Catching up
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. I’ve spent the past week out on missions every day. I’m working on about four stories, a family newsletter and I’m exhausted besides. I wish I could say they were exciting missions and stories, but really just the same old stuff… we donate something to the Iraqi Security Forces, it helps them to do their jobs better, more ISF graduate from basic training, improving security in northern Iraq… but it keeps me busy.
With the job I have, I travel with different people. When I leave the wire, it seems like it’s always with a different unit, so I have to be adaptable. Every unit has a different way of reacting to “dangerous situations”. Every unit has a different personality and a different way of conducting missions. Since I’m usually just an add on, I have to try to “fit in” every time I go out.
Every time I leave with a certain unit, the “guy in charge” always designates one of his PSD team to be my babysitter. Being a female in Iraq has its advantages and disadvantages and can sometimes just be a pain in the ass. I sometimes wish I could do my job just like everyone else here, without having to be guarded, and worried about more than everyone else.
I had the big “hey we’re half-way through our deployment” one on one talk with the commander the other day. I think I went through a phase recently where I was convinced everyone in my chain of command was plotting against me, or in general against our happiness. I thought that every decision they made was meant to make my life more difficult. “If it made me happy, then it had to go” I’m still not sure that the welfare of the troops is the commander’s first priority, but I’m also not sure that it should be. I guess what I’m trying to say is that he’s doing what he’s supposed to and I think we were all just looking for a reason to blame someone else for our unhappiness and frustration.
But, halfway through the deployment we are. In another 5 months we’ll be getting ready to ship on out of here! It still seems like forever, but when I think of how quickly the last 7 months have gone, it may not be so bad. And, I get to go on leave in October. I’m glad I waited so long to go. When I come back we’ll only have a couple more months left.
With the job I have, I travel with different people. When I leave the wire, it seems like it’s always with a different unit, so I have to be adaptable. Every unit has a different way of reacting to “dangerous situations”. Every unit has a different personality and a different way of conducting missions. Since I’m usually just an add on, I have to try to “fit in” every time I go out.
Every time I leave with a certain unit, the “guy in charge” always designates one of his PSD team to be my babysitter. Being a female in Iraq has its advantages and disadvantages and can sometimes just be a pain in the ass. I sometimes wish I could do my job just like everyone else here, without having to be guarded, and worried about more than everyone else.
I had the big “hey we’re half-way through our deployment” one on one talk with the commander the other day. I think I went through a phase recently where I was convinced everyone in my chain of command was plotting against me, or in general against our happiness. I thought that every decision they made was meant to make my life more difficult. “If it made me happy, then it had to go” I’m still not sure that the welfare of the troops is the commander’s first priority, but I’m also not sure that it should be. I guess what I’m trying to say is that he’s doing what he’s supposed to and I think we were all just looking for a reason to blame someone else for our unhappiness and frustration.
But, halfway through the deployment we are. In another 5 months we’ll be getting ready to ship on out of here! It still seems like forever, but when I think of how quickly the last 7 months have gone, it may not be so bad. And, I get to go on leave in October. I’m glad I waited so long to go. When I come back we’ll only have a couple more months left.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home