Ten days down on this wonderful deployment. If the next XXX days are this awesome, I might just try to stay on mobilizations forever! Oh, wait… not really. I am really getting tired of Fort Dix, and if I am back here before too long, it will be too soon, except to demobilize next year. I am sure that Fort Dix would be a nice place to visit, but living here and doing any amount of training sure has began to get annoying in its own special way. I cannot really put my finger on it directly, but the whole process, for a post that deploys units nearly every month, seems a bit contrived and almost like they forget how to do it from mobilization to mobilization. Part of this may be due to certain parts of our chain of command not putting their foot down and forcing them to validate our previous training, but it is what it is.
This morning, we went to the Central Issue Facility (CIF) to get even more stuff. This is why we are taking so much stuff with us; they keep giving us stuff that we may never have any reason to wear or use while in theater. I understand the need for Fire Retardant ACUs, but not four pairs worth. Especially considering that we will be getting another two pair as “replacements” while in country. But the Army has a reason for things (I think), and if a pair of these FRACUs ends up saving a life, then it is worth every Soldier getting at least one pair.
I also finished up my CPOF training today. Again, while the system is great, it wasn’t really presented that well, at least by our instructors. This is a problem with many functional courses taught by the Army; the material may be really interesting but if you get the wrong people teaching it, the instruction loses a little luster, making whatever is being taught seem worse than it actually is. This course was no exception. It is a great system presented in a poor manner. But this is just a Soldier complaining because that is what we are supposed to do. Tomorrow is another day!
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