Quartered Safe

O aching time! O moments big as years!
All as ye pass swell out the monstrous truth,
And press it so upon our weary griefs
That unbelief has not a space to breathe.
-Keats

Our unit is not nearly as big as the one we replaced, so there is an empty room at the front of the bunker that we’ve made into a gym. I’m sure county jails have better gyms, but it has a little bench and some barbells, so it is better than nothing. I work out at noon, while the O’Reilly factor is on the TV. I work out for about forty-five minutes and then eat my lunch, and then go back to work. I used to work out in the afternoons, but now we have meetings then.

I am getting more and more irritated with the amount and duration of meetings I have to attend. I think everybody in the army needs to be required to read some of Scott Adams’ books, especially The Dilbert Principle. I am alarmed and disgusted by the amount of officers who read faddish management books and then apply the “techniques” they learned to their command. Adams’ books are not about success with management; they are more like success in spite of management. The military today needs less management and more leadership. This is just my observation, but it is hard to imagine I’m wrong since we’re in a hot combat zone and are still acting like we’re in garrison.

Anyway, I am pleased with my weightlifting. Hopefully when we get to our new FOB I’ll be able to get to the real gym more often.

I have packed up most of the things I don’t need, so I’m back to living out of my ruck, like a savage. I don’t have anything to read or watch or play, so I’m watching a lot of AFN, which I don’t recommend to anybody. It’s AFN Europe, so we’re always getting these annoying commercials about K-town football games or the Rammstein choir recital or stuff like that. There are also only ten channels, and they are loaded with inane programming. Soldiers do not want to watch Trading Spaces, reality shows or soap operas. I guess that stuff is on for spouses back in Europe, but they need to get some programming for us deployed grunts. Since it’s AFN, they could also endeavor to be a little more “with it” politically. You’d think they’d have Fox News instead of CNN or even, Good Lord, MSNBC. I think I’d rather get smacked in the teeth with a beer bottle than watch Chris Matthews rip on my mission, my soldiers or my commander in chief one more time. I am always amused, however, at the policy experts he gets to talk about “how badly the war is going.” They look like they’ve never pounded ground in their lives. They wouldn’t know war if it bit them in the ass. I doubt they even know any soldiers.

Thanks to everybody who has sent packages or mail. We are all fine here so far, and we’re moving into month four of our tour. Doesn’t feel like that long.