Jan. 7- Mission Complete
Jan. 8- Well, it took the
combined forces of being a New Yorker and a Colonel to get me out of
the CRC, but I did it! After Tuesday's debacle, I had NO patience for
"the process". I had made a plane reservation for 6:58 p.m. and a
shuttle reservation for 2:15, and I announced to the cadre that they
needed to make sure I got there on time. There was the additional
complication of waiting for the orders, which also took a bit of
pushing on my part.
On Tues. at lunch I was sitting with one of the doctors- a cigar buddy- and another lady at the table asked me, "Are you a boss?" I really wasn't sure where she was going with it, but the doctor quickly replied, "She sure acts like one." Oh well- I'm basically unapologetic. I tried to be respectful but insistent, and, by the way, if you want something done- call me!
The inefficiency continued with all of us being shlepped back to medical to have our PPD tests read, even though half of us hadn't needed PPD tests. Of course they weren't ready for us and it was hard to sort out who needed to be there and who didn't. I respectfully suggested to the NCO in charge that those of us who didn't need the PPD simply wait on the bus, so that there were fewer bodies milling around. "Oh no," he said, "we can't divide people up." The staff person looked at my paperwork and commented, "I don't know why they brought you here- you don't need to be here."
The next thing they did was take some of us to dental (where we waited at least half an hour for someone to staff the reception desk, because, of course, we couldn't do this on Tues. as we can only come in our assigned time slot when they have us scheduled), and some of us to finance. Silly me- I couldn't help but wondering why they just didn't drop those who didn't need the PPD reads at dental to begin with. . . . .
Finance was the last station in the a.m.- couldn't complete that as I didn't have the orders, but we played "as if" and the orders were eventually faxed to him.
Got my bags staged, turned in linen and signed out of the room, quick lunch, then on to the LAST stop- 1300- processing of final paperwork. (Seems I've earned two new awards- the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one Campaign Ribbon, and the NATO Medal- per my all-important DD 214- Discharge from Active Duty.) That will be a project for weeks from now, to see what those look like and reorganize the ribbons on my uniform.
We sat down in the briefing room and I watched the clock ticking as I laboriously pulled out various forms. At 1315 I stood up and walked out- asked if I could just get to the actual processing station. (Sometimes you just HAVE to pull rank- I hate to do it but it's good to have it when you need it and, frankly, I don't think I would volunteer to do this if I were NOT a Colonel).
Long story short- I made the van at 2:17, got to the airport, and arrived home by 10:00 p.m. It was awesome to see Sarah and David and I have surprisingly made my peace with the chaos in my home and the fact that I can't just work straight through until every last piece of clothing, paperwork and equipment has found its place. I'm at Chai Thurs. and Fri., Fountain Hills Fri. night, then back to Moffett Field Sat. a.m. through Mon. eve.
I came home weary and with an upset stomach, and I will just have to take it one step at a time. Good lesson for me.
I called SFC Cohen from the airport to let him know that he was missing a good line. He said he thinks he should receive an "Expert" badge in moving bags and waiting in line. . . . me too!
In the final analysis- great mission, challenging logistics and significant physical impact. Would I do it again- yes- still planning for April 2010.
Thanks for caring.
Special thanks to Frannie for posting these every day- Fran, I'll take care of this one! You are the best and I really appreciate and love you!
Out here- B.
On Tues. at lunch I was sitting with one of the doctors- a cigar buddy- and another lady at the table asked me, "Are you a boss?" I really wasn't sure where she was going with it, but the doctor quickly replied, "She sure acts like one." Oh well- I'm basically unapologetic. I tried to be respectful but insistent, and, by the way, if you want something done- call me!
The inefficiency continued with all of us being shlepped back to medical to have our PPD tests read, even though half of us hadn't needed PPD tests. Of course they weren't ready for us and it was hard to sort out who needed to be there and who didn't. I respectfully suggested to the NCO in charge that those of us who didn't need the PPD simply wait on the bus, so that there were fewer bodies milling around. "Oh no," he said, "we can't divide people up." The staff person looked at my paperwork and commented, "I don't know why they brought you here- you don't need to be here."
The next thing they did was take some of us to dental (where we waited at least half an hour for someone to staff the reception desk, because, of course, we couldn't do this on Tues. as we can only come in our assigned time slot when they have us scheduled), and some of us to finance. Silly me- I couldn't help but wondering why they just didn't drop those who didn't need the PPD reads at dental to begin with. . . . .
Finance was the last station in the a.m.- couldn't complete that as I didn't have the orders, but we played "as if" and the orders were eventually faxed to him.
Got my bags staged, turned in linen and signed out of the room, quick lunch, then on to the LAST stop- 1300- processing of final paperwork. (Seems I've earned two new awards- the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one Campaign Ribbon, and the NATO Medal- per my all-important DD 214- Discharge from Active Duty.) That will be a project for weeks from now, to see what those look like and reorganize the ribbons on my uniform.
We sat down in the briefing room and I watched the clock ticking as I laboriously pulled out various forms. At 1315 I stood up and walked out- asked if I could just get to the actual processing station. (Sometimes you just HAVE to pull rank- I hate to do it but it's good to have it when you need it and, frankly, I don't think I would volunteer to do this if I were NOT a Colonel).
Long story short- I made the van at 2:17, got to the airport, and arrived home by 10:00 p.m. It was awesome to see Sarah and David and I have surprisingly made my peace with the chaos in my home and the fact that I can't just work straight through until every last piece of clothing, paperwork and equipment has found its place. I'm at Chai Thurs. and Fri., Fountain Hills Fri. night, then back to Moffett Field Sat. a.m. through Mon. eve.
I came home weary and with an upset stomach, and I will just have to take it one step at a time. Good lesson for me.
I called SFC Cohen from the airport to let him know that he was missing a good line. He said he thinks he should receive an "Expert" badge in moving bags and waiting in line. . . . me too!
In the final analysis- great mission, challenging logistics and significant physical impact. Would I do it again- yes- still planning for April 2010.
Thanks for caring.
Special thanks to Frannie for posting these every day- Fran, I'll take care of this one! You are the best and I really appreciate and love you!
Out here- B.
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