Atterbury was...well lets not sugarcoat it. It just flat out sucked. Open living areas of 30+ dudes all farting, burping, cursing, spitting, smoking, threatening, yelling, and laughing. Not to mention I had personality conflicts with a few and everyone was always stressed out. You sleep when everyone else sleeps and you wake when they wake. Maybe you dont sleep at all because many snore so loudly. I slept with earplugs, a beanie, and a pillow over my head and still had trouble every night. The bathroom always smelled awful and the sinks were always dirty. Everyone was always right on the verge of fighting and sometimes they actually did. Air Force was separated from Army Infantry but lived in the same building. They function and live completely different from the Air Force guys and their softer Army counterparts. We lived, ate, slept, breathed, showered, trained, exercised, everything all together all the time. It was maddening. No way to decompress or get your own private time. It takes a long time to get used to someone being in your business all the time. Privacy? Ha! What's that? The days started early and ended late at night. We worked pretty much every day for 2 1/2 months. You never knew when you would be called out of the barracks to go do something and never found out what you would be doing the next day until about 1030 pm the night prior so there was no way to go to bed early and plan for the next day. There were points in the training when sleep deprivation was definately a factor as we would sometimes get about 2 hours of sleep a night multiple days in a row. You slept in the truck or the ground or wherever you could when we were out in the field. For the lower enlisted, it was everything you could do not to get yelled at. I really think the infantry operates out of fear or getting their butts chewed for these young Army Guard guys were totally whipped. They were constantly getting "smoked" where their sargeants would force them to do pushups for discipline and pnushment alike.
As for the training, we received so little training on so so many things. We received training in everything from machine guns, building clearing, driving hmvees and other armored vehicles, and grenade launchers to Afghan language and culture training. It was very broad but the scheduling was chaos. In the end, I somehow made it out alive and succeeded in completing all the training without getting too banged up. Had several run ins with Army NCOs but it worked out eventually.
When stateside training FINALLY came to an end after 4 1/2 months, we were allowed to take a week of leave. Most people went back to their homes in the US, but I had someone I desparately wanted to see back in Okinawa. She and I had kept in touch and on great terms somehow and she coaxed me into buying a plane ticket all the way back to Japan for a week to come see her even though it would only be for about 5 full days. (I was later told that since I was traveling overseas, I could have departed one day sooner, but this information did not come to me until a day before I left for leave. Thank you US military) I hopped on a plane full of excitement and anticipation and embarked on the 25 hour journey back to Okinawa.
She was waiting for me at the airport and it was somewhat strange to see her again as it had been the last time I came back. When I left for Army training back in the states 2 1/2 months earlier, it had been very difficult and probably was a major contribution to difficulties I faced while in the US. This time though, I was gonna make up for lost time. We spent as much time together as possible and it was one of the greatest weeks I've ever had. We went all over the island and just had a wonderful 5 days together. She had been able to take off work for the whole week due to a break in her schedule that was pure happenstance. As much as I had endeared her before, it was amplified 10x over on this short trip. I was still worried about losing her over these several months, but at the end of my stay, I felt much more confident in our relationship. Those few short days had done wonders for my morale and I felt totally refreshed. I knew that everything was going to be fine and I could finally depart with a clear conscience and clear mind. This was going to be both a valuable test for the two of us and one of the most terrific adventures of my life. So I hopped on the plane and headed back to the US to prepare to depart for a little FOB in Afghanistan. I walked with a pep in my step and a smile on my face ready to face whatever was thrown before me. I just told myself "I can do this" and so my journey began.
Hey mister, I didn't coax you!! I told you that I'd love to see you, of course, but it was entirely your decision. ;) Making me look like a coaxer... sheesh. :)
ReplyDeleteSO glad you came. I had an awesome week with you, too.