Well, this is my final blog, I am just over the black sea as we speak, im trying to stay awake so I can sleep o. The second leg is almost 9 hrs long, we stop in Germany for about 90 minutes. I never thought I'd get to this point, it seemed like such an unobtainable goal. Now I'm back to my old life, I don't mean that negatively, it's just weird being this military guy in a military world for almost five months, now it's back to reality. Thanks for reading my blog, it has definitely helped passing the time, remind me that it wasn't all bad or all good, and maybe it helped to show people some things about what we do that maybe you didn't know about. Here is a summary of the good, bad and ugly of this Sather tour.
Good: I learned a ton, how to run a terminal in thE AOR, much different then our little terminal back at March. I feel I could go in and run any terminal with little spinup. We had a lot go on with state department, embassy, united nations, and the army and navy and it was cool to see all these agencies in action. Working on the flight line could be cool, seeing all the different planes and helos in action, sometimes I imagined I was in a war movie and there was dramatic music playing in the background, like in the dark knight, I know it's goofy, but I had to do something to make it exciting. I had to deal with different personalities and get them to work towards a common cause, this could be much more difficult then you could imagine.
I learned a lot about the mission in Iraq, how we do it, the obstacles, the positive moments.
I got in the best shape in 13 yes, this is the longest I haven't drank caffeine since I was a kid, I ate healthier then i have in many years, hardly any fried, more fruits, and vegetables, I got my blood pressure down 16points and lost 16lbs.
I have a greater appreciation for our troops, the real guys fighting the fire fights, focused now more in Afghanistan. Some are so isolated, they have to get shoppette supplies from mobile shopettes. They are busting their asses, getting hurt, traumatized, and isolated, and some come from the poorest parts of America. They are the real heroes, we're just guys doing a job, nothing more and I feel uncomfortable when people go overboard in praise for what I'm doing.
Same line as above, but I'm also really proud of all the security forces at Sather, they had a tough job keeping our base safe. Though they didn't work twelves like we did they did the security shifts, boring beyond belief, and equally tense at moments. We all feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten through this unscathed. At the dfac, they always have a section reserved for only them, I use to think it was very arrogant of them but now I realize they deserve it and a lot more.
I finished all of my adls requirements, one of only a very few people in pax to accomplish everything, yes everything!
I Finished my SEI 45 course for teaching
I feel my relationship with the lord has grown quite a bit, I've read more of the bible then I ever have, I have learned of just how awesome our god is, that we are all unworthy of eternal life, yet by faith in him, he gives us this gift. As a Christian, it really is important to read the entire bible from genesis to revelation, it brought me a lot of peace at times, and has allowed me to not have dark thoughts or say something g really mean about someone, most of the time that is, still far from perfect, but I want to keep growing spiritually every year. It's much easier to do the wrong thing, but much more rewarding to stay the course, every choice you make, you have to ask, "would Jesus had done that?"
People were pretty friendly, strangers, but people would talk, keep the door open for you, I've seen this before with the military so it is no surprise.
The bad:
As friendly as people were, no one really got to know each other in depth, with a few exceptions. That was unfortunate because in the navy, we got to know each other like brothers, but it was also a little tough with that because I was ncoic. It did get lonely at the top but not to bad, like being the base commander or something.
The senior enlisted structure, the way it was set up, was flawed. Way too many chiefs, no one really pull the trigger. We should have had a head pax superintendent that worked 6 to 6pm. Too many ridiculous arguments
Some people in the unit were not friendly in my opinion. A few would just give me looks, like they didn't want to talk to me or just got through talking about me, maybe I misinterpreted their body language or them not acknowledging me with the fact they may have just been having a bad day.
I missed out on a lot with my daughter Jenna, moments I'll never have. Not to be dramatic, but I missed out on a tenth of her life.
I never got a chance to finish teaching my kids the school year. I did stay in touch and it was cool to have some students write to me
The whole LOA procedure was ridiculous, which goes back to the leadership thing, for them to make such a big deal about them being off one letter or number was embarrassing, them being off had no effect on the military getting reimbursed for fuel or security violations or anything. It was done to display power but all it did was divide the military running the port from the civilian contractors. It created a lot of stress for the contractors, who did not write up their own loas. There was nothing in the foreign clearance guide or LOI's that stated people should be denied travel if numbers on the loa didn't match, yet we did it time and time again
The temporary holding bin was a joke, how we had to wait out there, it was a waste of time and also enforced to display power by the opposite shift.
The x ray procedure was flawed, the civilians and military passengers hated it, there had to be a better way of doing it, but leadership of course couldn't agree on anything
We lost Tsgt Nelson a month after I got here, his wife was having physical problems, we missed his leadership and expertise, and we worked together well, bouncing ideas off each other all the time. He also helped me fight some battles with the day shift, but his absence did force me to be more involved, which was a good thing.
Sometimes the only way to truly learn is by making mistakes, and night shift made a few of them, especially that week in April, but they were made with max effort and not from goofing off. I messed up from lack of experience, I was the only Nco never to have served on prior deployment or active duty, yet senior leadership never allowed me to use that as justification for any mistake, but that's not surprising,the military is a big boy world, and know one wants to hear excuses, no matter how valid they may be.
The ugly:
There were a few individuals that were obsessed with policy, no matter if certain parts were nonsensical in nature. A few leaders specialized in half truths and jumping to conclusions without proper analysis. Things that were not a big deal were made a big deal, and it created an atmosphere of competition and mistrust. It made a fairly simple jobs more difficult, stressful, and complex.
People couldn't say stuff straight up, there was a lot of back talking and I saw it in other sections as well, it seemed like there was a two week period where every time I turned around an opposite shift senior nco is having a major discussion right at shift change, that got old fast
Hate to say it, but the entire stress level decreased five fold the second the deployers left may 4
I felt it was pretty ugly that Tsgt B was not made assistant ncoic of day shift when he clearly was at least equal ability with more time in service then the person that was there. It didn't make sense and there were a few people that agreed with me
Regarding the April week of mistake an opposite shift senior nco actually had the nerve to say, "people have been talking back at the unit.". That was probably the ugliest thing I'd seen. Stuff like that makes me want to push the retirement button on virtual MPF, well see if anyone is talking when we return.
So there you have it, the good, bad, and ugly of the deployment, all in all it seemed like I was gone a whole year instead of four months, the number of hours we worked were ungodly but overall I was proud to say I did my part in operation New Dawn serving my country, and I am really glad it's over, yet I will think often of the fellow pax personnel We left behind and pray for their safe return in October. If I disappointed you with the content because it wasn't exciting enough or patriotic enough I apologize but I did promise to write what I saw and felt. Wow 60 entries, I will never have a chance to write this much ever again unless it's for a school paper. I keep dreaming of the look on Jenna's face when I come out of the tunnel. So this is Pax 29, Pax 29, I am off the deck, going home to my wonderful family, and I am OUT!!
The Sather Chronicles
P.s. Stay tuned summer 2012 for another exciting chapter, hopefully with an annual tour going to japan or Hawaii, it could be my last ever
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