16 posts from January 2008

I am deploying soon.  Not to Iraq, as I had originally been told, though.  The deployment date has been moved up, too.  I am not thrilled with that, though I have calmed down considerably from when I found out Monday afternoon.  I blame that mood on the fact I had been up for nearly 24 hours.  I have accepted it for the most part, but I am still worried about who is going to be watching my fuzzballs while I am gone.

I am hoping the performance reports that I had to do on four of my troops will be closed out and signed by the time I leave.  I signed one today, so that leaves three more to be signed.  The reports keep getting sent back for corrections.  It is really interesting to compare the reports, too, and see which report got away with a certain style of writing, and which got sent back to me.  I am not going to say anything, but it is both amusing, and quite aggravating.

What else?

Well, I have been pulling a lot of patrol lately, for reasons unknown to me.  I am not complaining, but it had been at least four months since the last time I pulled patrol this frequently.

My partner and I busted one idiot for DUI last weekend.  I call this guy an idiot because it will be his fifth alcohol related charge.  Two prior DUIs and two (now three) refusals to submit to the intoxilyzer test (breath test).  This case was the third time I have either witnessed another patrolman terminate, or I have had to terminate the Field Sobriety Tests for safety reasons.  The idiot was swaying so badly during the eye test that he nearly fell over.  The guy was trying to get out of trouble by making my partner's job difficult.  First the guy somehow cut his wrist with the handcuffs and tried to say it was my partner's doing.  When that did not help him out, he got very uncooperative with my partner.  The lead patrolman had to keep going down there and dealing with the guy, because of the attitude the idiot was giving my partner.  Needless to say, I was quite thankful by the time the guy was released.  It should be interesting if he ends up trying to fight that in court.  I will be deployed by the time his court date comes around.

One of my troops was trying for a specific job in our unit.  He called me this morning to inform me he had gotten the job.  I am happy for him.  One thing that is apparent, though, is I will no longer be his supervisor once his annual evaluation closes out.  While I can say he has been one of my better troops, thankfully, I will be glad to have one less person to keep track of and worry about.  Nine will become eight.  I wish him the best as he continues further in his career in the military and especially when he separates later this year.

I had a meeting this morning with the base Trauma Stress Response (TSR) team.  I have been a member off and on since 2006.  The reason I say off and on is because I am not always informed on when training sessions and other meetings take place.  I have gone to the last two briefings, though, so I can say that I am part of the team.  I was amazed at the amount of insight and suggestions I was able to provide the team.  Normally, that does not happen.  I am usually an observer.  Today, I was offering most of the input, it seemed.  It was neat! I offered some insight into what people thought of our efforts when they returned from their deployments in Iraq and Kuwait.  Notification was a key issue.  People in my career field do not like having things dropped in their laps at the last minute.  Another thing I brought up was having a relaxed atmosphere.  It will not be totally relaxed because we talking to these people about stress related issues.  I still suggested having everyone come in civilian clothes.  It emphasizes the point that rank is not a factor.  Since there is a large variety of ranks in the groups we do these briefings for, I also suggested that certain ranks be separated from each other, if for no other reason than to minimize the discomfort of the younger troops.  It was a really good experience for me.  I have not felt this good about a meeting like this in quite some time.  The only problem I foresee is the fact I am deploying soon and my troop will be separating this summer.  We are really the only two representatives from my unit.  That needs to change.  That team needs more of us involved.  It would be in everyone's best interest.

Someone's writing a biography of your life (to date).  What is the best/worst chapter of the book? 
Submitted by Ross.

Well, the biggest part of my adult life has been in the military.  That would be the best and worst chapters of my life depending on what is said in those chapters.  My life has been an interesting roller coaster of events since I joined.  I have known depression, pride, anxiety, fear, happiness, adrenaline rushes, heartbreak, and so much more since I joined.  And I do not regret any of it.  It has made me the person I am today, for better or worse.  I cannot say which of those I have become.  That is to be perceived by the observers.  All I ask in that regard is that the observers take the time to get to know me a little bit before they judge me or my actions.

It is funny to observe what phases or oddities my cats go through.

For example, the last few days, I have come into my bedroom to find one of the drawers to my dresser open a few inches.  Just wide enough for a cat to squeeze in.  Colby is usually the main offender.  The other two hardly complain, though.  There was one morning I woke up and found the drawer open.  I groggily walked over to it and knocked on it.  Out came all three of the cats.  I probably would have found this more amusing if I had not been half asleep and irritated with them because their movement in the dresser is what woke me up.

Cheddar is usually the one that decides what time breakfast or dinner is.  If I am still asleep, he will start meowing until I get annoyed enough to get up and feed them.  Colby will often chime in with his own attention grabbers.  This is usually in the form of playing with the cords that dangle from the window blinds.  He has also been known to rampage around the apartment, knock the cardboard from the windowsill so the sun disturbs my sleep, and other things.  Chantico will occasionally chime in with her own meows, but for the most part, she is the more behaved of the three when it comes to letting me sleep.  However, if I happen to be on the computer and they are eager for food, any movement on my part that might indicate I am about to get up, they will jump down from their perches and meow eagerly.  This can get annoying when I am trying to do homework.

When I first got Chantico, she was only a couple months old.  I do not think she had quite been weened yet.  The reason I believe this is because I had to keep her from trying to nurse from Colby or Cheddar, particularly Colby for some reason.  It took weeks to break her of this habit.  I am not entirely sure when she finally stopped.  It just happened one day without me noticing.

All three of them seem to enjoy chewing on cardboard, though not as much as they used to.  Cheddar likes styrofoam, too.  I do not know what possesses them to munch on these odd things, but they do, and they seem to suffer no ill effects, thankfully.

What other oddities or phases will they go through? I guess time will tell.

Which one of your ancestors would you most like to talk to? 
Submitted by Kathy.

I would have to know more about them before I could answer this question fairly.  However, I would definitely like to talk to those who moved from their home country to North America.  What family did they leave behind? What went into such a decision? Was the move everything they hoped it would be? I would so like to ask about the lives of many of my ancestors.  There is so much I could learn from them.  They have so many stories.  I suppose these thoughts could inspire me to ask my grandparents about their lives.  There is a lot I do not know about their families, their early years, and more.  What could I learn from them?

I had to qualify on both of my issued weapons the other day.  Nothing new there.  I figured it was coming up.  I will likely have to do it again before I deploy, though.  That is not something I am looking forward to.  I really do not like to fire.  I always dread looking at the scores after all is said and done and hoping that I qualified. 

This is not to say that I am a bad shot.  When my sights are properly adjusted and I take the time to actually aim and everything, I am a very good shot.  Something happens when we actually get down to the qualification part and I do not fire nearly as accurately as I when zeroing the weapon.

This last time was a prime example.  I do honestly think my sights are goofed up, though.  Oh well.  I will deal with that when I fire again in a couple months.  I need to find a way to adjust my helmet so it is not nearly blocking my vision while I am trying to shoot.  That got quite irritating, which did not help my firing troubles.

Anyway, on to the subject line.  One of my troops and another knucklehead from my flight decided not to show up to the firing appointment.  Bad thing for both of them.  The squadron has had a big problem with people not making their appointments.  It came as no surprise when I got a phone call a couple hours into the firing from the flight commander saying I needed to call him back ASAP, get a hold of my troop ASAP, and get to the Law Enforcement Desk ASAP.  I was in the middle of firing my rifle when that call came, so I had to call him back and leave a message saying, "Sir, I am also firing today.  If you want me to come in, I will do so after I am finished." Luckily, one of the assistant flight chiefs was firing, too.  He called the flight commander for me and got a hold of him.  The flight commander ended up going in with my troop and dealing with that whole mess.  My troop got a Letter of Reprimand.  I was not surprised by that.  I explained to my troop that he needed to learn from the mistake and move on.  I hope he does.  I have enough issues without having to worry about him acting up constantly, too.

I hope no more of my troops miss their upcoming appointments.

If you were suddenly granted the day off today, how would you go spend your free time?

I already had tonight off since it was a scheduled night off for my flight.  But I will humor the question.  If I were working tonight and I somehow got it off, I would likely try to spend time with either my boyfriend, if he is not busy with his class, or my friends.  I do not get to spend any time with them on the days that I work, so more time with them would make me happy.  If I did not get any sleep that day, I might consider going home and getting some.  If I had schoolwork looming, I would consider starting to work on it.  There are a lot of things that I could do.  I do not see how it would be any different from a regular day off.

How do you feel about your birthday?  Do you look forward to it and remind all your friends, or do you dread it and try to keep it a secret?

My birthday may as well be another day of the week for me.  I do not get the night off just because it might be my birthday.  It has kind of lost its meaning for me since I joined the military.  A lot of people go out a party it up when they celebrate their birthday, especially if is happens to be their 21st.  Some people, like Rob, prefer a quiet day to themselves where no one will bother them.  I am getting to the point where I do not really care if my birthday comes around.  It does not mean much to the military.  For example, this year, I will likely be in training to prepare for my upcoming deployment, on my way to said deployment, or at my deployed location.

Some cases have always interested me.  One such case is Ted Bundy.  I remember feeling chills run down my spine as I read Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me a few years ago.  It is a case that has haunted the Seattle area for decades.  So when his name popped up on The Seattle Times website, I was intrigued.

A reality show from Great Britain apparently traces the steps of serial killers and sees of a psychic can feel the presence of the killer haunting the places he used to frequent.  In this case, the show is retracing Bundy's steps through the Seattle area and Florida.  They started at a bar where Bundy liked to frequent and may have selected some of his victims there.  His first known victim was reportedly seen at the bar the night she disappeared.  Not sure if the psychic that walked through the bar felt any presence, but a large white orb appeared when they took pictures.

I have seen those white orbs appear in pictures before.  When I was stationed in England, I accompanied some co-workers on a night trek through Thetford Forest.  We were thrill seeking.  A good portion of the pictures we took in the eerie forest showed small circles of white light dancing through the air.  It was kind of creepy.  Then again, that forest is reportedly among the most haunted in the world, so creepiness should not be a big surprise.

I have recently been informed that I will be deploying to Iraq for six months.  Yes, I know that is not a long time compared to some tour lengths over there, but I am still not looking forward to going.  I am not even sure when I will be leaving, or what I will have to put up with beforehand in regards to training requirements.

And then there are my cats, my stuff, my apartment.  What do I do with all that? I will NOT give up my cats.  I waited too long to have them, and I will not give them up just because of a deployment.  But who do I trust to watch over them and make sure they do not get hurt or get outside? My parents have offered repeatedly to take them while I deploy.  I would prefer to keep them in Oklahoma.  I do not particularly like the idea of flying them all the way to Washington.  But I may not have a choice.  No one has offered to watch them here.

Whenever I am told of a deployment, I look back on previous TDYs or almost deployments.  I say almost because I have yet to deploy.  My time is coming.  I know it.

My first TDY was while I was stationed in England.  I went to another base in England to help provide security from the protesters who were very unhappy about their country's involvement with the war in Iraq.  My second TDY was to a two week training course in Germany.  I do not really count that as a visit because I did not get to see much of Germany while I was there.

In the midst of all this, I was an alternate to deploy at least once.  This reason allowed me to fire my rifle for the first time in a year in a half.  That should not have happened because I am required to fire the rifle twice a year.  How I managed to slip through the cracks was beyond me, but they were not going to let me fire.  They quickly changed their minds when I told them I was an alternate.

When I arrived here in Oklahoma, I had many more opportunities to go TDY.  My first while stationed in Oklahoma was Nebraska for an air show.  I was the team leader, somehow.  I was not happy since I had no idea what was expected of me.  We stayed off base.  The room I got was spectacular.  I have not had a room like that since.  My second was to Alaska.  I spent a week wandering around the base.  The team leader and I went fishing on base.  We caught a lot of fish, irritated the base motor pool (much to my amusement and annoyance), and even went on a sight seeing tour on a water plane to Mount McKinley.  Number three was to Washington.  My parents and brothers were delighted to see me for a little bit.  My fourth was to Florida.  I would have enjoyed that one, and the two that followed later that month, much better if I had gone with a better team.  I do not like to babysit people.  Military members are adults.  They need to start acting like them.  I soon went to Delaware and North Carolina.  Then, I did not go TDY for over a year.  My next TDY was to Florida for two weeks of training.  I did not care much for the training, especially since I did not really learn anything new.  The reason I enjoyed the time there was because my team was a very good one.  People will make or break the TDY or deployment.  Actually, that could be said about any job or place a person may go to.  Last January, I had to drive down to San Antonio for two weeks of training that seemed more like a vacation than anything else, especially since some portions echoed the training I had endured not even two months before.  I learned that San Antonio freaks out about the slightest drop of snow or ice.  Two days of classes were canceled and we ended up having to stay an extra day because of it.  I was not happy about that because I had to drive back here like a bat out of hell to beat the ice storm that was threatening to hit.  Three months later, I went to Delaware twice.  In September, I went back down to Florida for the third time.  This time was considerably more enjoyable than the first time, because I did not have to babysit the team members I went with.

I have nearly gone on three deployments since I got here.  The first was canceled because I asked to go through a course that was required before I sewed on my current rank.  I was pulled from the next one because the Air Force wanted me to retrain into a different career field.  The reason I did not retrain is because I had only two options.  I do not like big dogs, and I am absolutely terrified at the idea of trying to teach people how to shoot their weapons.  I have seen some of the people I work with shoot their weapons.  I do not even want to see how people who have not fired in three or four years do.  So far, I have been on at least one other deployment.  That one got canceled, though.  Another base picked it up, apparently.  However, I do not think this one is going away.

I have not tried to get out of any of them.  I will not try to get out of this one, either.  It is my time to go, and I will go.  I will not like it, but I have little choice.  It has been too long.  It is not fair for others to deploy back to back while I have not gone at least once.  I will make the best of this deployment, and hopefully meet some good people and learn a lot.  I shall see.

More to come.