Day 35

I felt much better this morning. I still only got about 5 or so hours of sleep but waking up at 5:20am felt "normal" at last. A few more days and I should be golden. I have the option of going in late tomorrow morning so I may just skip setting the alarm when I eventually get to bed. It's already 11:50pm as I start this post...I sacrifice sleep to write this every day!  That's ok, though...I enjoy it and I think it's turned into somewhat of an outlet for me.

So, I've been brainstorming and talking to Dorothy about how to continue this anonymous blog now that I've arrived in Oz. Here's what we came up with: My particular location in Oz will now be known as Walt Disney World, or WDW for short. Surrounding WDW and scattered throughout the country are smaller bases called Forward Operating Bases...sorta like tentacles off of the main base where I'm at. They all have names but to keep it all secret, we'll call those Theme Parks, just like at Disney. As I visit different ones in the course of my deployment, they will be numbered...ie: Theme Park #1. Then, my job...or my job description/mission while here will be my Erector Set. Betcha wonder where that came from, eh?! Well, in an erector set, you have to take all different pieces/parts, bring them all together, and build a functional item. That's sort of what I'll be working on. Here, these "sets" have a name, of course, to remain anonymous, and they could be to build a building, an aircraft hangar, a galley, or anything needed when building the infrastructure at a location. These are critical to the warfight and are high priority and high visibility all throughout Oz. Got it? OK. Well, the agency I am here for is the conduit from which all parts flow. We take the order, we get bids for parts or whatever, we write the contracts, and we ship the items worldwide wherever our military needs them. There are MANY hands in this process with Erector Sets. Way too many and they all are speaking a different language. Not literally, but in the way they do things. My job will be to identify problems in the process, go and meet with the applicable players, and help make it better. Heavy on relationships, heavy on Excel and communication, and heavy on multi-tasking as these Erector Set requests flow in daily. Honestly, I love it. I had a one-on-one chat today with my boss...a senior Army officer. We really hit it off. Sometimes, senior Army officers don't look too kindly at junior Navy officers...especially reservists but I must have made a great first impression because we totally saw eye to eye on what my mission is to be. Once I get the wheels turning, I will travel a bit with him to different Theme Parks where the most Erector Sets are being requested to see them face to face. Keep in mind, Erector Sets are ultimately there to support the warfighter. That's the whole reason I'm here. I really feel this is an area that I can make a difference and excel in. He also wants to move me into operations/leadership as I get this Erector Set thing under control. For now, it is the number one priority.  So there you have it....make sense? I hope so! If not, leave a comment and I'll try again.

Around 5pm today, we had a Hail and Farewell for another officer within the agency who has completed his tour and is heading home in a few days. Some Pizza Hut pizza (can't believe they have that here!), Cokes and waters, and a small award ceremony for him. Afterwards, I headed on back to my CHU.  I then quickly got downstairs for a quick Facetime with Dorothy and the girls. The place was packed so I had a horrible connection and eventually lost them.  That's OK, though...I actually called and talked to Dorothy today...that was AWESOME!!! First time on the phone in a week.

Unwinding, I decided a run was in order. Mr. Moon and the stars were out so I decided to run the perimeter of WDW. As night falls, as it already had, the warfight begins. Our advantage lies at night as we can fly and fight in total darkness while the enemy cannot...thus the reason I keep hearing F-16s taking off I as I type this. Throughout the run, I was passed by up-armor humvees and other top end armored vehicles. At one point, I froze...two F-16s were taking off right over my head...and definitely NOT smooth on their bellies, if you know what I mean. All you could see were their afterburners and then they disappeared into the night. So awesome and the sound/sight of FREEDOM!!! Go Air Force! Eventually, I rounded up my run to an even 1/2 marathon, 13.1 miles. I did it to honor Dorothy who is running yet another 1/2 marathon tomorrow. It was sorta like doing it with her. So glad I did that tonight.

So there you have it...another day, another day closer to home.  Goodnight, everyone!