The sailor that sat in front of me today has the word "pain" etched into his forearm. Every time he stretches back and clasps his hands behind his head, the word jumps out at me.
They asked me why I'm in the class. I don't know. Just like I don't know why I was put on the medication and why I had such a bad reaction to it. They asked me what I had done. Oh let my count the ways... thrown my camera bag with roughly $2000 worth of gear in it, hit Wolf in my sleep, sleeping way too much, growled at Driver and friends, cry cry cry. Does that count as an answer?
I'm feeling better, but I still hurt. "Pain" is not etched into my forehead.
They asked for volunteers, so I volunteered. I deployed and spent a year in the sandbox. I came home. The Army decided I was too broken to serve any longer and gave me temporary medical retirement. I'm a civilian again and married right back in. My husband is gearing to deploy. In the meantime, I have a strange love-hate relationship with the Army. Sometimes it sucks, sometimes it doesn't.
About Me
- Techno
- I'm a contradiction all by myself. Soldier and student. Stargazer and computer geek. Boots and music. Paper pusher and globetrotter. It all works out in the end.
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A bit of history...
There was a call for volunteers to deploy in Spring of 2006. I volunteered, was selected, passed the screening process, and was sent to reclassification training to go from being a bandsman to a human resource specialist. After graduation, I was home for roughly a month. I met the rest of my new unit right before we were sent to mobilization training. Once validated, we were sent overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
I left university, quit my job, dumped my foreign boyfriend, and said a few very painful goodbyes. But I don't regret it one bit.
In early August, I was MEDEVAC'd out of the desert. My unit was just a few weeks away from going home. Now my only job is to get better. The irony is that they returned to their homes before I did.The Army has offered me disability and temporary retirement pay. I'm taking it. Bye bye combat boots.
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