Newbs

Everywhere I look, I see the doe-like eyes of the new arrivals to our unit looking back at me, eagerly taking in the sights and wondering what in the heck they've gotten themselves into.  There is part of me that wants to heckle them and say cruel things like, "Bet your recruiter didn't tell you about this place," but I refrain.  All of them will soon find out that no amount of training or homework would prepare them for the journey they are embarking on in this world of transition commands, and that is insult enough.  Besides, most of them will be home by Christmas of this year as the new requirement for reservists called up to augment the OIF/OEF slots is only a one year of total activation (which includes their train up).  Does it make those of us who are on their 15^th month away from home a little bitter?  Yes, but life is not fair, and neither is the military.  So in the meantime, those of us who are fast approaching month 12 of boots on ground will console ourselves by making fun of the newbies every chance we get.  

 

For the most part our replacements have it pretty easy.  Our jobs in this unit aren't that difficult.  We don't make a habit of kicking down doors nor do we conduct dangerous pre-dawn patrols through IED-land, but we have our own set of unique situations that makes the job complicated.  Some of us do a lot of traveling by air or ground movement, others pour hours of their time analyzing information for General Officer level briefings, and others have to deal with Iraqis on a daily basis.  The stress level is brought on by having so many General Officers asking for crazy pieces of information (how many left handed Kurds who wear size 8 shoes live in the Sulaymaniyah province?) or trying to read the minds of the field grades that scurry about.  Throw in some close calls with the friendly neighborhood insurgent rocket man or a pop shot at your convoy now and then and it brings about the harsh reality that although we primarily work in the confines of a protected base, that base is in the middle of a war zone.  There is a monotony that exists with the day in and day out routine, but the repetition is punctuated by new challenges, new experiences, and new ways to creatively brief a general officer on how his idea is ludicrous without making him realize that you just called him an idiot to his face.

 

The new folks are just that; new.  It's something that they wear like a timid coat but will soon shed as their experiences grow in number and the weather heats up (I don't recommend wearing anything more than you have to in the summer time).  They are eager to perform and I won't belittle them for wanting to do a good job because I think everyone has a desire to perform well, although I would argue that some lack the ability to.  In the meantime, us "old timers" will entertain ourselves and chide the replacements when they freak out at a power outage or the sound of the incoming mortar alarm, but it wasn't that long ago that we were in their shoes.  Well, actually it WAS a long time ago, and we are ready to get out of here.  

 

For those of you who are counting at home, today marks the 431^st day of being re-activated into the Army (326 days of boots on ground in country).  Do you know that cliché that says, "Time flies when you are having fun"?  Well, it doesn't apply.