I attended my first drill with my unit this weekend. Uniform of the Day for me was jeans and a tee shirt, as I have not yet been issued uniforms. I talked to a Staff Sergeant in supply about that. He said my stuff is on order, and I should have it by next drill.
Unlike the Chinese soldiers in this photo, there was no inspection.
In fact, it was a pretty relaxed weekend.
For many, it was the first drill together as a new unit.
My unit was headquarters for an artillery brigade, but now we're a Brigade Support Battalion. New Top, new name, new mission, new people.
My confusion was the least important confusion in the room.
Saturday morning was a medical thing. We had to fill out paperwork (of course), read an eyechart, step on a scale, give blood samples and get shots. I'm new, so I have no records, so they were gonna give me "all" the shots. I pulled out my 1986 Basic Training shot records that have every injection since then recorded and said "perhaps you could check my immunization card..." That got me out of a third Measels-Mumps-Rhubella (you only need one per life) injection, but I still got four shots, two per arm. Then we went out to the "dental trailer." Imagine a full size tractor trailer with RV pop-out sections. Inside, a 5 room dental clinic. Panoramic and bite-wing x-rays, and a cursory inspection by a dentist with no tool but a dental mirror. He said my teeth are fine, I'm due for a cleaning, and perhaps I should look into an implant for the tooth I don't have.
I met the Chaplain. He went from having no assistants to having three, with a possible fourth on the way. He seems unsure how to deal with that. Some of us may be headed to other Chaplains at other units.
The Chaplain is an associate pastor at an "evangelical free church." His short sermon on Sunday involved reading from John, chapter 3, in which Jesus is confronted by a Pharisee named Nicodemus regarding the notion of "born again." The discussion revolved around that issue. He asked for prayer requests. People told him what they wanted him to beg God for, things like money and health.
I stayed in "shut the fuck up and don't say something stupid" mode.
Have I mentioned that I'm an empiricist agnostic, currently studying Lojong? I haven't said anything to anyone in uniform.
I feel kinda uncomfortable around him, and I suspect he knows my dogtags and paperwork read "no religious preference." Or maybe I'm being paranoid. But I checked out some books on Evangelical Theology and other Christianity topics from the library today. I should bone up on it at least.
I spent some time moving furniture for the office the Unit Ministry Team will share with three other teams. It was all old furniture. I am surprised (somewhat) by the age of everything, and it's state of disrepair.
I also spent some quality time with a rubber glove (one, I had to share the pair), a sponge, some "Cleanser, Abrasive, With Bleach", and a bathroom. I signed on to "support the troops," and that's what was needed. I didn't bitch about the task, but I suggested a toilet brush and some "general purpose cleaner" spray would be a helpful addition.
The urinal was falling off of the wall. Really. The mounting points at the top of the urinal were broken off, and the urinal was a half inch or more below the screws still in the walls. The good news, this bathroom is marked "WOMEN" so it shouldn't get much worse.
The whole place is like that. Cinderblock buildings with white paint peeling off the outside. Step-tapered square smoke-stack chimneys on the two buildings give the Armory a "concentration camp" aesthetic. Flooring is grey "barf pattern" Formica tiles with many the crack and break. Furniture looks like a thrift store reject pile. Heat is steam radiators.
And yet, Congress has a subway to get from building to building, and free parking at Ronald Reagan Airport.
