As I sit on the plane (and enter hour #3) waiting for permission to taxi and takeoff…I decided it was time to type. The travel in and around the theater is difficult. You have to move on timelines that are very exaggerated. You show up early and sit forever. Transportation is slower than expected and usually uncomfortable. You move two steps forward then a step back. It’s what makes the joke of “military efficiency” laughable. I also realize I am on R&R. I’m the lowest of low priority. Things should happen quickly for those who need it and I’m in no hurry to get back. As soon as I return it’s back to the court.
As we boarded the C-17 for our next leg back to our final destination I felt back at home. AF people scurrying about. Familiar ranks and roles of aircrew and loadmasters. I was happy to see them and to be around them. It made me wonder what it is like to actually deploy and perform your mission. To train and prepare to do exactly the job you will do in “war.” Many airmen these days are deploying and filling the roles of other servicemen. Take me for example. What do I know of a battlefield threat? Yet I get to judge them everyday. I’m an acquisition guy. I take requirements, budgets, and specifications and mold them into a product for someone else to use in battle. But that is where I am, I’m happy to be a part of the bigger fight, and I try to make the best of it. But I am sure there is something much more satisfying in doing the job you are trained to do.
Hours and hours later we are still on the plane – engines running – waiting on something before we depart. I know the aircrew is as frustrated as we are. No one likes to be sitting around waiting…unless you are returning from R&R.
No comments:
Post a Comment