Happy Birthday To Me!

Today marks the end to my second year of service to the United States Army. It also marks the start of my third year. 36 months and a wake up left, and I'm out of this place. That's roughly 1096 days, which is 26,304 hours, or 1,578,240 minutes, or 94,694,400 seconds. But I'm not counting.

This morning we had to get up extra early because of something we did yesterday, or was it the day before? Or even ten days ago. I would not talk about it, but it's so fucking stupid that even if they bust my balls about it, I would like them to explain the absurdity of the situation. We had to go recover the mother board of a television remote that we saw yesterday. What? Even if something like that was going to be used as a detonator of some kind of IED, what's the range on that? 25 feet? How many times have you changed your channel from 300 feet away?

Our platoon, the 'New Misfits' are cursed. Despite being all of these orphans from different places, and not being able to get along till recently, we have come together as a platoon despite all that, and though we aren't reacting to sniper fire, or kicking in houses and shooting bad guys, we have done a really good job. We've actually done an excellent job with what's in hand. We complain and guys have started to get complacent, but when you train for a job, and then you go to work, and your job is not anything like what you've trained for, how are you supposed to be content and happy about that? We were asked if we handled the 'evidence' properly. Do I look like I'm a CSI tech? Yea, I picked it up and brought it back to you, to do what? Win the war? Find the WMD's? Well sleep tight tonight America, the 82nd is on point.

Part of our curse, is doing everything right, or everything the same way everyone else does it, and getting our balls busted, or chopped off for it. We got a 'speeding ticket' for driving to fast out of the ECP. Not only am I 100% positive that we were not speeding, the person who said we were, said that our "4 trucks" were going way to fast, and we might have hit a child. For one, we only roll with 3 vehicles. For two we drive like a blind man who's walking on ice skates. And for three, I don't know too many kids that play around in front of military installations and in front of heavy machine guns.

So as punishment, we get to endanger our lives more. This happened earlier here. We get in trouble, so we spend more time in sector, with less sleep, making us more complacent. We are going to do the Baghdad marathon. Walk around our entire AO. No trucks to help support if we get attacked, and no vehicles to Casevac us if we are hurt. And further more, walk so far away from the base that my communications won't be able to talk to anyone. That's about as smart an idea I've heard. This place is definitely not what I signed up for. I didn't know that the Army could be so stupid. Things used to be different. They used to be better here. I can only imagine how hard the next three years are going to be. Things are declining, getting worse. It used to be something to be Airborne. It used to be 'high speed.' Now it's just $150 extra a month, and a bunch of bullshit. No one has any clue here anymore, the organization of this place, well I've seen better from preschool students.

It's a great day to be in the 82nd! Driven by false motivation and assholes that have no clue. Maybe they can spend millions like they did at JRTC, so that our .50 cal will have 4 rounds, but the TOC has nice flat screens, and banners that say stay off the bench. I'm off the bench, when are you gonna come out and play? What a fucking joke my life has become. Sad that the joke tends to mess with my life and the lives around me.



"And many more..."