After the Holidays

Now that the flurry of the holidays is over, we've been settling back into the routine. I've been finding myself less pleased about my situation. I'm still trying to stay positive and use my time and stay involved, but it seems harder somehow. Although I know I have a long ways to go, I'm definitely ready to go home. I've seen my share of this base. I'll keep plodding along, and keep doing my online courses and helping out at church, but that doesn't mean I'm enjoying my time. Why didn't I go Air Force? I'd be done by now!

I've recently been reflecting on another issue: reenlistment. I told myself that I wouldn't be able to decide until I had a taste of deployment. And now that I'm here? Well, the time away sucks, in a big way. I see the same people every day, nonstop, no days off. I try not to think about it often, but I do miss everything about home. But another issue is the copious amount of BS that the military brings to the picture.

For instance: when it comes down to it, I like Sgt. Rhino and I respect his abilities as an NCO and a leader, but I disagree wholeheartedly with him on a few points. Spc. Gadget and Sgt. Rhino seem to butt heads every week, because Sgt. Rhino is only willing to see problems and solutions from his own special point of view, and Spc. Gadget swears that he knows a better way to do it. It got so bad last week that Spc. Gadget went around Rhino and asked Mr. Wizard for permission to fix an issue. Essentially, Gadget got an answer he didn't like from mom, so he went and asked dad, which has never worked out well for me. Mr. Wizard gave Gadget permission, without realizing that he was vetoing Sgt. Rhino. In the end, Gadget saved a couple people a little bit of time and then found himself in a world of trouble with both Rhino and Wizard.

Basically what I'm trying to say is, there's the right (industry-standard) way, the wrong way, and the Army way to solve problems. The Army way works, but it's usually not the right way, nor the easy way. It's a big downer when I start thinking about whether to re-up. Do I really want more of this? At least at a civilian job, I can just quit! On the other hand, staying Army is the patriotic thing to do, and more opportunities will present themselves. I still have time to decide, and the rest of this deployment will help determine my answer when that day comes.