Just another day in paradise?

Well, I lied. I told myself last year I would never come back to Camp Taji, but here I am once again. The smell here is about the same as it was before, a mixture of trash, oil, dirt and sand. The base itself looks similar to what it looked like before, except it is a little neater. Somebody has been picking up the trash around the camp. I don’t see any dogs running around, but its winter and maybe they are just to lazy to come out. We will see what happens in the evening.

We are at the Phoenix Academy, an Army run school for Transition Teams. I get the feeling that it is going to be pointless training, and I am dreading it. Not because it’s difficult, but because I am going to be so bored that I will probably open my big fat mouth and piss off people who are only trying to do their job. I can see looking at the syllabus that it’s going to be a big waste of time, and I have discussed with my bosses the necessity of telling the staff, “Hey, we don’t need to do that, lets move on.” Still, I think they don’t want to make waves and are going to just ride the current as it carries them forward. This group is so different from the last group. We were definitive, creative, and forward thinking. We made the rules, than changed them as we needed to. This group seems content to just let the rules guide them, which is a bad way to get started when your business is to make the rules. I guess time will tell what the groups are capable of doing.

We got our unit assignments yesterday. I can’t say the unit we are going to yet, and it really doesn’t matter to me, because it’s all pretty much the same. I can say that the unit will be stationed at a Camp I had been to a couple of times. Decent logistical support, lots of sand, and lots more sand. Summer is going to suck hard.

Here is a snapshot of my day yesterday, just so you understand how things are going...

5:30 am got up. Went to chow.
6:30 return from chow. Went to internet café.
7:30 returned from internet café. Repack bags
8:30 Moved bags to staging area. Return to tent area to wait for busses
9:30 Still waiting for busses
11:30 Still waiting for busses
1:00 pm. Had a 2 hour brief with Army Colonel. Learned nothing.
3:00 Still waiting for busses
5:00 Still waiting for busses
6:30 Busses arrived.
6:40 Busses drop us off at flight line
6:50 Waiting for helicopters
8:50 Still waiting for helicopters
10:50 Still waiting for helicopters
12:50 Still waiting for helicopters
1:00 am helicopters show up. We load and move to Taji
1:30 We arrive at Taji
2:30 We go to sleep

You can tell that the old adage, “Hurry up and wait,” is alive and well in today’s military.