Veterans in the Bamberg, Germany Area
posted by Army_Tanker @ 5:41 PM
Comments: 0
1. Always have a notepad, pen, watch, knife, and flashlight on hand.
In life, as in the Army, there are always unforeseen events. An important note needs to be taken, you need the precise time, something needs to be fixed, or you just can't find your way. All these items are small and cheap; lifesavers when you have them, deal breakers when you don't.
2. Have a copy of everything. If it's important, have two copies.
If it has your name on it, then you need a copy. If it affects your health, paycheck, or other element of well-being, then you need two copies. Records get lost, computers crash, and sometimes people just need to see a piece of 80 bond under their noses to get anything done.
3. Make friends wherever you go.
It doesn't matter if you are there for 20 minutes or 20 months, make friends. Inevitably, you will see them again. You will go to where they are. They will go to where you will be. And at the end of the day friends are the only ones covering the front of your position.
4. Make an SOP. Know the SOP. Work the SOP.
Civilian. Military. It doesn't matter. There should be a Standard Operating Procedure for daily life. Often we don't have fulfilling days or lives because "we just don't have time" and that is because we often don't have good processes. On the battlefield there is a place for everything, and everything in its place. There is a rote routine (often personal) for everything from showering in the morning to they way we check our gear. We do this because often there are times when there is no time, but the task still needs to get done. Routine accomplishes this, and we accomplish more when we have a routine.
5. Sleep.
Sleep is one of the things in life we don't appreciate until we aren't getting it. Sleep recharges us, heals us, and lets us put a new perspective on the world. If it was bad when you went to sleep and it's still bad when you wake up, well then I guess you weren't missing anything. If by chance it's better when you wake up, then apparently the world doesn't rest upon your shoulders. So take a nap, Atlas.
6. Don't go cheap.
I didn't grow up with money. I have learned to make due with what is available. There are times, however, that you can't afford to go cheap. Whether it be getting the brakes fixed on your HUMVEE or your Ford, get it done, get it done by a professional, and get the warranty. If you are buying shoes (speaking from personal experience) don't get them because they are cheaper. Get them because they are comfortable and durable. If you don't, it'll be more than your wallet that will hurt.
7. Find humor everywhere.
I have been in some pretty crappy places, some pretty crappy situations, and yet forced myself to find some humor, somewhere. It helps you cope. It takes the sting out of the painful, awkward, or otherwise difficult moments in life. And humor is one of those conversations you can have with yourself, because you always get your own jokes. As a side note, as much as it may pain you, never ridicule someone for their dark sense of humor. We aren't them and they aren't us, and we are all just trying to get by. I think Plato put this in perspective best by saying, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle."
8. Don't tolerate oppression.
To quote someone more intelligent than myself: "First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me." Stand up for what you think is right. In the end if you were wrong, so be it.
9. Tell your Story.
Battles are decided not only by the Soldiers on the field, the armament, or the weather. They are also won and lost by the lessons learned from prior battles. We learn these lessons because someone told their story. As a young Soldier I was a sponge for knowledge; it was before the current age of mass communication. Older Soldiers told their stories in hopes that a single silver strand of wisdom would be gleaned and be passed on. It is part of what we contribute to society. When we can glean wisdom from the lessons others have learned, we can avoid repeating the hardships by which they gained that knowledge. And by sharing our lessons we are helping someone else. That is one of our greatest contributions to humanity.
10. Never forget.
Never forget who you are. Never forget what you have done. Never forget where you are. Never forget what it is you want from this one life we have. Never forget the people that stood behind you in support, beside you in camaraderie, or in front of you in adversity. Never forget to write home. Never forget that someone is missing you. Never forget what you have learned. Never forget to share what you have learned. Never forget anything; lest you forget everything.
THE CHASM
May 02, 2007
THE CHASM
Name: C.M.
Posting date: 4/27/07
Husband: on his way home!
Milblog url: corpsdjour.blogspot.com
I've been away from The Sandbox. It was just too much. I am so thankful that this resource is here for the world to get a glimpse into the experiences of our military members, but it was a little too close and too personal and just too scary. But I am very happy to say that my husband is out. He is somewhere between there and home, and I'm ecstatic. Having him out of harm's way has afforded me the luxury of peace of mind, and the mental capacity to put my thoughts into words. And here they are: I support our troops, I'm conflicted on the war, but mostly I'm frustrated by the isolation.
I know I shouldn't complain that I get a call from my husband only twice a month, when my grandmother heard from her husband by letter only a handful a times a year during WWII. It's terrifying that death is a possibility, but I know the numbers pale in comparison to Vietnam. Watching your husband go off to war is as old as time -- think of the Spartan saying: "Come home with your shield or on it." But for this war, it seems different...It's just that now I feel like it's only me.
I'm one of the few wives that have the opportunity to live on base, but work in a professional capacity at a leading company, and I can't tell you the echoing depth of the chasm that separates my two worlds. I walk into the office to talk of stock options, tax cuts, weekend parties, laissez-faire political debates. If I hear about the war at all, it's typically someone priming me to say that it's awful, that they should all come home -- don't they know that can be offensive when my husband is risking his life to be there? I'll never forget the day that Al Zarqawi died and I mentioned the news to a college-educated co-worker at my fortune 500 company, and the response was..."Who?" Or when a war-age eligible man asked me if my husband would be coming home for Christmas. "Nope, unfortunately Iraq doesn't close shop for the holidays." It's not that they don't care, it's that it just doesn't affect them.
Then I hop the train back to my other life. When I come home, I pass through the guarded gates of my Marine Corps life into this parallel dimension. Back here the streets are full of women taking out the trash and climbing on roofs to put up the Christmas lights because daddy isn't home to do it. Back on base I always have a friend that is about to come home, and another that is about to leave. Back home, women are crying because they're afraid that their children won't remember their fathers. On my street, there is a rotation of "Welcome Home Daddy" signs that fill me with pride and smiles, but also make me want to cry because I want it to be my turn. Back home I know not to knock on a friend's door without calling first, lest she think that that knock is CACO on the other side telling her that her husband didn't make it. Back home, I have to close my front door, because hearing car doors shut brings up images of men in blue walking up to my door and delivering the bad news.
I don't want to complain, I have loved many experiences I've had with the MC life; it's fast and furious and always entertaining. My friends on the perpetual cycle of deployments do not feel sorry for themselves, and neither do I. But still, I'm left with a feeling of frustration, and it comes down to this: the burden is just too big to be borne by so few.
CHANGE
May 02, 2007
CHANGE
Name: Doug Templeton
Posting date: 4/26/07
Stationed in: Afghanistan
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
Email: dtempleton14@yahoo.com
Today is Thursday and that means bad pizza night. Rumor has it the current vender is going out and a Pizza Hut is going in. This would have been a nice change, however, as luck would have it, it's happening after I leave. We do have a Subway here, but it is literally in the back of a van that is parked outside the Post Exchange. Of course, all the food other than the chow hall has to be paid for, and since we get a whopping $3.50 a day it takes a day or more’s allowance to eat out.
I am looking forward to going to the Big Bazaar tomorrow for the last time. I doubt I will be buying anything, but it is another last that I can check off my list of things to do before heading home. We have been checking off a lot of lasts lately, and with every one come a joy and sadness. Our lives here are about to change and everything we have grown used to is ending.
When we go home to our families there will also be change. They have spent the year moving forward without us, and it will most definitely be different. Many of us will be moving to new bases and will be starting new jobs. I often wonder how I will keep up with all of it. Our children have gotten bigger and have had to endure being single-parented. They have learned that mommy or daddy can be sent away for a long period of time and if they are older, like my daughter, they understand the danger they faced.
I guess the one thing in life that remains constant is change. You either learn to accept it, or lock yourself in a box and refuse to come out. I for one have learned to accept it, because my whole life and military career has been about moving and changing. Now I have spent a year helping others to make change, and in the end I’m pretty proud of what we’ve done.
posted by Army_Tanker @ 4:23 AM
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posted by Army_Tanker @ 11:40 PM
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