Back to the Sandbox

I left home on February 6th.  The kitchen remained in a complete shambles as the renovation continues.  Hopefully, Michelle will get things in order before I get home.  As I entered the airport in Fayetteville, I suspected that my life would likely resemble the chaos in that kitchen for the next few months.  On the opposite side, I can only hope that I come out with a revitalized and refreshed outlook on life.  Granite countertops and all.

I actually debated whether I would pick up where I left off with this blog.  I was actually quite happy to take a 5-year hiatus from documenting the absurdity of my experiences and spend that time stateside.  I took the opportunity this afternoon to go back to the ramblings from the “Bucca Days” and was somewhat intrigued to find that there has been some traffic on this blog which picked up, coincidentally, with my departure on 6 Feb.  As if that weren’t motivation enough, I’ve already amassed enough tidbits in the two-and-a-half days since leaving home that I feel compelled to document them.  If not for the sake of the interested reader, then for my sanity.

As previously mentioned, I left home on Friday, 6 Feb.  Wheels up at approximately 1125 EST.  After relatively brief stops in Charlotte and Phoenix, we touched down in El Paso, TX around 1715 MST. El Paso?  What?  What happened to Ft. Benning and CRC Lane and all that????  Well, ladies and gentlemen (and others), times have changed, and CRC (CONUS Replacement Center for the newcomers) has moved to beautiful Ft. Bliss, TX.  More on that later; I haven't even gotten out of the airport yet.

I made my way to baggage claim, and, on the way, I passed the Military “concierge” desk.  There was a pleasant gentleman there who noticed my apparent look of general disorientation, and as I approached the desk, he inquired, “CRC?”

“Yes!”

He told me to continue to baggage claim, grab my belongings, and return to him, and he would arrange for transportation.  Well, damn, that was easy.  So, I ambled over to the baggage claim carousel and proceeded to wait.  Finally, the belt started to roll, and I eagerly anticipated visual identification of my duffel.  And waited.  And anticipated.  And waited.  And got a little frustrated.  And waited.  Well, you get the picture.  Finally, the conveyor was empty.  As were my hands.  The young line boy came through the door and noticed my dissatisfied look.  He asked what I was waiting for.

“An Army duffel.”

“No more duffels.”

Not good.  On his advice, I headed to the airline counter (names have been withheld to protect the guilty) where I initiated a claim.  Apparently due to the short layover in Charlotte, my bag had been re-routed via Houston and would be arriving in El Paso sometime around 9pm.  It would then be delivered to me that night or the following morning.  Whichever worked out best.  For them.  Not for me.  What would have worked out best for me would have been to leave the airport with my baggage.  Oh well.  Just the first of many likely SNAFUs.  Semper Gumby.  (Google it….*)

I returned to the Military “concierge” and explained my predicament.  I would be continuing on sans luggage.  Easy enough.  He then assuaged my consternation by letting me know that, once upon a time, a group of fourteen had their luggage lost.  Weapons and all.  At least my duffel was unarmed.  He then made arrangements for travel to Ft. Bliss and the new CRC.  It was a short ride, and the remainder of the evening was uneventful.

The following day, I “In-Processed” CRC in the same clothes in which I had arrived.  Just a day old, so not too bad.  My belongings arrived around 0930, and I was showered and refreshed by 1230.  Thus far, aside from the baggage issue, I’d say that the CRC experience has been relatively uneventful.  While the environs are vastly different, I’d say the overall tone and objectives have been pretty similar.  The first couple of days have been fairly heavily focused on the completion of computer-based training.  Monday was the “Soldier Readiness” cattle-call in which we all make certain that our immunizations, labwork, legal, financial affairs, etc… are up-to-date.  I cleared through that whole process by 1330.  I think I was one of the lucky ones.  And, this deployment is now off to a relatively unassuming start.

*Wikipedia (the authority on all subjects in the known universe) has a somewhat limited explanation of the term.  I’m pretty sure that its use is not exclusive to the mentioned organizations.