Groundhog day…again

It’s the beginning of June.
Its 122 degrees
Its Groundhog day.
Again.

What is our daily routine? I’ve been wondering what to write in this blog. Of course I want it to be interesting so you’ll come back and read more. I guess that’s the TV marketing guy in me. Well, I’ve wrestled with that. Most of what I do on a daily basis I consider boring. Maybe it isn’t to you but I’m sure some of it will have you saying, “so what?”

Well, here is a little. We say that every day is Groundhog day because there is so much repetition. For a staff officer like myself, a lot of what I do is routine. Even for the soldier who lives his deployment on a rotation of sleep, eat, maintenance, mission, recovery, do it again, it is Groundhog day. We live a life of cycles.

My day begins at about 5am. I get up, make the coffee on my crappy little German coffee pot. Community coffee, dark roast…black is better in the morning. I’ll turn on my TV and watch one of the 9 TV channels that the American Forces Network pumps into our mini cable system…it’s a bad signal but it keeps me company in the morning. Ill watch the news and like you, tune it out because it’s more about Obama andHillary.

About 15 of us have purchased a satellite internet system so we can have internet in our rooms. What a blessing that has been. It’s a little faster than dialup but it is a window to the outside world. Hats off to our commo guy, CPT Pierce (note his blog on the right).

I turn on the computer and see if my wife is on and talk to her for a few minutes. 5am here is 9pm at home. Ill tell her good morning and tell her Im off for a run. She’s probably herding the girls to bed so her day is still winding down. After about 30 or 40 minutes of running in the morning sun Ill get back to my CHU (Containerized Housing Unit…or what most people call a trailer). After I cool down Ill turn on the camera and chat with her for about 30 minutes. A great way to start of a day. Ill eat a little in-trailer breakfast, get a shower, dress and get on my bike for the 1.5 mile ride to our headquarters building.

Ill usually get in the office (a small one) at about 0830. My analysts have already been to work since about 7 pulling down reports of enemy activity that have occurred in the last day or so. My first big event of the day…every day…is our Squadron’s Operations and Intelligence briefing. It’s my job to brief the commanders on what has occurred along our routes against coalition convoys, and any other attacks that affect our mission.

That’s’ my job. I study the bad guys. More on that another day.

By the time the O&I brief is done its almost 11am. The morning is shot so we head to the DFAC (Dining Facility) for lunch. We fight the crowd of a few thousand other Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who happen to go to lunch at the same time. The chow is good. More than enough for us to eat. Then its back to work to get ready for our second big event of the day…the Convoy Briefing.

The convoy briefing is probably the most important my section does on a daily basis. It directly supports the mission we are on. I have 3 soldiers who work directly for and with me preparing this information. They are great Americans and I’m proud of them for what they are doing. You can be proud of them too.

More on the briefings another day (is this a recurring theme here?) Groundhog day continues.

After the briefings the two analysts are done. They go off to do whatever analysts do when they aren’t working. They read, watch TV, workout, surf the internet.
I continue my day by working on the myriad of other tasks I do. I analyze enemy activity, prepare briefings for higher headquarters and subordinate units. I requisition special maps for our operations. I am also in charge of some areas of security and anti-terrorism. I do a lot of things…and never seem to get any of it done.

At about 1600 its 8am at home so I try to call home every other day. I am fortunate to have a DSN phone in my office that can reach the states with no fee. It’s a crappy connection with a 3 second delay but I am glad to have it. 8am is a good time to call my wife since she’s just getting her day underway. Since its summer I can talk to my girls for a few minutes but it is 8am and they aren’t very chatty at that time of the morning.

The afternoon turns into evening. A few of us late workers go to chow together again at about 1800 then we come back and prepare a few things for the next day or finish up work of the current day. At about 20 or 2100 I ride my bike back in the dark to my CHU (trailer) and watch a little TV, work on this blog, I may workout or read. Then its hop in bed at about 2300ish and get some sleep.

Another Groundhog day complete.
Another Groundhog day begins tomorrow.

SABER 2,
out.