In A Hurry To Get Things Done

So today I got word, maybe official. We’re moving out of our cribs and into tents on the 18th. So today I felt a sense of urgency to start getting rid of my stuff and finding out what I’m going to carry with me on the plane back home. The less stuff I take, the less I have to carry. Then there’s always the issue of weight. They weigh all of our bags to make sure the plane isn’t so heavy that it can’t lift off the ground. I didn’t have time to do much because this morning we had another inventory. This time it was a kind of a turn over inventory. A supply sergeant from the advanced party was going through all of our vechicles and recording all of our equipment.

Afterwards I had things to do so I knew I’d have to plan accordingly. I needed to get a haircut, mail a box at the post office, and pick up a plaque that I ordered, customized, at the bazaar. Plus I had to drop off some laundry at the cleaners. I had a lot to do today and little time to do it. Whatever I didn’t finish today, I knew I would have to finish tomorrow.

So I dropped off my laundry and then headed over to the Bazaar. It was closed for some reason or another. So then I went over to the post office to mail my box of personal stuff home. There was a long line at the post office and I knew that I’d have to wait for a while. So I decided to go to the post office tomorrow and get a haircut today. So I drove over to the barber, got a haircut, ate dinner, and went to the PX to pick up a few things. As soon as I got back The Colonel asked me if I could drive around and look for Private Pennis. The commander wanted to see him right away in his office about some Article 15 Non-Judicial Punishment. I found out that he was on another camp so I drove over there to find him. I got there and luckily found him in no time. I gave him the word and drove back to our camp.

I went to the recreation tent to get on the internet to check my e-mail when T-Rex walks in and tells me that we’re on lockdown. I asked why and he told me it was because some NVGs (Night Vision Goggles) were missing. I asked who’s and he told me. It was from a team that left Iraq to train some troops that are on their way over here. Great I thought. It’s just another thing to get bothered with. I know what the deal is in these situations. They’ll search around everywhere and still won’t find it. I knew it too. Soon enough we were asked to go out to the motor pool to be prepared to search the Humvees. It sucked because it was already dark and we’d be looking for these things at night. They are very sensitive and very expensive. Losing one could cost a Joe his career.

So we searched all the Humvees in the platoon in darkness to no avail. We were unable to find any NVGs. Then we searched a few rooms. We ended up finding some pornography, which is contraband, instead of the NVGs. A few of the guys that last handled the NVGs had to fill out witness statements and the rest of us are now locked down in our room. I’m sure the search will continue tomorrow.