The Official wish me luck in Afghanistan thread

[KukriKhan]

Good to know that we haven't discarded "hurry up and wait" in favor of some modern claptrap.

Indeed. I once spent 2 weeks in El Paso, on the taxpayers' dime, waiting for a 'space available' flight to a 4-day job in Honduras. Gawd... that was 30 years ago, I just realized. Some stuff doesn't change.

-edit-
Maybe it's gotten better in the past 30 years, but here's some advice anyway: you're an individually-mobilized 2LT, so it'll be easy for you to slip through the cracks as far as personnel and finance guys are concerned; so: carefully watch your pay, get receipts for everything and keep them tucked away, keep a log of all travel and down-time, and ALWAYS report in to someone, even it's it just a local PFC CQ and you sign his log. Make friends with whoever does the input to the finance and HR systems. Also with cooks, supply guys and mail clerks.

[Major Robert Dump]

Actually, I'm a LT now.

And as it turns out there is a massive conference on base this week for exactly the type of mission I am going to be in, and my replacements from Oklahoma are attending. Since I obviously never got to attend the first conference, I am attending this one and making some good connections. Unfortunately, the overall program is run by civilians and contractors and they are trying to teach us like we are civilians and contractors and there have been a lot of shouting matches in these classes between GS-15s and 06s. I will probably skip tomorrows classes because of the way things went today. Monday and Tuesday were good, though.

[InsaneApache]

Good luck man.

[KukriKhan]

Colonels. Gotta love 'em.Especially the ones not bucking for a Star - statistically, 2-thirds of 'em, though half don't know it yet.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

.... Make friends with whoever does the input to the finance and HR systems. Also with cooks, supply guys and mail clerks.

This is very sound advice. Actually, this is pretty damn good advice for anyone anywhere in any organization.

[Major Robert Dump]

I sat in this morning with a bunch of Lt. Cols ( replacement team has 5 of them, and a col, for a 64 man team LOL) who were giving their strategic vision of how certain operations would unfold when they get there and how to improve on the current teams actions.

Let me just say that I am very happy I did not get selected to go with this team, and was instead selected to rush over and join up with the first one. It was also not the least bit surprising -- although unexpected -- to hear such things from 30 year vets with no deployments

On the plus side, I got a handy dandy Pashtu language CD that plays like a video game. I am also taking my micro-recorders to record everything+translation so I can double verify my translations with other translators in the event that I work with nationals as my translators (which is most likely).

Got my third issue of CIF so now I have triple of everything. Oklahoma didn't isue me everything, had to get a second issue here and the civilians who run CIF dont like to give out onesies and twosies, so they make you take an entire issue. Total crap. Then I learn from theatre that there is some new, required equipment that we need to take to the stan and that we should have never gotten the second issue, and instead should have gotten just this third issue which is, again, everything including what I already have. So now I have 3 of everything. Turning one set in today and mailing the other home., Jeebus. I hate these civilians. I had to go get the CWO4 from the 2nd OK team that is visiting to go bash heads and get me my new issue when I learned I would be getting all new stuff in Kuwait. I said "why not just get it here, so I don't carry over my stuff and have to mail it back" and the civilians gave me this whole "we arent gonna open up to issue 2 people" crap and a little "you need to modify your state orders to show x y and z" crap.....anyway, got it done, showed up, unhappy, snotty civilians who actually had the gall to try to shake my hand after making me jump through hoops for 11 days to get my issue. Had I left on the 7th I would currently be in Kuwait or Turkey with 3-4 additional bags, all of which I would have to pay to have mailed back to CONUS. Jerks.

[drone]

So, situation normal then?

[Major Robert Dump]

Yes. Perfectly normal I dare say. And after rushing me out of Oklahoma on a 9 day notice, I now sit here with a brand, spanking new pass. They initially suggested I take leave and go home, to which I scoffed. They rush me out here, they can feed and house me. No way I am paying to go home and using up leave time. So instead I took a pass, got a 15PAX from Trans and am now deciding whether I should go to Indianapolis and play the how-many-strippers-can-you-fit-into-a-government-van game. I will probably end up playing the going-to-a-movie-and-getting-drunk-alone-in-a-cheap-motel game instead.

[drone]

How long do you have on the pass? Go to Indy, check out the Final 4 scene. Go in uniform, maybe you can score some tickets or at least some free booze.

[Major Robert Dump]

I have until Tuesday. Forgot about the games, maybe I will check it out.

[KukriKhan]

Go in uniform, maybe you can score some tickets or at least some free booze.

Didn't work for me in the 70's, but DID in the 80's. Go figger.