Old Bastards in the Hallway

Today the drill started early with a PT test at 0700.  I arrived at 0645.  I have a lot of PT test photos which I will post on FLICKR by next Tuesday.  After the PT Test, the over-40 soldiers from our unit went to the medical facility for annual health screening.  We all fasted since last night which was especially difficult for the soldiers who took the PT Test.  No food before or after.  I brought a bag of food with me and ate it as soon as I got the blood test.

At every Army medical event with multiple stations, one station ends up with a three-hour line.  I got blood, dental, eyes, ears, ekg all done in an hour and a half.  I am now in my second hour of the checkout line.  The doctor just came out of his office and said the computer is down.  So we have been waiting, are waiting and will be waiting in a line that won't move.

While we are waiting, some of the 40 yr olds got into one of those "Good old days" conversations which start out with the Old Soldiers in question bragging about who had the meanest mother and how much they got beat when they were kids.  Then as they keep speaking, it begins to be clear that despite their love of the old days, their actual techniques for discipline are as squishy as fresh marshmallows.

They "count to ten" while the disobedient child continues his disobedience until the count of nine.  One of the two parents is not sure about spanking.  They think talking back is normal.  They give 7-year-olds video games.  They may be paragons of an orderly family in their heads, but their actions say nothing matters but individual happiness and rights--which makes them Liberals by any traditional definition.  If actions speak louder than their (very loud) words, then they are to Left of the San Francisco city council.

And my wife, who allows no back talk, requires good behavior without exception, and thinks community is more important than individuality, turns out to be more Conservative in practice than all of the "Good old days" group put together.

Got a Tattoo--1st Armored Division Patch on my Right Calf

Today at 4pm I went to Transcending Flesh on Chestnut St. in Lancaster to get my first tattoo!  I got the 1st Armored Division unit patch on my right calf.  It is very visible in a group of bicycles and invisible in a suit.  Just right for me.

It took about an hour after 30 minutes of prep.  Ben, the artist who did the tattoo, said it was going to itch like crazy and I am not supposed to scratch it.

When we were in Iraq, the commander of 1st AD put in orders to award the combat patch to the pilots who flew him on missions, mostly in Alpha Company and me for some things I did for 1AD.  Then the orders were revised to include all of 2-104th Aviation.  But so far the orders have not been finalized.

All the years I served in tanks (1975-84) I was in infantry divisions, so I never wore an armored patch.  With the 1AD patch I finally got to wear an armored patch, but now it is on hold, maybe forever.  So in the absence of orders, I can wear my 1AD patch where my bike buddies can see it.

Here's the actual patch:

A Small Slice of Life

Two weeks or so ago I got a bug bite on my right hip right at my waist.  It was red and itchy like any bug bite.  It also would not go away.  On the July 4th weekend it kept getting more and more sore.

When I came home Tuesday night the 1-inch red mark was three inches across and turning black and dripping.  I called my doctor and made an appt. for Wednesday.  At 10pm I called back and asked if I should be worried.  One of my co-workers said she got blood poisoning from something like this.  the doctor said not to worry, but get into the office the next day.

When I got to the office the sore was swollen.  The family practice I go to has many interns and nurse practitioners pass through.  The nurse who treated me was a young woman who seemed delighted to have something to work on that she could fix.  She said she would have to drain the sore then start me on antibiotics.

First I got the lidocaine shots to numb the area.  Then she made the scalpel cuts and started cleanup.  After a few minutes she said there was a place she did not see was not numb.  She said it would not hurt much--it hurt a lot more than the numb area.  After more cutting and squeezing she was done.  "Take a look," she said.  "We got lots of bad stuff out."

I remember from my other various injuries how much medical people like to have patients that get better.  I have a follow up vist next Friday, but probably won't need it.  The antibiotic is working already.

Next Drill

We are really going to have a fun-filled weekend this coming drill weekend on July 10-11.  I just got a note from Echo's training NCO, Staff Sgt. Chad Hummel, that I and the other 40+ year old soldiers have to get a blood test Saturday morning at 0900.  That means fasting from 2100 (9pm) Friday night.

That will not be a big deal for me since I am just a grader on the PT test at 0700.  But for the old guys who have o take the test at 0700 then wait till after the blood test before they eat, they are going to be grumpy old men waiting for their turn to get blood drawn.

I called Chad up and made the futile gesture of saying that I just got a blood test as part of an annual physical from my civilian doctor.  I have complete blood work dated June 25.  That, of course, is meaningless.  I need and Army blood test.

After the 0700 PT Test and the 0900 blood test, I will be laying out all my field gear for inventory.  We will also be turning in outdated items.  This means during the next two days I will fill two or three duffel bags and a rucksack with field gear and uniforms for inventory.

Once the inventory is complete, I hope to meet with the Command Sgt. Maj. and the battalion commander about what I will be doing for the next three years.  For the present I am training with Echo.

Keeping an Eye on the Readiness NCO

Our Readiness NCO was rushed to the hospital two weeks ago with a nail stuck in his eye--right between the white and blue parts.  He waited seven hours for a surgeon then had the nail removed in what was, if my memory serves, very painful surgery during which he was awake.

SFC Wayne Perkins served as platoon sergeant and on-site leader for Echo Company fuelers at Forward Operating Base Garry Owen for most of the year we were in Iraq.  Garry Owen is a square mile of American base close to the Iran-Iraq border.  It got hit with missiles enough that the only soldiers in our unit to receive Purple Heart Medals were injured at Garry Owen.

Wayne got his fueling crew through months of 24-hour operations without a single serious injury.  He maintained safety standards in a dirty, nasty environment for months.  He and all of his soldiers came home healthy.

Then he operated a table saw without safety glasses at home, months after the deployment.  The Army, as I have mentioned many times before, is nuts on safety.  Once he recovers, and all indications are that SFC Perkins sight will return unimpaired, he will be giving briefings on the importance of safety glasses.

I am not sure how he will be welcomed back to duty, but a safety glasses theme will probably decorate his office.

Numbers Update

This post is #804.  As you have seen lately, I no longer write every day, but I write every day I do something Army and other things that are related to being an old soldier.

Today also was the day the of the 70,000th visit to the site.  Some of those visitors looked at other pages so the site has had 91,000 page views also.

since I no longer provide any information about the war--except passing along coverage by others--I am going to add my favorite milblogs to my navigation bar.  As always, the Thunder Run is the best and the link is already there, but others are worth listing too.

Riding to NYC After the PT Test

Today I rode to NYC from Philadelphia.  Actually, not quite all the way to NYC.  I rode to the train station in Newark, then took the train.  The only way to actually ride into NYC is across the George Washington Bridge 100 blocks (10 miles) above Midtown.

The ride from Center City to Newark is 90 miles total.  The first ten miles through the city to the Tacony-Palmyra bridge is slow.  LOTS of stop signs and lights.  From the NJ side of the bridge, the ride is great.  Most of the Route 130 has a wide shoulder and not a lot of traffic.

I got on Route 1 & 9 from 130 and the ride turned hectic.  Most of 1-9 has no shoulder and lots of traffic.  Near the end I had a couple of left exits.  Next time i will have to find a better alternate route for the end.  But I never rode to NYC before so I was very happy to ride there.

I still want to ride to Boston someday.  When I do, I will go around NYC rather than through.  It will be longer, but worth the extra 50 miles.