Round and Round

It's been an interesting few days. One of my projects suddenly gained momentum and and may be ready to execute early this week. Another one is gaining steam.

I am getting more involved in the planning processes here which will both spread the load and be a great learning experience for me. My technical specialty may be environmental impacts, but I'm enjoying the broadening opportunity. As I progress forward I can either pigeon-hole myself or become more of general expert on operations.

I also was told that they pulled our awards packages so that they could be resubmitted for the higher level award per my request. I was told I need to re-write the packages to make them stronger. It shouldn't be too hard because when I first wrote them we had pretty much just gotten here and hadn't accomplished much. I chose to write fluff rather than make stuff up and risk being awarded a medal we deserved but with a citation full of things that didn't happen.

I'm really not that big into awards. It's not like you get a free toaster and are submitted into a raffle for a cruise upon getting your fifth Joint Commendation medal. But I wanted my NCO to get an award commensurate with his work...

...and this morning, after fighting to have the packages pulled, he told me he actually preferred the lower level award. The award itself isn't that big of a deal. He doesn't need the promotion points. He's never gotten the Joint Achievement medal and figures that a longer list of medals and one more ribbon on the ribbon rack will look better on the wall when he retires shortly.

Now comes the question of what to do about my award package. I dont' like the idea of submitting myself for a higher level award than my NCO. But I do think I've earned the higher level award, especially when compared to other guys who've gotten it.

I'm also reluctant to set a precedent because then the next guy's award will default to the lower award and he'll have to work harder to justify the commendation medal.

We'll see. I'll check with some people I trust here for guidance.

I touched base with my replacement. This means that my replacement exists and is coming. This is a very positive development.

Fittingly, for whatever reason, chow hall chatter yesterday was about burn out and missing family events.

We were counting missed birthdays, missed anniversaries, missed holidays, and other missed events.

This trip, on top of the missed birthdays, missed anniversary (I've only been home for one and we were moving between assignments at the time), and missed holidays, I seem to be missing weddings.

In a few hours, my cousin will be getting married. I got to chat with her briefly on-line a few days ago and found out that the family craziness was pretty much as expected.

She is the first girl cousin on this side of the family to get married. She is the only person in the family to have asked my advice about joining the Marines... she didn't, but I could actually have pictured her--the Natural Resources and Environment Student--doing it.

They have a great Civil Affairs program. I have no doubt she do an incredible job teaching some Pashtun farmer about more efficient use of the Helmand River's limited resources. But then she'd probably shoot him for not letting his girls go to school and beating his wife. This would probably undermine her plans to revitalize the region, or it would gain grudging compliance.

And the reliance on millions of plastic water bottles here would drive her nuts.

So maybe it's better that she didn't join. And the uniform in XS-Short would be too big.

Besides, her efforts and expertise are needed just as badly here, in Israel, and anywhere else they choose to go.

Unfortunately, I haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting her soon to be husband. I hear that he is an engineer. An unreformed and unrepentant engineer who hasn't run away from it at a full sprint like I did. I guess we need people like that. Otherwise budding patent attorneys would have no one to leech off of and exploit. Or assist.

He was apparently also smart enough to do his time in the Navy and then get out. That's not an inter-service joke. I have lots of Navy jokes. I can't share most of them here. I find that a military career can sometimes be like an abusive relationship between the service and the service member. It can take real strength and courage to say I've served and I'm done.

I do have a friend who went to BUD/S (SEAL training) because hours of surf torture in 55 degree Pacific waters and sleepless trips around the world in a small boat were preferable to another night as the watch officer in the Surface Navy. Rumor has that there is a SEAL there and probably some other current/former Navy guys, so hopefully someone gets the reference and can explain it.

My friend's experience did give me a whole new respect and appreciation for my Navy peers out on ships, not boats, ships. I don't want to be the guy that has to tell the skipper that due to rough seas, we were able to refuel but we were unable to replenish our dwindling ice cream stocks.

I'd make a nuke joke, but all I know about subs I learned from movies. Actual nuke guys are quiet, a little weird, and glow in the dark. And apparently they speak Russian with a Scottish accent.

So maybe I can't help myself. I'm a small and petty person with the geekiest job in all of SOF ops.

I wish I could be there, as hollow as that may sound given that technically I volunteered for this rotation. I miss everyone and wish them the best.

To my cousin and her new husband, I know that you are both smart enough to realize that the wedding is just one silly and crazy day.

You are probably getting more than enough useless advice based on people projecting their relationship dynamics on to yours.

Do take the time to eat something. The food is very expensive and probably very good. My wife is still mad at me for eating when I should have been socializing, but she missed out.