A Little Update
The next couple of posts will be dealing with my experience over the past weeks and the fun times that were had. Getting deployed is a very long and drawn out process, that I thought would run a lot smoother than it did. The day (Wednesday) started out very good, with me waking up refreshed. I did wake up a little too early, and so I had some time to kill before the SMP center and Subway opened. So, I went ahead and called Cingular about suspending my service until after the deployment. It turns out that they are nothing like Verizon, who suspended my contract no questions asked when I went to Boot Camp, and they needed to see orders stating that I was deploying. No big deal, as I had those ready and just had to mail them out. After some good chow at Subway, I started packing my bags. I had some initial concerns of being over the weight limit of 400 pounds, my books, laptop, and dvds take up a lot of weight, and so I kept packing and repacking, making it easier to carry, and taking out little small things that I did not need. It was really, really good that we had the whole day off. In many ways it was kind of restless, because after a certain point you are just ready to go and tired of waiting around. But, nonetheless it was good to have the day to myself.
Around 9 that night the fun began. I carried my gear (my pack, my parachute bag, and my sea bag) to the lot a quarter of a mile away where we were to all meet. And let me tell you that that moving fucking sucked. I had about 200 pounds that I had to carry in two trips. The sea bag and my pack went on the first trip, and then my parachute bag went next. That was by far some of the worst few moments in my life. After everyone had their gear up there and had drawn our rifles, we had a long promotion formation. And yes, I am now a Lance Corporal.
Thoughts on gaining a rank. I don’t know what it is about it, but immediately after earning my crossed rifles, I felt an immense pride and a new responsibility. It is like I can no longer just stand back and let events unfold around me and be lead like a sheep anymore. I have to start taking a more active role in events and actually start to be a leader. I mean I feel that pressing on my shoulders. And the last couple of days have impressed that on me more. I am kind of at a crossroads. I could just slink down and not step up to bat and end up being a 5 year Lance Corporal, or I could grow some fucking balls and actually be able to lead people. It is just so hard to be a leader amongst men, especially when we do things that I have no clue the best way to do them. I can handle dealing with computers and such as that, but not when having to lead people through certain events or such. I don’t know, but I just have to figure something out, so that hopefully I don’t just waste the next couple of years stuck at this rank.
And then the waiting began. We had nothing but small things to do for the rest of the night. So, we all just sat out there in the cold, waiting. And yes, it was cold. I had on my green fleece, my beanie, and my gloves, and still I was freezing (I think because I did not have on any leg warming layers on, and so that cold ran up to the rest of my body). Basically, they made us wait up there in the cold until 8 the next morning. And for stupid shit. I will never understand the way this Regiment runs things. Marines always talk about how stupid the 5th Regiment is, and after these last couple of days, I see why. They make us do so much stupid shit, it is not funny. But anyways, amidst waiting, we got weighed in, loaded the trucks, cleaned the barracks a little more, and then got shots. I now have the smallpox virus in my arm. Although it has not pussed up or really shown any signs so far, I think that it will start to. It is starting to itch, and it is just a matter of time before it starts to boil over and look all sick and disgusting. I am soooo looking forward to that.
Well, about 9 the next morning, the buses finally came. We packed up the buses and then rode for about 2 hours to March Air Force Base. There they had like a USO set up, where they provided us with free snacks, free hygiene gear, and free calling cards. After about 2 hours, it was flight time.
