I apologize for the infrequent posting, it has been an
unusually busy period here in Kuwait, mostly because I have had to react to
things. Some of the wounds were
self-inflicted while others were imposed by authority figures far above me.
One of the self-inflicted wounds was a last-minute trip last
Sunday up to Ali al Salem for another softball tournament. We decided to go up early in the morning,
play as long as we won and then come back.
Turns out we won the tournament, so we ended up playing far into the
afternoon at a time of the year where the temperatures get up around 110 that
far inland. So not only did I miss my
Sunday brunch, I also wiped myself out for the next couple of days. On the bright side we have a pretty cool
trophy to show off, I am trying to get a picture so I can post it. The tournament was in honor of police week, a
week I know well because back home I work right across the street from the
hotel that hosts many of the major events in the DC area. It is a constant source of irritation to some
in the office as any time someone comes or goes from the hotel (which is quite
often), the police organize an escort and cut off traffic all around the office
complex. Any ripple in the DC traffic
ocean has the potential to grow into a tsunami (see what I did with imagery
there?) as we are right off 395, but I am not sure the cops from Lexington, KY
or Athens, GA understand how tenuous the situation is. Bottom line is that rush “hour” tends to
start earlier and last longer during Police Week.
For those counting at home that is 3 Sundays in a row that
have been abnormal for me – one in Jordan, one with rain and work, and one with
softball. I also had to work this
morning but thankfully the Army scheduled something at 0800 and so I was done
well before the brunch deadline.
Speaking of the Army, they along with higher-ups at the
Navy’s Fleet Forces Command have been the bane of my existence lately. For months we have been planning for two
scheduled waves of sailors to relieve those of us that arrive in November and
December. The first got here intact but
the second – more than 100 sailors – was cut as they were going through
training at Ft Dix about three weeks ago.
So imagine that for a minute: you got the call, said your goodbyes to
your family and employer and started on the road to Kuwait, only to be told when
you are about 2 weeks from finishing your training that you are no longer
needed. I would be ecstatic, but in my
experience I am an exception as most of the enlisted sailors WANT to be here
for the money or the job or the retirement credit or whatever. Four nights ago we got word that they were coming
again. Without those 100 sailors there
were some major impacts, we would have had to close down one location and stop
a number of services we now provide, so in retrospect we did a very smart thing
and started informing higher-ups here in CENTCOM, who apparently were not
consulted on the decision to send those sailors home. Bottom line is that many of the original
sailors are coming, but imagine THAT scenario: with two weeks of training left
you were told you weren’t coming, so how seriously did you take that
training? And how messed up are their
heads now? They were coming, then they
weren’t, now they are again. I really,
really feel for these sailors. Some of
them set up other mobilizations to other locations, and the Navy actually
considered cancelling that other deal to make them come to Kuwait! Thankfully we helped Big Navy understand how
silly that idea was, and they also let what they called a few hardship cases go
home. This is where the military
establishment just falls short – planning is not a strong suit.
And then there is the Army.
I try very hard not to get involved in bashing the Army as they are the
warrior branch. The Special Forces are
an entity unto themselves, like Ferraris but the one where they only produced
300, so the common person not only doesn’t have one they have no hope of having
one and may not even know they exist.
The Marines are the crazy souped-up roadsters and the drivers have big
egos and attitudes; they have been brainwashed into thinking they can beat
anyone in a race which of course is not true at all but a good attitude to have
in a fight. The Army is the massive
fleet of beat-up pickups we rely on to haul things, take us to work, and
generally get us around. They get
terrible gas mileage, break down constantly and the hood is the wrong
color. However, we need the Army – they do the dirty work of fighting and
occupying space, things the Navy and Air Force never have to think about. The point is that I try to recognize the
extreme cultural differences between the services as they are necessary for
them to operate under the unique conditions each service experiences. I think I once made the point that it is nice
that you can get a battalion of soldiers to march 20 miles for no reason. It would never happen to the typical Navy
group, there would be three scrounging up trucks, 2 would point out an obscure
regulation forbidding a forced march immediately following PT, 17 would whine
and complain, 2 would claim medical issues and 5 would map out 5 quicker routes
but never move because they would argue over who is right.
It is the Army’s institutionalized willingness to absorb pain
and suffering without considering the strategic view that makes them a
nightmare to work with. Case in point:
At some point in the future the Ali al Salem air base will close, so everything
mission performed there worth keeping has to go somewhere else. One part of the mission will come here to
Camp Arifjan, but it isn’t yet clear where it will go or if it all comes here
or even when it will happen. However,
one possible alternative involves the use of some buildings currently used as
housing – soldiers live there right now.
Or lived, anyway. Even though no
one on this earth or any other has any idea if this one alternative will happen
and it may not happen for months and if it does happen there are hundreds of
other things that need to happen prior to the buildings being needed, the Army
decided to immediately move all those soldiers out. Some of them are going home in June, and even
in the absolute best case the buildings won’t be needed before then. However, because that one tiny task could be
done they went ahead and did it anyway with no thought to the big picture. That is the Army.
I don’t have any good pictures this week, so sorry for all
of the words. I’ll have something next
week for sure.
