It’s Never Easy
Transfers in the military can be a pain the behind sometimes. As I wrote earlier, I was supposed to be taking a First Sergeant position at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. My wife and I had found a realtor and were actively looking at homes to buy. I would say were just a number of days from starting the paperwork to purchase one.
Then came yesterday. I went to Walter Reed to take some donated books, letters, cards, and other items to the wounded Soldiers. A friend and reader from my other blog came down as well to spread some happiness. She brought some homemade cookies, short bread, and banana bread. She also brought some “Insulting Parrots”, little parrots that say about four or five rude phrases (phrases I can’t repeat or even censor here).
We first went to the Mologne House where Soldier who are recuperating stay. It’s comparable to a hotel in design and function. If it weren’t at Walter Reed, it WOULD be a hotel, I’m sure. In the lobby of the House, there is a table where people can place donated items. I spread out the books and Leslie left some of her baked goods. Almost immediately a few wounded warriors were checking out the bounty on their way in or out. They’re very shy about taking anything, but love to see what people are so gracious to donate. I told Leslie not to leave it all there since we’d be going to a few more places on the hospital grounds.
After Mologne House, we went to Fisher House. We met two families that lived in Fisher House 2 not far from the Mologne House. We sat and met with the wives, Sarah and Susan, of two Soldiers who had been injured in Iraq. For about an hour we just sat and talked with them about whatever came to mind. Both were younger than 25 years old – mere kids themselves. But these two young ladies were in high spirits and thankful to still have their husbands. Before leaving, I made appointments to come back and have a Guitar Hero II bash at the house with all the families.
After leaving Fisher House, I decided to take Leslie and her son to Ward 57 to give out the remainder of the goodies we brought. We arranged to meet with any of the Soldiers willing to see us (none declined). We slowly entered each room and explained who we were and why we were there. For those that don’t know, Ward 57 of Walter Reed is home to the Orthopedics wing. Almost every Soldier in there has lost or may lose at least one limb. Even though some were obviously sedated to deal with the extreme pain they’ve been put in, each made a concerted effort to acknowledge our efforts. We handed out the goodies and our hearts were warmed by the smiles that lightened their faces. They were humble too, afraid of openly accepting anything. Soldiers don’t ask for much. A little food. A place to sleep at night. And money to raise a family. When we’re injured, we just want to be kept alive. Anything beyond that is excessive and unnecessary.
Oddly enough, the point of this post wasn’t to highlight what we did or solicit a pat on the back. Here comes the point…
I was told point blank that my next assignment would be a First Sergeant position in Alabama. We looked at homes in the area. We researched the best schools. I even called the individual I’d be replacing and my new commander. After I left Walter Reed for the day, I got a phone call on the way home. I didn’t get the job after all!! Something got messed up and they thought I had the position, but they were wrong. I needed to pick my next follow on assignment.
“What are my options?” I asked. “Korea, Alaska, and Germany.” Great! My wife has been pretty clear that she doesn’t want to go overseas. I’ve been pretty clear that in the Army, it’s unavoidable at some point. I’ve been lucky that my only overseas assignments have been deployments. Thankfully, the assignment in Korea is also a First Sergeant position so I had them slot me with that one.
I’m not going to get all excited again. I knew better before and went against my better judgment. Experience has taught me never to count on anything until you have it writing. Then, only give it 50% of a chance. When I graduated from AIT, I was on orders to San Antonio as my first duty assignment. Literally as I was outprocessing, I was told that I’d been “diverted” to Fort Irwin, CA – the middle of nowhere. We had an apartment laid on and everything in San Antonio. We had to jump through hoops to plan for the news. I thought I had learned my lesson, but I guess I was wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not angry, depressed, or demotivated about this. Just using the forum to express some slight discomfort and frustration – something you get used to in the Army.
Another downside is that I was actually going to use VAMC to get the loan to pay for my home. I was going to blog about the process so that others would understand how the “other side” the site works. Depending on where my family stays while I’m deployed, there may still be a chance. You’ll just have to keep checking back to find out what’s next for us.
LL
July 31st, 2007 at 8:51 pm*sigh*
Been there, done that.
Had orders for Ft. McClellan, dad pulled strings. Army forgot to give us our orders…ended up at Ft. Ben Harrison.
That’s the military for ya.
I’m so sorry, CJ. You’re doing a year unaccompanied?
Criminy Jane.
Donna
July 31st, 2007 at 8:55 pmCJ,
You and Leslie need to be commended for going to Walter Reed and seeing the troops and taking things to them as well. I’m sure it brightened their day just to know that someone cared to do that!
Also I’m so sorry that things didn’t work out for Alabama. That is just wrong of the Army to tell you guys that and then not send you there. I hope that Korea won’t be too bad for you and I hope that Emily understands too. My prayers are with you and your family!! God Bless!!
Tracy
July 31st, 2007 at 9:36 pmPrayers are with you and your family as you go through this.
Leslie
July 31st, 2007 at 10:05 pmCJ,
We had a wonderful day visiting our soldiers with you. I wanted your readers to know that every soldier honestly looked so happy to see YOU walk into their room. My son and I were honored to be with you and have the chance to meet with some of the wounded soldiers. My heart just goes out to them and their families. I just know they are looking forward to seeing you again soon at Fisher House too! It was great to spend the day with you and Chris and Hannah, so thank you again for the opportunity to say thank you to our brave young men.
Korea??? really??? What a bummer
Grumpy
July 31st, 2007 at 10:10 pmCJ, I’m going to be etremely selfish. You said, you would do anything you could to help me. Well, there is something you can do something that would help me very much. There is this neat character and I would like for you to keep your eye on him. He needs to take the time for the normal healing process. He’ll post when he’s ready and not before. It should be a hobby and not a chore. If he never posted again, I may not like it, but it would still be a good thing. The big thing is for him to take his time and give himself a chance to become whole. That is a lot harder than it sounds. Good grief, I almost forgot his name, I almost forgot his name. I understand he travels under the handle of “CJ”. Do you think you can keep your eye on him? The big question is this, do you think you can keep him out of trouble? Godspeed, my FRIEND,
Grumpy
Chrisntx
August 1st, 2007 at 5:04 amCJ, I am so sorry the transfer to Alabama didn’t work out. Our continued prayers are with you as you continue to go through this process. God Bless,
Kat in GA: A Soldiers' Angel
August 1st, 2007 at 5:53 amaarrrrghhh!!!! Ack! bummer!!!! Drat!
Standing by and staying tuned….
CJ
August 1st, 2007 at 7:35 amI added a small addition to the post because I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. The post does make it sound like I’m bitter and angry about this recent change. While it is a small disappointment to not be going to Alabama, I’m excited about the chance to see Korea. Since I can’t seem to deploy back to Iraq or Afghanistan no matter how hard I try, I’m not going to complain that I won’t see my family for year. Especially since I won’t be in a combat zone. I just wanted to make that clear because words can be misunderstood cause no one should really feel sorry for this Soldier. I’m going to get to lead troops again, something I haven’t really been able to do for the past four years while I labored through Staff work.
Grumpy,
If I run across that guy, I’ll make sure he keeps clean! Thanks.
Barbara
August 1st, 2007 at 8:06 amHey CJ,
Everything happens for a reason… Hope to see you and your lovely bride (kids optional!!) at WR again one Friday night before you do finally get your new assignment. Thanks for what you wrote about your recent visit to WR. Being able to have the opportunity to support these heroes and their families is the best thing that I have ever done. I encourage everyone to go to your nearest Veterans Hospital and do the same. You will end up with more blessings than you can possilby count!!
Troy
August 1st, 2007 at 8:45 amCJ, I am with ya brother. I think it was in a post I wrote on here that I talked about getting order changed twice in my military career. I started to believe it was a curse on my by someone at branch, but I eventually realized that is life in the Army.
T
SNAFU
August 1st, 2007 at 4:41 pmThere is a plan CJ it may not be yours or the Army’s but it is in place and always moving us forward. We as human beings can only hope to touch as many people’s lives in the process as we can, helping and comforting those less fortunate as ourselves. There is a purpose for you to go perhaps to Korea perhaps not. Try not to be consumed by all the details of the journey after all you are not the one in the drivers seat, Just enjoy the ride.
Terri
August 1st, 2007 at 6:12 pmCJ I’m so sorry the assignment to Redstone didn’t work out. I know you were looking forward to it. As SNAFU said, there’s always a purpose in things that happen… though most of the time we don’t understand at the moment what the purpose is. Knowing you personally, I KNOW that you’ll do a fine job in whatever assignment comes your way. Just take care of yourself and enjoy your time being able to lead your Troops again. I know you’ve been wanting that. I’m here for you ALWAYS!
Chad
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:58 amAlaska baby!!! Best mission area in the world!!!
Miriam
August 5th, 2007 at 2:56 pmYou know we’re all behind you and your family and wish you all the best. As far as the uncertainty in where you’re going to work, well I’ve been there/done that too (only not with the military). They’re long stories that I can’t tell here, of course (even if anyone was interested).
From all I hear, Korea isn’t so bad. I know you want that First Sergeant position, so I’m hoping you get it.