**Note - while this blog is in present tense...I started it some time ago and thought it time to finish as I really want to share a bit about the cast of characters
I spent my deployment with.*** Tonight's movie night and the general concensus (of all guys) was to watch "Cowboys and Aliens." Since I can guess by the title of the movie that it's pretty much going to suck, I thought I'd share a bit about the people I spend my days with here.
To set the tone, I work in a plywood hut. Our office is in the very back of this hut. There are 8 of us in the office and 11 desks. We are gaining people soon so it will get pretty packed in here before I know it. At the end of our office is a plywood wall with a plywood door. On the other side of the plywood is our front office with 4 more people to include our Col and Lt Col. Our privacy is pretty limited here so we get to know a lot about each other.
The head of our motley crew is the Col Bishop. My personal pet name for him is P.O.D. for Prince of Darkness. He likes quiet, order and discipline; none of which describe me. Since we are separated by plywood, this seems to cause a lot of angst for him, which in turn causes a lot of angst for me. I don't so much get yelled at as sternly admonished. He's the stereotypical silver-haired action-spy movie villian. You know the brilliant mastermind who is always just on the cusp of a psychopathic break. I'm sure when his evil plots get foiled, he will launch into a monologue about his great plans while banging the side of his head with his pistol. He doesn't o need to yell too often; he's the master of the demoralizing glare.
Then we come to our Lt Col. He's British and such a great stereotype. I don't know if I should reference Mr Bean or Mr Magoo, but he's definitely one of them. He's a generally happy type who likes to forget to unbuckle his seatbelt before exiting the car. Always a good time.I go out of my way to start conversations when we get close to our destination to see if I can make him forget he has it on. It's especially fun listening to him Skype with his family. Either he or someone on the other side doesn't quite have Skype figured out so there's a constant barrage of "Can you hear me?", "It doesn't matter if you can't see me." or "Oh, bollocks." Again, always a good time.
Then there's our Senior Enlisted Leader, MSG Clementine. He's a short guy and a fan of MBWA so we see him on our side of the office a lot. He's also born and bred Army with a penchant for the " fist-bmp" style of leadership. You don't have to be told he has boys...the fist bump says it all.
The majority of characters live in our side of the office. I can't talk about characters without mentioning Petty Officer Doubting.
Petty Officer Doubting is in his 20s still and from the great state of Wisconsin. He's sounds like the Northern version of Gomer Pyle but he actually has more sense. He has one of the purest souls and emptiest stomachs I have ever come across. This kid could win a hot-dog, pizza and ice cream eating contest all in one day. Someone sent me a large jar of peanut butter for sandwiches and he legitimately told me "Ohhh, Chief..that should last you a week." I like peanut as much as the next girl; but a week? I'd be a damn peanut by then.
Sitting next to me, we have SSG Pomegranate. He's having twins soon and I hope they are girls...he already has one so it would be fabulous to know he's surrounded. It would be a little payback for all the puns I have had to endure thus far. That's his thing; puns. It doesn't matter what you say; he's got a punny remark.
Then, there's Petty Officer Quack. He's Chinese with a pretty thick accent and a very bright smile. English is his second language and listening to him talk to foreign journalists also speaking English as a second language might be one of the best experiences I have here. I hate returning calls from messages he leaves me; I can guarantee the name is wrong and I will have about half the information I need to sound like an intelligent human being. A little side note; Quack is now gone....when he left, we met him at the terminal. He had TEN bags with him and of course he was late. I could have helped him, but he wanted to carry all that shit with him so I thought it a good lesson to let him hump it all himself. His last bag was a plastic one with a big box in it. With sweat dripping down his forehead and barely any breath left in his lungs, the bag ripped in half. He gave it to me to keep. Inside the box were the sample-sized toiletries he had stolen from the community locker. Remember, we are in Kabul...need to fly to Kandahar and then Kuwait before finally lugging all our shit to the States and this guy brings home hotel shampoos? Sometimes all you can do is shake your head.
To add to the office dynamic, we have TSGT Cromagnon. He's about 7' tall and scary in a Beaker from Sesame Street kind of way. Every time he goes to speak, his eyes get big, his face tightens up and I expect him to tell me he just killed a man with his bare hands. He's one of the most intense people I have ever met without even trying.
Rounding out the team is our token Marine; 1st Lt Jacks. He's a young'n; all of 13 or so, but he is wise for his age. H e's definitely my favorite person in the office. Lt Jacks is actually fortunate enouugh to be on deployment with hs brother, Capt Jacks. This gives him playmate for mischief. Lt J has many hobbies but he seems to spend the most time on two out here; practical jokes and working out. I didn't know people still played pranks but then again, I haven't been a teenage boy in, well, ever. In stereotypical Marine fashion, this young man spends about 6 hours a day running or in the gym. He'll leave in the of the day for about 4 hours (he runs in the morning and gym mid-day) and have the nerve to innocently ask, "Did I miss anything," when he returns. Of course you missed something, you missed half the godamn day! All craziness aside though, I don't know how I would have made it through this deployment without him. Lt J was always willing to listen to me bitch about the day's ridiculous adventures (although I don't know if I ever gave him a choice) and I really value his opinion. Even though I am still and will always be the Chief in our dynamic, I'm able to relax around him and he's the only person in the office I can just be me with. I don't think he knows how much that has meant to me.
The above does't quite touch on the entire cast and crew it takes to make our world go round in the PAO shop but it touches on some of the core group. We drive each other nuts but together we make a team and each person provides something of value (well most every person...but I won't go down that road). I am proud to know each one of them. Our paths converged for awhile and as we separate, I am proud to have worked alongside each of them.
I spent my deployment with.*** Tonight's movie night and the general concensus (of all guys) was to watch "Cowboys and Aliens." Since I can guess by the title of the movie that it's pretty much going to suck, I thought I'd share a bit about the people I spend my days with here.
To set the tone, I work in a plywood hut. Our office is in the very back of this hut. There are 8 of us in the office and 11 desks. We are gaining people soon so it will get pretty packed in here before I know it. At the end of our office is a plywood wall with a plywood door. On the other side of the plywood is our front office with 4 more people to include our Col and Lt Col. Our privacy is pretty limited here so we get to know a lot about each other.
The head of our motley crew is the Col Bishop. My personal pet name for him is P.O.D. for Prince of Darkness. He likes quiet, order and discipline; none of which describe me. Since we are separated by plywood, this seems to cause a lot of angst for him, which in turn causes a lot of angst for me. I don't so much get yelled at as sternly admonished. He's the stereotypical silver-haired action-spy movie villian. You know the brilliant mastermind who is always just on the cusp of a psychopathic break. I'm sure when his evil plots get foiled, he will launch into a monologue about his great plans while banging the side of his head with his pistol. He doesn't o need to yell too often; he's the master of the demoralizing glare.
Then we come to our Lt Col. He's British and such a great stereotype. I don't know if I should reference Mr Bean or Mr Magoo, but he's definitely one of them. He's a generally happy type who likes to forget to unbuckle his seatbelt before exiting the car. Always a good time.I go out of my way to start conversations when we get close to our destination to see if I can make him forget he has it on. It's especially fun listening to him Skype with his family. Either he or someone on the other side doesn't quite have Skype figured out so there's a constant barrage of "Can you hear me?", "It doesn't matter if you can't see me." or "Oh, bollocks." Again, always a good time.
Then there's our Senior Enlisted Leader, MSG Clementine. He's a short guy and a fan of MBWA so we see him on our side of the office a lot. He's also born and bred Army with a penchant for the " fist-bmp" style of leadership. You don't have to be told he has boys...the fist bump says it all.
The majority of characters live in our side of the office. I can't talk about characters without mentioning Petty Officer Doubting.
Petty Officer Doubting is in his 20s still and from the great state of Wisconsin. He's sounds like the Northern version of Gomer Pyle but he actually has more sense. He has one of the purest souls and emptiest stomachs I have ever come across. This kid could win a hot-dog, pizza and ice cream eating contest all in one day. Someone sent me a large jar of peanut butter for sandwiches and he legitimately told me "Ohhh, Chief..that should last you a week." I like peanut as much as the next girl; but a week? I'd be a damn peanut by then.
Sitting next to me, we have SSG Pomegranate. He's having twins soon and I hope they are girls...he already has one so it would be fabulous to know he's surrounded. It would be a little payback for all the puns I have had to endure thus far. That's his thing; puns. It doesn't matter what you say; he's got a punny remark.
Then, there's Petty Officer Quack. He's Chinese with a pretty thick accent and a very bright smile. English is his second language and listening to him talk to foreign journalists also speaking English as a second language might be one of the best experiences I have here. I hate returning calls from messages he leaves me; I can guarantee the name is wrong and I will have about half the information I need to sound like an intelligent human being. A little side note; Quack is now gone....when he left, we met him at the terminal. He had TEN bags with him and of course he was late. I could have helped him, but he wanted to carry all that shit with him so I thought it a good lesson to let him hump it all himself. His last bag was a plastic one with a big box in it. With sweat dripping down his forehead and barely any breath left in his lungs, the bag ripped in half. He gave it to me to keep. Inside the box were the sample-sized toiletries he had stolen from the community locker. Remember, we are in Kabul...need to fly to Kandahar and then Kuwait before finally lugging all our shit to the States and this guy brings home hotel shampoos? Sometimes all you can do is shake your head.
To add to the office dynamic, we have TSGT Cromagnon. He's about 7' tall and scary in a Beaker from Sesame Street kind of way. Every time he goes to speak, his eyes get big, his face tightens up and I expect him to tell me he just killed a man with his bare hands. He's one of the most intense people I have ever met without even trying.
Rounding out the team is our token Marine; 1st Lt Jacks. He's a young'n; all of 13 or so, but he is wise for his age. H e's definitely my favorite person in the office. Lt Jacks is actually fortunate enouugh to be on deployment with hs brother, Capt Jacks. This gives him playmate for mischief. Lt J has many hobbies but he seems to spend the most time on two out here; practical jokes and working out. I didn't know people still played pranks but then again, I haven't been a teenage boy in, well, ever. In stereotypical Marine fashion, this young man spends about 6 hours a day running or in the gym. He'll leave in the of the day for about 4 hours (he runs in the morning and gym mid-day) and have the nerve to innocently ask, "Did I miss anything," when he returns. Of course you missed something, you missed half the godamn day! All craziness aside though, I don't know how I would have made it through this deployment without him. Lt J was always willing to listen to me bitch about the day's ridiculous adventures (although I don't know if I ever gave him a choice) and I really value his opinion. Even though I am still and will always be the Chief in our dynamic, I'm able to relax around him and he's the only person in the office I can just be me with. I don't think he knows how much that has meant to me.
The above does't quite touch on the entire cast and crew it takes to make our world go round in the PAO shop but it touches on some of the core group. We drive each other nuts but together we make a team and each person provides something of value (well most every person...but I won't go down that road). I am proud to know each one of them. Our paths converged for awhile and as we separate, I am proud to have worked alongside each of them.
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