Army Strong

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.