BuccaSpace

I know, I know.  It's been too long. Kind of like waiting for the new season of Lost to get started. I guess I could always blame it on a writer's strike, or something.

I will now attempt to fill my reading audience in on everything new that has happened since my last update over a month ago.

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And, that's about it, folks.

I thought, perhaps, that I'd ramble about a few observations that I and my colleagues have made. It all started one night when we were watching Office Space. I have seen this movie twice before, and I remember it being entertaining. But, now I see beyond the hilarity of its dry wit and off-the-wall antics. I can understand the almost universal appeal of this film. Save for the retired, unemployed, or self-employed we all know every character in the movie. They're in the cubicle next to us, or the corner office down the hall. Indeed, every character in the movie exists on FOB Bucca in some incarnation or other. Well, all but Jennifer Anniston's character. And she is sorely missed....

There are many Lumberghs running around. I am not really at liberty to delve into specific instances, suffice it to say that my fellow Providers and I frequently find ourselves casting bewildered gazes at each other and saying, "Ummmmm, Yeah.... We're gonna need you to just go ahead and, uh, . . . . . . ___________"

We have our "Pieces of Flair." 

My favorite is the IBA. The Army refers to it as the Individual Body Armor. I think it actually stands for Individual Burden, Asinine. Don't get me wrong, I wholeheartedly believe in the effectiveness of this product. I've seen how devastating injuries can be without it, and I've seen it save lives. The lives of our boys and girls who roll out beyond the wire in armored vehicles kicking down doors and taking fire and dodging IEDs. The IBA is an invaluable asset in a combat environment. While I'm technically in a combat zone, the closest thing I've seen to combat is a really heated Ping Pong game. Nevertheless, on my trek into and out of the hospital, I must wear my IBA. I really feel safer as a result.

My other favorite is the reflective PT belt. Now this makes TOTAL SENSE. There is a small amount of vehicular traffic out on the LSA. In an effort to make myself more visible to this traffic, and therefore immune to being run over, I am required to wear a reflective belt. But only when in PTs. If wearing the standard Army ACU, no reflective belt is required. Let's think about this.....

The Army spent a lot of money (probably millions) to completely re-design the combat uniform and create a pattern which will effectively camouflage its wearer in a variety of environments - including the desert. It is a tactical uniform, and one key purpose is to allow its wearer to more effectively blend into his/her surroundings thus LIMITING VISIBILITY TO OTHERS such an enemy combatant (or perhaps, even the unwitting driver of an SUV). 

The Army also spent a lot of money (probably millions) to completely re-design the PT uniform. Granted, one impetus for this was that they wanted soldiers to have a stylish get-up that they'd be proud to wear as opposed to the old 1970's version that I'm pretty sure JJ from Good Times had a few sets of. But, they additionally took advantage of fantastic new technological developments and incorporated reflective logos and striping into the new uniform. That's right, the uniform itself has reflective print on it. Built in. In the design. Right there, permanently adherent to the very cloth of the uniform is a big-ass "A" on the back and the word "Army" on the front. Integrated.

I understand completely why there is no reflective material on the ACU. That's not really my question. My question is this:  Why, then, when I need to get up at 2:00am to go pee and I'm wearing my PT uniform with its inherent reflective properties am I required to don my reflective belt? However, at 7:30pm when I'm walking along a road with relatively frequent traffic as I'm making my way back from the hospital after taking out another appendix and I'm wearing my uniform which allows me to blend in with the environment, there is no requirement to wear anything to make me more visible to the SUVs, busses, and Polaris vehicles passing by. Perhaps it's because I'm wearing my IBA, and that will prevent injury in the event of an impact......

This is, possibly, the world's saddest camel. And not simply because I'm sitting on it. The real point here is - notice the bright blinding reflection of the flash from the shirt and also from the shorts. Contrast this highly visible reflective print to photos in previous posts of Steve in ACUs. Note there, the conspicuous absence of any reflective area.