I left. However, as it turned out, I lost the old duties and just got the new ones. I thought the change had occurred because of my request.

Over the three months I've been back at work, I've heard a few comments and learned some things that made me wonder. I had kind of an epiphany today and realized that my request had nothing to do with the change. I can't go into much detail because folks at work read this blog, but I'm comfortable with my conclusion.

Anyway, another casualty of war. A minor one in many ways, but one that changed my life and career, forever. Still, I don't have to share my office with this critter as I did in Kirkuk, so life is still better now.

1945 vs. 2005

I got the following in a email, but thought it is worth sharing. Hat Tip to 1SG J.B. Head for sending it to me.

1945 - NCO'S had a typewriter on their desks for doing daily reports.
2005- Everyone has an Internet access computer, and they wonder why no work is getting done.

1945 - We painted pictures of girls on airplanes to remind us of home.
2005 - Do it now and see what happens

1945 - If you got drunk off duty your buddies would take you back to the dorms to sleep it off.
2005 - If you get drunk they slap you in rehab and ruin your career.

1945 - You were taught to aim at your enemy and shoot him.
2005 - You spray 500 bullets into the brush, don't hit anything, and retreat because you're out of ammo.

1945 - Canteens were made of steel, and you could heat coffee or hot chocolate in them.
2005 - Canteens are made of plastic, you can't heat anything in them, and they always taste like plastic.

1945 - They collected enemy intelligence and analyzed it.
2005 - They collect your pee and analyze it.

1945 - If you didn't act right, the First Sergeant put you in the brig until you straightened up.
2005 - If you don't act right, they start a paper trail that follows you forever.

1945 - Medals were awarded to heroes who saved lives at the risk of their own.
2005 - Medals are awarded to people who work at headquarters.

1945 - You slept in barracks like a soldier.
2005 - You sleep in a dormitory like a college kid.

1945 - You ate in a mess hall, which was free, and you could have all the food you wanted.
2005 - You eat in a dining facility, every slice of bread or pad of butter costs, and you better not take too much.

1945 - We defeated powerful countries like Germany and Japan.
2005 - We fight ideological wars with no specific enemies like the war on drugs and the war on terrorism, with no victory in sight.

1945 - If you wanted beer and conversation you went to the NCO or Officer's Club.
2005 - The beer will cost you $3.50, membership is forced, and someone is watching how much you drink.

1945 - The Exchange had bargains for soldiers who didn't make much money.
2005 - You can get better and cheaper merchandise at Wal-Mart and K-Mart.

1945 - We called the enemy names like "Krauts" and "Japs" because we didn't like them.
2005 - We call the enemy the "opposing force" or "aggressor" because we don't want to offend them.

1945 - Wars were planned and run by generals with lots of important victories.
2005 - Wars are planned by politicians with lots of equivocating.

1945 - All you could think about was getting out and becoming a civilian, again.
2005 - All you can think about is getting out and becoming a civilian, again.

Stop using our troops to score cheap political points

I was reading an article about the towns in Wisconsin that voted to bring home the troops. The AP article written by Emily Fredrix contained the following:
"The morale of soldiers - and their safety - could dip when they hear about such referendums passing, said Bill Richardson, treasurer of Vote No To Cut And Run, a group that opposed the measures.
"It's a political statement and it's hurting people and it could cost lives," said Richardson, 63, a one-time bandmaster in the Wisconsin Army National Guard."

I'll tell you, I am so sick of people speaking for "the soldiers" in Iraq. It's just stupid on its face. "The soldiers" are just like Americans everywhere. They differ and have different experiences and opinions.

Sure, some soldiers may get bummed out that the folks back home don't support the war. Others will probably get excited that there is a chance they'll get out of there early, or not have to go back. I just returned from an 18 month deployment, 11 of which were in Iraq, and I'm still a member of the National Guard. I think most soldiers, being educated and on the whole pretty intelligent, will realize the votes are just politics and not likely to translate to anything meaningful in their lives.

Anytime a person speaks for "the soldiers" as a group the person is just trying to use the soldiers as an excuse to promote his or her own viewpoint. I think it is exploiting our troops, and I'm sick of hypocrites who say they support the troops using them for cheap political purposes.

A simple thing

I have been unpacking my stuff that just arrived from Iraq. I had a large molded-plastic foot locker packed with various and sundry items; books, another pair of boots, posters, 4-cup coffee pot, DVDs, shampoo, batteries, etc. Stuff that I didn't really want to toss out, but stuff that I could live without. The foot locker, once so important to me, is now stored ignominiously outside in the rain with the hoses.

In preparation to come home, in September we packed some boxes and foot lockers , stashed them in a CONEX and locked it up. While in Iraq I had received packages in the mail (Yes!) and used these mailing boxes to consolidate items that went into the foot locker that went into the CONEX. As I unpacked today, I emptied the mailing boxes and tossed them into my garbage can.

As I unpacked I recalled the many mailing boxes I discarded while I was in Iraq. The difference was that in Iraq I stripped off any names and addresses on the boxes before tossing them. We didn't want the bad guys to get our names and ranks, and especially didn't want them getting the return addresses. In one round up of insurgents, the soldiers recovered a stack of magazines which still carried the mailing labels showing names and addresses. Many of them were sent to the soldier's home in the states and then forwarded to the FOB, thus showing soldier's home address. We worried that the family back home could be targeted by the knuckleheads.

Here I didn't worry about the names on the packages. A tiny but telling freedom that we all enjoy.

Jumpy at home

I've been home for about five months, and I'm adjusting, though more slowly than I thought. I sat in the conference room at work last week. Just outside the room was a door the closed automatically, and closed pretty firmly.

Each time it shut, which was every couple of minutes or so, it would bang, and I would jump. After a few minutes I was feeling kind of woozy and my heart was hammering away. I almost left the room. I was not able to concentrate on the meeting I was attending.

I was not a jumpy person before Iraq, but I sure am now.

***

Some of our equipment has begun to arrive. Half of my stuff was unloaded last weekend, and hopefully the other half will arrive and can be unloaded next drill.

***

Went to yet another change of command ceremony on Sunday. The incoming commander told me that his chief priority is recruiting. Not training, recruiting. Big Army is talking about doing away with at least one Guard Brigade, and key factor will be personnel strength. Of the five under discussion, ours most recently came off deployment and is reorganizing, so our strength percentage is the lowest of the group. The losing brigade will be broken up and assigned out, piecemeal, to other units. Also, a good many jobs, both full-time and weekend, will disappear.



The first picture is of burning oil wells.



The second picture is also of burning oil wells.



The last picture is of an oil well being put out. Note the water being sprayed on the fire, and the white smoke.

More artwork

Sorry about the hiatus from posting; took my daughter to a couple of colleges to see if she'd like to go there in the fall.

More pix of military artwork. If you should happen to want a high res copy for some reason, drop me a line and I'll be happy to send one or more to you. I'm still struggling with the photo ability of blogger, so they don't look as organized as I'd like, but I'm working on that.

BTW, some of our CONEX's got here, but not all of them. Most of my neat stuff is still in transit. The stuff I had to send early, that I thought I'd do without, is here. The important stuff, like my TV, that I sent later is still in transit.

And, a pre-emptive apology; I may accidently upload an image more than once; sorry.