Ode to the Army

We wait for weeks to find out what day he's leaving, and we wait a few more days after that to find out exactly what time.

His gear isn't ready in time for his black box to ship out, and he doesn't know when it will arrive. He makes multiple phone calls to find out. Eventually he learns he will have to carry it all with him as he travels to training, including his helmet (which still doesn't have a cover), his vest (which is really heavy), and several other pieces of gear.

Okay, so we know what time he starts training. But... it's not the same day he flies out? So... what happens in the meantime?

Ah... clarification. The day training "starts" is actually the day he "starts getting ready" to go to training. Apparently it takes 4 days to get ready.

There's a dinner at 6pm the day after tomorrow. Is it required? Nobody knows. Finally someone says they don't think it is. Okay, so we won't go.

Text message at 8:00am this morning. Dinner at 6pm tonight, in a town an hour away from home. Can you be ready by 5pm?

I thought we weren't going? I guess I can try to get out of work at 4pm so I can go home and get ready.

But when I arrive at work, I discover there's a meeting scheduled from 3 to 5pm. Yeah... no way I can get out of that one.

Gosh, would have been nice to know about that dinner, say, maybe last week?

So does he get to come home after training tonight? Does he get to be home for the weekend??? A sergeant says he "thinks" there will be training each day during the weekend but he'll be able to come home in the evenings. He tells us not to quote him on that, as he doesn't actually know for sure, and it might get changed.

Oh, and he's under a new sergeant now. I think this is the third one? Maybe the fourth. He found out just one day before training.




Army, o Army.

I always laughed at the "military intelligence" joke, but now it takes on a whole new meaning.

You're never sure of anything until the last... possible... tiny... fraction of a second, are you?

Deployment in the first week of April.

The 5th.

The 6th?

The 2nd.

No it really is the 6th. But you still have to report on the 2nd.

What time?

They don't know yet. Wait and see.

And your gear better be packed and ready to ship before the 25th.

Of course, you have to have gear before you can pack it.

Minor details.




Now that I've talked to other people who have experience with the Army, I understand that this is standard operating procedure. The phrase I keep hearing is "hurry up and wait".

Gee, why didn't I think of that? Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

[Andrea pops another crazy pill]

For once, we'd like to know what's going on before it actually happens. Maybe even like a week before. You know... time enough to plan, pack, rearrange work schedules, tell the family what they can expect.

But apparently the Army doesn't roll that way.




Army, o Army.

How I loathe thee.

If my boy wasn't committed to remaining among your ranks for the next 5+ years, I think I'd perform a prayer ceremony to curse thee. I'd even be willing to order up some "eye of newt" and "wing of bat" from the internet. You would most certainly burn with the fire of a thousand suns.




Instead, I am forced to support an institution that makes very little sense to me, and a war with a cause that's nebulous at best. I don't agree with any of it.

My tax dollars hard at work, and my future husband's life at stake.

The future of my family.

What if he dies? What if I never get the chance to be married to him? What if we never have children together? What if I lose the love of my life, so soon after finding him?

No time to think about that though. We're too busy waiting.

Waiting to find out what day, what time. Making phone calls, getting the run around.

Did I mention dinner?

Obviously these things are much more important.

The Army sure seems to think so.