Letter to the Command

I was lucky enough to be able to take 10 days of leave just prior to reporting so I could go home and visit family and friends, as well as attend my close friends, Geoff and Alicia's, wedding. After my arrival at Fort Riley, Kansas I wrote a quick note to my command with a brief update. Here is what it said:

My leave in Seattle was terrific, and my friend's wedding was spectacular. The wedding was at the W hotel in Seattle, and we stayed there Fri and Sat nights. Enjoyed my time w/ family and friends - at least that's what they tell me... Hiccup...

After departing Seattle the fun really started. My flight arrived in Kansas City at 23:58. The rental car companies close at midnight, and the shuttle service stops running at 21:00. Since the base is about 135 miles West of the airport, a taxi is out of the question... There was a Chief that arrived a few hours before me that was in the same boat, and luckily we were able to communicate prior to my departure from Denver (layover) after the Senior Navy LNO put the two of us in touch. Chief tried to rent a car, but because they all rent by region here, they wouldn't allow a "one way" rental. He did manage to get authorization for us to stay in a hotel for the night.

After arrival and check in, I finally got to bed at around 00:45 anxiously awaiting my 04:30 wakeup call. We arrived back at the airportat about 05:40 and had to wait outside w/ our 8 bags in the freezing cold (we took turns running inside to try and thaw out) until the"Roadrunner" shuttle arrived. The trip to Ft. Riley took about 2 1/2hours, but I was in a minor coma for most of the trip. Then as we rolled into Junction City, the shuttle driver said that he wouldn't be taking us to base, but that a cab would be waiting. Actually, what that really meant was that we got to sit and wait for a half hour at this shitty little "headquarters" in a nasty part of town.

We finally arrived to base at the proper location a few minutes after 10:00. We were initially told that in-processing would begin at 09:00... Luckily, they got started late, and we didn't really miss much. LCDR Yeager, the Navy Liaison here, knew about our situation, so everyone was understanding w/ our tardiness.

The second day we went for our gear issue. The first of two, RFI, is the combat gear; helmet, flack vest, knee and elbow pads, warm wx and cold wx boots, goggles, backpack, etc., etc. Then we loaded up ourseabags and went next door for the second, CIF, issue. This included our sleeping bag kit (regular, cold wx and waterproof bags along w/ a stuff sack), poncho, poncho liner, four more sets of BDUs, and... Three more pair of boots. I have seven pair of boots now... take one guess how many actually fit... Okay, after shoving an extra set of inserts from one set into another I managed to get two pair that fit pretty well...

This leads to the next part of the story... The size boot that I really needed, the 9W was completely out of stock. I tried boots from 8WW all the way to 10R & 10N and wouldn't ya know it, they were all different, depending upon the manufacturer. The 9 1/2 R were too small, but there was only one manufacturer in that size. The 9 R was better, if I got acertain brand. Needless to say, while I patiently (NOT) tried on about 30 pairs of boots, the last few members of the team finished up with all of their gear and headed for the bus.

Another member came in and informed me that they were going to go so the team could get chow, and that he'd wait with me (aw, how sweet...). He actually thought he was being helpful by bringing me a pair of the 9 1/2 boots to try on. I almost beat him to death w/ the boots, but decided to politely thank him for his assistance and explain that the other four pair of 9 1/2 didn't fit either... LT Lee has actually been quite helpful on a few other locations, as well. He's a reservist, but I just don't have the heart to explain that I've got 12 years of service now, and I've got a pretty good handle on things so far. (He really is asweetheart, though... Ppppffffftttttpp, hacckkkkkk, KKKaackkkkkk sorry- hairball...)

Fortunately for me, no one on the team thought it logical to grab my gear off the bus when they got back to the barracks... Not that I can blame them, as most members now had three seabags as well as a ruck-sackfull of shit that they had to lug up to their rooms on the third floor. I think everyone just thought that somebody else would be coming back for the gear. Thanks, mates...

Seeing as how this was the really important combat gear, not to mention it was made very clear to us that this was a "one time issue" and that we couldn't even go back and make exchanges - I was not at all concerned about getting my gear back... In fact, I pretty much figured that some Army Sergeants had "reconnoitered" my bag and were generously distributing it amongst their team. Fortunately, it only took about 28 (stress free, mind you.) hours to finally get my gear back.

Needless to say, my first few days were not terribly enjoyable, but I've begun to settle in to the Army way of life. Carrying my M-4 and 9MM everywhere I go, having to "clear" my weapon prior to entry into everybuilding, even though I have been nowhere near a single round... I'm getting used to the saying, "don't confuse the Army w/ common sense."

The entire class is about 150 strong, but we're broken into teams of roughly 16. We (ten Navy) were originally partnered up w/ four Air Farce officers, but they were recently splintered off and teamed up with six Army stragglers. I'm looking forward to all of the range time that we will get, and hear that we will qual on several different weapons. The M-4 and M-9 qualifications are on a "3-D" course meaning that you have to shoot, move, reload, shoot again, etc. A little more interesting than just standing in one spot shooting at a target.
I haven't bothered to dig out my camera and charge up the batteries, but will be sure to take some pictures soon, for your viewing pleasure.

Miss you all. Hugs and Kisses,

Murph

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the Spec Ops guys that they put in our barracks that our basically just here to pick up weapons, qualify and depart. There are five of them, a LT Col, an E-8, E-6 and two E-7s... They've been in a constant state of inebriation since they arrived last week, although I think they decided to take a day off today. I shared acouple of beers and a shot or two of Jaegermeister with them yesterday. I'm pretty sure they're all nuts, but I thought it better to join them vice getting a shiv in the middle of the night... So far so good.