Half Way There!

Well, as of the 25th, I am at the halfway mark of my deployment. Three months are behind me, as I was "boots-on-the-ground" October 25th. Have met a lot of friendly and interesting people, traveled minimally, and sat in on some briefings I never would have had the chance to back home, I could go on.

In short, I am grateful for the opportunity to be here. It's funny, but I have not heard a lot of complaining going on. Oh, being in a joint environment as an airman, there are those who have to adapt to the Army's way of doing things. Not that that's bad. It's just that like any culture; each service has it's own "language", it's own way of conducting business, and it takes some time to assimilate if you are assigned to it.

An example? Some AF personnel are having to pull KP and guard duty, something they have never been trained for, but it is part of helping out, part of assimilating into the Army's culture. Oh, and learning military languages, each service has what you could call, it's own language, HOOOAH? Even ranks take a while to learn depending on the service. When I first arrived, I was wondering why there were so many colonels around, especially young ones! Well, I wasn't aware of the Navy's ranking system. Their enlisted wear something similar to an eagle for their rank and when walking past them, until you learn, you may find yourself saluting a twenty-year old. Can you tell I haven't posted in a while? I'm jabbering!

Part of me believes I'm in a lull after only three months. As I've heard others say or describe it, it's Groundhog Day, every day. Pretty much the same routine, day-in, day-out. The challenge is finding what you like to do on your down-time and doing it. Time passes quickly here, before I know it, I will be home reminiscing about my experiences. Lots to talk about...

Teachers: I wrote about culture. Consider having a class discussion comparing the cultures of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, etc. to the diverse cultures in the US; African-American, Hispanic, Asian, etc. and compare their similarities, or differences.