Missions

Here is a pic of me snapped while I was teaching during RSP:

Notice the guy to the far right? SLEEPING! LOL. I love to teach these kids but not everyone likes my style. Also notice my hair style? VERY Navy. Since WLC I wear it more Army. It helps that it is growing out and getting long enough to pull it all back. I actually like this pic. I wasn't posing, they caught me in a candid moment.

Well I finally did it. I rolled a doughnut this month. That means I put ZERO people into the National Guard this month. Yeah I was at school at the beginning of the month but... I have been having nightmares about it. My boss keeps telling me to chill. I have four going down Wednesday next week. 3 of them have taken their ASVAB, 2 have taken their physicals and one is a prior service so they are all pretty much "shoe-ins". I am lining up 4 more for the following week. Then I will be done with my mission.

So...done with my mission...what does that mean? Does that mean I can "take it easy". Um, no. It means I can get my office partner 110% of his mission (9 more enlistments) THEN I can work on "Rookie of the Year". I'll will be working like a dog.

Last night my hubbie and I got into a fuss. A big row. At one point I shouted that I wasn't good at "ordering people around" (insinuating that he is) and he shot back with a "THEN YOU'LL NEVER MAKE E-7!!!!!!!!!" Very insulting. We finally stopped and made up. It still stuck in my craw but I kept my mouth shut. So today my NCOIC SFC Ranger (soon to be MSG Ranger) mentions that since he has broken his arm things around his home have been tense. I realised that was the problem in my home! Not his broken arm but my broken foot! Oh yeah, I had my foot X-rayed and I have been walking around on a fracture for a month. So I mention that we had a fuss and what my husband said. SFC Ranger gets all indignant and says "Oh hell yes you're gonna make E-7!" I get all indignant back and reply "That's what *I* told him!" He huffed and humphed and looked disturbed.

Lately I have had to make a temporary portable office. I still have my office in Rome, but have been working more closely with the recruiter in Calhoun. He has a desk and SFC Ranger has a desk. But I have to make do. So I turned the classroom you see in the pic above into my office. Its' been working out great. I have a huge space, brightly lit and plenty of room to interveiw prospects.

I got back from lunch and sat down to work at my laptop. I notice an E-7 velcro insignia on the keyboard. I smiled. I took it and put it in my left pocket (over my heart) where there is also the coin the CSM gave me. Two minutes later SFC Ranger shouts from his desk "SGT FIELDS! YOU FIND SOMETHING ON YOUR COMPUTER??" I chuckled, got up and walked to his desk "Yes Sergeant. Thanks, Sergeant." I showed him I was keeping it with my coin. He nodded his head in approval.

Does the story end there?? OHHHH NOOOO. I get home. LOL. I casually talk about my day and then casually remove the insignia from my pocket, keeping it hidden in my hand and casually relay the conversation of the day. I slap down the insignia and a slow grin spreads across my husband's face. LOL.

Playing catch-up

Lets see....Went and saw "The 300" at the theatre about a week ago. FANTASTIC movie. Best movie I have ever seen? No. Will it win Oscars? Probably not. Worth going and forking over big bucks for tickets and way too much money for drinks and munchies? ABSOLUTELY. I would go see it again, and plan on buying the video. Hubbie can't wait for the X-Box game they will probably make!! LOL. Loved the Spartan version of Hooah. Loved all the six packs. Yelled with glee when the Queen stabs the Jerk.

Legs are still sore. I really pushed myself too hard and probably injured my foot and leg. Oh well. I am having my husband adjust my foot and that helps but I fear I did some real damage. I need to buy new tennis shoes and start running shorter distances ESPECIALLY since my PT test is coming up shortly (May).

I got all my schtuff in for my promotion packet. I should know in a coupla weeks if I made E-6. My NCOIC said "As soon as you are on the list I'm promotin' ya. Got it?" Got it! So... I need to go buy some E-6 insignia for my uniforms. Is that bad luck??

Recruiting for me has slowed down. Helping the new guy and going away for two weeks took some air out of my sails. I have three lined up for next week. I took two down this week and one was a QNE (qualified/not enlisting) for the GMS (Georgia Military Scholarship) and the other didn't pass his ASVAB. The QNE will enlist once he finds out he has been awarded the scholarship. We should know something Monday. The other one will retake his ASVAB next month and should do better.

I have a lot in my hopper but none that are really ready. I am spending a lot of my time at my schools which is paying off, but many of them can't enlist until June. They will be 17 and a Junior.

Went to a loan officer today. Sigh. We want to build a home. I am not sure I am up to this pressure. And they say recruiting is tough?? Try agreeing with your spouse on how you want to build a house.

My NCOIC will be pinned for E-8 next Wednesday!! I am so excited and so proud for him. He really deserves it. He is *such* a great guy. OK, he is an ASS at times....but overall he really is a great guy. I don't always understand his methods but I do understand his reasons.

Well all that Military Bearing from WLC is wearing off. So I bought some propaganda, uhem, I mean, reference books on leadership. One I am reading comes highly recommended. The Three Meter Zone, by JD Pendry CSM USA. I have just started it and it seems to read like some of the textbooks we were issued at WLC. The reveiws promise that it goes beyond that so we shall see. I also bought Small Unit Leadership by Col Dandridge Malone, USA Ret. Who names their child Dandridge??

Well it's official. I am old. I never thought I would see the day I would say that but here it is. I am getting "older" and I am pretty active ESPECIALLY for my age. I am amazed at how out of shape some people let themselves get... however I was told that I am too old to go to Iraq. One of the sergeants in my unit said "You don't understand SGT Fields! You're too old. You wouldn't last a minute!" I begged to differ but he stopped me in my tracks and said " You don't get it. I don't care how good a shape your in. Iraq is a whole different ball of wax. If you are over 40 you're too old." Hmmm.

Oh my foot...

and my leg. Geez. While I was at WLC I did something to my right foot. I lived with it and it seemed to get better. However the day before yesterday I went on a pretty vigorous run (4 miles up a mountain) and today... well it hurts. Bad. And because my right foot was hurting I compensated with my left leg so my left calf and shin are KILLING me!!

I got my husband to adjust me and my foot. It helped for a little bit yesterday but today??... wow. I have some pain killers left over from having a kidney stone and I took half a pill. Yeah, that's how bad it hurts.

Women of the IDF

I did a Google search on women serving in the military and ran across this link for a photo essay on women in the Israeli Defense Force. It is a powerful photo essay. The pictures are stunning. Even though I am an old lady compared to these girls I felt myself relating to them so much.

Go take a look. Let me know what you think.

I found myself thinking of a nation whose very existence is threatened every second by a system of terrorists whose sole purpose and reason for being is to eliminate the Israelis. Right now, the ONLY thing standing in the way of terrorism is the Americans. Even our friends (Great Britain for one) are abandoning the mission. For whatever reason; I think our mission is damn important. Those girls in the pictures remind me of that. I may buy a print to keep in my office.

WLC

Well, I am back from the Warrior's Leaders Course. WHOO HOOO!!! Shake and Bake baby!

I had a blast. Yes it was tough. Yes, it was intense. But I had a BLAST!

Here is a snapshot of the days:

0500 first call (AKA wake-up and not really too terribly early)
0545 accountability formation (make sure we are all there and armed with M-16's)
0600 breakfast at the DFac (Dining Facility)
0700 formation (billets or barracks rooms better be up to snuff cause they will be inspected while we are out)
0700 load up into Duece and a Halfs (big trucks for carrying troops) wearing full battle rattle (LBV, Kevlar, M-16) ride out to the field to commence troop movement training.
1100 chow in the field (it was the same meal for lunch everyday)
1200 continue troop movement training.
1600 formation; load Dueces, travel out of the field
1630 unload Dueces.
1645 Formation
1700 supper chow
1745 Formation
1800 fall into classrooms for instruction
2030 Details (Cleaning of common areas; mopping, buffing, polishing etc)
2130 Lock down. Weapons locked within our barracks lockers and the locker locked. No one can leave their room after weapons are secured.
2145 Barracks details (do it now cause you won't have time in the morning)
2300 lights out

It was actually pretty smooth. We were kept very busy and it is a good thing too. We had about 2 hours of free time the night before graduation and some people got stupid.

My class was GREAT. We had a good mix of people and everything went pretty smoothly. I'll write more soon.

Moving?

Well, maybe not. I have tried to access the Mil-blog site and it is unaccessable. hmmm. So I guess I am staying here for a while.