Yeah, I know – I missed day two. I meant to write that yesterday, but I left my laptop in my car and it was late and I didn’t want to get dressed to walk out and get it. Then, today I have my laptop but left my notes in the car. Since yesterday was the welcome brief by Fort Hood and III Corps Commanding General, LTG Robert Cone, and Fort Hood and III Corps Command Sergeant Major, CSM Arthur Coleman, I wanted to touch on some of the things they mentioned. They made a lot of good points and have some great quotes. So, since once again it’s late and I don’t want to get dressed to go out and get them, I’m skipping to day three. Tomorrow, I will write about day two!
Fort Hood has a fairly efficient in-processing system. Leaders that are Sergeant First Class and above are able to in-process on their own. The checklist has what needs to be done on certain days. Today, I did medical, dental, and finance. All of this is located in the Copeland Center which is the in-processing hub of Fort Hood. Practically everything is centrally located here.
Prior to leaving Redstone Arsenal, they gave me a half dozen immunizations in order to clear. It was a nightmare. As I in-processed immunizations here, I smugly replied that this should be quick since I just got all my shots up to day a month ago. WRONG! I need the typhoid vaccination. I swear, any day now I’m going to be utterly impervious to even death with all these shots. Then I had to get an HIV test and something else. They all blur after awhile.
After immunizations was self help. This is where you speak with a medical counselor about the over-the-counter medications that are available at the pharmacy. This is a benefit that I don’t think most civilians know about. In the Army (at most duty stations), I can walk into the pharmacy and ask for a bottle of Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and not pay a dime for it. I can also get things like Pepto Bismol, Sudafed, and other OTC drugs. Naturally, there is a monthly limit, but someone who gets a lot of headaches can understand the cost benefit of this. I wonder if even the Soldiers really take advantage of this as I frequently see them buying them at the PX.
Next up was Dental. Emily hates my beautifully hygienic mouth. She says it’s not fair that I have such nice teeth and never needed braces. The dentist agreed and sent me on my way, explaining that I needed to come in June for my regularly scheduled six month cleaning. This is another benefit that we get as Soldiers – free every six month dental cleanings, plus all the floss and toothbrushes we need (completely off topic, but we also get free condoms and they come in every size – even flavored!). At Redstone Arsenal, they even have the waterless, pre-pasted single use toothbrushes you could grab (one per visit). I put them in my car for times when I’m in a hurry and forgot to brush my teeth. Teeth looking fine, I walked out smiling to my next location – Tricare.
I don’t know why so many people complain about military health care. The only problems I’ve had were with individuals and only rarely with the system. When we relocated the family, there was confusion among Tricare representatives. Where the family went, they weren’t covered under the normal active duty Prime plan. They had to go on Standard. To get them on Standard, I had to dis-enroll from the Prime, which was in another region. Because our health care is contracted out, each region does things a little differently. One was telling me that if we dis-enrolled from Prime, we couldn’t re-enroll for another year while the other was saying that if you dis-enroll because Prime isn’t offered, that there is no time limit. Well, we dis-enrolled and sure enough Emily got a letter saying she wouldn’t be allowed to re-enroll for a year. So, I had to clear that up with the representative and we should be good to go. Time will tell, but hopefully we never have to test it!
By this time, it was lunch time. I ran to the Military Clothing store on post because I needed a new beret. You see, when we moved, the packers packed up my uniform which had my beret in the pocket. I didn’t know that until I tried to find my uniform the next day. I still had my spare beret packet away with my other uniforms and ended up using that piece of junk that hung virtually to my shoulders. I went in and bought one of those nifty pre-formed and pre-shaved berets so I didn’t have to worry about the hassle. It sucked! The thing kept poofing out like a french pastry chef. I’m very image conscious as a senior NCO and don’t like looking like a dirtbag. I went back today and got a standard beret that worked 100 times better than the more expensive one I bought a few days earlier! I also had to get a new Combat Action Badge (CAB) since mine was on the uniform that is probably packed with my soap-on-a-rope.
Let me digress for a moment and complain about the ACU for a minute. EVERYTHING related to this uniform is too expensive. The patches cost twice as much as the old patches. The uniform costs more than the old one. The rank costs more. And the badges cost a HELL OF A LOT MORE than the sew-on badges from the old uniforms. I had to pay $7.10 for a Sta-Black CAB because we can’t sew on the subdued badges with this uniform. And there is no such thing as an AAFES brand like the old days that was cheaper than the Sta-Bright or Sta-Black brands in there now. $7 for something that probably cost $.40 to make. A sew-on patch would have cost about $1.25. Buy one for each uniform and you’re still saving $2! They say that it’s cheaper this way because you don’t have to pay for sewing. I SEWED MY OWN PATCHES ON!! Even still, it would cost another $1.50 to sew each badge on, bringing the total for four uniforms to $11. If I lose my CAB (or it gets packed), I pay $14 for just two badges. I will never lose a sew on badge!! So, by sewing on patches, I’ve saved $3 and that’s if I only need/use ONE badge. I feel for those Airborne, Air Assault, Air Hooah guys that have to buy multiple badges. Sometimes it pays to be a frog-hoppin’ leg! Digression over…
I had some transportation stuff to take care of and they didn’t do the Do-It-Yourself (DITY) moves until 1300. But, on a base as large as Fort Hood, a LOT of people are in need of taking care of transportation stuff. So, I grabbed my grapefruit and knife that I bought at Military Clothing (my old National Training Center retention knife broke) and plopped myself in line next to transportation door at about 11:40. I was second in line! I was able to file my DITY move paperwork to get reimbursed for what I carried from Alabama.
After that, I had some extra time, so I went to III Corps Headquarters to speak with the Public Affairs peeps to let them know I was on station. I always try to foster relationships with the PAOs and let them know I’m here so they aren’t surprised if it comes up. It also gets me on the media distribution list for happenings on post that I can attend and write about. I like to stay active in my post and inform you people about the great way our Army is taking care of troops. I also get forewarning of celebrities coming to spend time with our Soldiers so I can give them credit for using their fame on our behalf. I also wanted to try and schedule an interview for the radio show with LTG Cone. LTC Cone was my CG back at Fort Irwin when he only had one star. He reenlisted me indefinitely into the Army is a GREAT leader. I’m privileged to serve under him again and my Day Two post will explain why in more detail.
The day was almost over, so I headed over to my new unit. We’re still trying to flush out where I belong until all the other E8′s scheduled to leave are identified and positions open up. Looks like right now I’m sort of excess. There is a unit that asked for me by name and I tried locating them today but didn’t have enough time before the day ended.
I came home, prepped for our awesome show tonight, and the rest you know! If you missed the show, you must download and listen. We had some awesome guests and the audio was finally fixed, except for the birds squawking from time to time. After the show, I talked to some of the kids (Anissa isn’t talking to me because I won’t put up with her attitude) and chatted online with Emily for awhile. She finally got her 2-year phone upgrade and I was helping her get songs on it for ringtones.
And that’s day three at Fort Hood. For the record, I’m not doing this every day! I’m just writing about the in-processing process.
I will never forget how upset my dad was when the movers packed of my military ID when we were moving. He was mad at me not the movers.
Again, you bring up something to do with sex (STDs previously and now rainbow colored and flavored condoms). I think you wife is too far away.
I was only in the Army for 19 months and 7 days so I cannot feel your pain. But I do remember the entrance into the Army…