So when I last wrote, I was tired and stuck in a hospital lobby. The actual training that we were brought over to do took all of 5 minutes. We were then taken once again to the armory. I began to realize that I was not going to get anywhere fast. I grabbed an MRE and started to heat it up. For civilians, we actually have a heater in a green plastic bag. You add a small amount of water and your food pouch and it starts smoking and heating your meal. I found one of my guys and discovered that everybody staying at Kotzebue had been transported to the hotel for check in. He wants to call his wife and let her know that we made it so I loan him my phone. ATT is the only coverage here. I then overhear a Navy commander arranging a ride to go find his lost luggage. I'm so all over that. I grab my stuff and wrangle a ride to the hotel.
It's an interesting building to say the least. Better yet, it runs 200 dollars a night! I check in and find that I indeed have a roommate and I don't recognize the name. I go up to see my room, finally. The roommate isn't here yet so I get to choose my bed. It's 100 degrees in the room and thermostat doesn't work so I pick the bed farthest away from the wall heater. I start emptying out pockets and in a panic realize I don't have my cell phone! Dane never gave it back and I ran away. I go running back downstairs (I'm on the 3rd floor). I find the guy that gave me ride and head back to the armory. Mind you, in my rush I forgot my parka and cold weather gear. Back at the armory, I find Dane and my cell phone. My goal is to go back to my room and unpack. Can't walk back without my gear. The Sgt who gave the ride informs me that the vehicles are for command transportation and that giving us rides is not the real purpose. Funny, I thought you were supposed to take care of your people first as a priority. There is a major heading out and I bum a ride off of him.
Back at the hotel I finally unpack. I just don't feel settled until I have my stuff ready for my routine. Now it is dinner time. All meals for us are served at the armory. I find a familiar face and we head out walking. The temperature today has been nice. The sun is shining and it is 27 degrees. The locals travel mainly by snow machine. They may or may not slow down for pedestrians. They also like to gun it when they pass you and you get sprayed by snow.
Dinner is group rations. I don't care since I never got to eat my MRE due to my forgetfullness. After dinner, my buddy and I check out the only grocery store. I am kicking myself for not packing gatorade. Water gets old to me in 2 weeks. In a splurge moment, we decide to buy a 12 pack of sprite to split. It is 12 dollars. A good investment in my mental health. We also take pictures in front. My buddy is carrying a flat stanley as am I for Lydia. So now Flat has his picture in Kotzebue. We also pick up a couple of postcards. Exhaustion catches up with me and it is time to head back.
My roommate is there now. Her name is Rosa Ramirez. She is Puerto Rican from New Jersey. What an accent! She is probably the nicest roommate I have had on a deployment in a long time. Heck of a talker. I think I just finally fell asleep at some point. The case of sprite went in the window sill. Better than a fridge. We had the window open to cool the room. That worked well until early AM when we started to get really cold. It didn't get dark until probably 11PM.
This morning, I eat an apple for breakfast that I appropriated yesterday. I go to the lobby for my ride at 0745. Supposed to go to a staff meeting at 0800. The ride appears at 0800. Transportation is an issue still. We get to meet the local doctors and they are visibly excited by our presence. We have spent the morning in orientation. The medical director takes over our training. There seem to be some issues about where people are going and she was not expecting some of us. I sit back for awhile and then I realize that something has to happen. So I start asking questions and making suggestions. When the dust settles, I have gotten a full bird colonel where he wanted to go but didn't speak up for. I have arranged assignments for the med techs and suggested a rotation. I finally introduce myself as the Officer In Charge (OIC) to the group. I realize that I can't tolerate this cluster any longer and I have just created a lot more work for myself. But it was the job assigned to me and I guess I wouldn't have hid from it for very long anyway.
So now it is time for us to start work. It's 1300 and folks are back from lunch. They work from 1000 to 1700 with lunch at 1200. Not bad hours. They aren't early risers here. Hopefully I will actually get to see a patient now.
It's an interesting building to say the least. Better yet, it runs 200 dollars a night! I check in and find that I indeed have a roommate and I don't recognize the name. I go up to see my room, finally. The roommate isn't here yet so I get to choose my bed. It's 100 degrees in the room and thermostat doesn't work so I pick the bed farthest away from the wall heater. I start emptying out pockets and in a panic realize I don't have my cell phone! Dane never gave it back and I ran away. I go running back downstairs (I'm on the 3rd floor). I find the guy that gave me ride and head back to the armory. Mind you, in my rush I forgot my parka and cold weather gear. Back at the armory, I find Dane and my cell phone. My goal is to go back to my room and unpack. Can't walk back without my gear. The Sgt who gave the ride informs me that the vehicles are for command transportation and that giving us rides is not the real purpose. Funny, I thought you were supposed to take care of your people first as a priority. There is a major heading out and I bum a ride off of him.
Back at the hotel I finally unpack. I just don't feel settled until I have my stuff ready for my routine. Now it is dinner time. All meals for us are served at the armory. I find a familiar face and we head out walking. The temperature today has been nice. The sun is shining and it is 27 degrees. The locals travel mainly by snow machine. They may or may not slow down for pedestrians. They also like to gun it when they pass you and you get sprayed by snow.
Dinner is group rations. I don't care since I never got to eat my MRE due to my forgetfullness. After dinner, my buddy and I check out the only grocery store. I am kicking myself for not packing gatorade. Water gets old to me in 2 weeks. In a splurge moment, we decide to buy a 12 pack of sprite to split. It is 12 dollars. A good investment in my mental health. We also take pictures in front. My buddy is carrying a flat stanley as am I for Lydia. So now Flat has his picture in Kotzebue. We also pick up a couple of postcards. Exhaustion catches up with me and it is time to head back.
My roommate is there now. Her name is Rosa Ramirez. She is Puerto Rican from New Jersey. What an accent! She is probably the nicest roommate I have had on a deployment in a long time. Heck of a talker. I think I just finally fell asleep at some point. The case of sprite went in the window sill. Better than a fridge. We had the window open to cool the room. That worked well until early AM when we started to get really cold. It didn't get dark until probably 11PM.
This morning, I eat an apple for breakfast that I appropriated yesterday. I go to the lobby for my ride at 0745. Supposed to go to a staff meeting at 0800. The ride appears at 0800. Transportation is an issue still. We get to meet the local doctors and they are visibly excited by our presence. We have spent the morning in orientation. The medical director takes over our training. There seem to be some issues about where people are going and she was not expecting some of us. I sit back for awhile and then I realize that something has to happen. So I start asking questions and making suggestions. When the dust settles, I have gotten a full bird colonel where he wanted to go but didn't speak up for. I have arranged assignments for the med techs and suggested a rotation. I finally introduce myself as the Officer In Charge (OIC) to the group. I realize that I can't tolerate this cluster any longer and I have just created a lot more work for myself. But it was the job assigned to me and I guess I wouldn't have hid from it for very long anyway.
So now it is time for us to start work. It's 1300 and folks are back from lunch. They work from 1000 to 1700 with lunch at 1200. Not bad hours. They aren't early risers here. Hopefully I will actually get to see a patient now.
So my first question is... what is a flat stanley? You are carrying one for Lydia?? I don't understand. Sounds like an interesting time so far. Can't wait to hear more!!
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