After more than a week of farewell parties, lunches, and dinners, I spent a quiet weekend at home comforted by people and things familiar to me. I felt bolstered by the outpouring of love and good wishes and ready to face the unknown. Two highlights included a farewell luncheon at my office and watching my seven-month-old niece in swim lessons. Both will be different when I return and I wanted to hang onto them for just a few more hours.
Sunday morning came too quickly. We woke up early so that I could run through my usual morning routine: walk the dog, have breakfast and read the paper. The walk felt more invigorating than it had in awhile and the coffee the best it had been in awhile. I wanted to cherish every minute. But before I knew it, I was consumed by last minute packing and then it was time to go. I was surprised by our ability to treat it like any other trip. As my husband, son and I drove to the airport, we joked and traded last minute instructions. After dropping my son off at the subway for his eventual trip back to NYC, my husband and I arrived at the airport and were quickly consumed by the normal activities of checking in. I guess since I was still among familier surroundings, the reality that I was leaving for a year still had not hit me. Until I arrived in Columbus, GA.
The Columbus airport is tiny and it was apparent that most of the travelers were connected with the military in some way. Eventually the 20 or so of us heading to Fort Benning were assembled on the sidewalk in the oppressive heat and humidity waiting for the shuttle to post. A beat-up mini-van taxi arrived towing a trailer for our gear and ferried us to the post in shifts. As I rode in the hot, dirty taxi van the reality that I was entering an unfamiliar world with no escape began to take hold of me. My comfortable and familiar world was gone.
The CONUS Replacement Center, or CRC, is located on a dusty and run-down portion of the post. The rows of cinder block buildings and sparse, dry grass surrounding them provided a dismal welcome. We signed in, were assigned rooms and issued worn-out bedding. I'm in a two-person room with another Army Reserve LTC -- an 8 X 8 stark room with a window air conditioning unit, a metal bunk bed and two wall lockers. It's old and depressing, but than goodness it's air conditioned.
Some 120 of us gathered for a briefing by the cadre -- a mixture of civilian contractors, military from all branches of service and a few government civilians. Many of the military are medical. The briefing was a straightforward recitation of the next four days worth of activities -- up at 5 a.m., formations at 6 a.m. and a full day of processing each day beginning with medical on Monday, issuance of combat gear and weapons qualification on Tuesday, chemical training and various briefings on Wednsday, and completion of processing on Thursday. Virtually all of us will be leaving either Friday or Saturday. Anyone with problems will be left behind to be processed as needed. Shake and bake.
After a few phone calls home I headed to the mess hall for dinner. It was barely edible and I spent considerable energy swatting flies. But you can almost always find something to thankful for, and in this case it's a softserve ice cream machine.
I'm facing an early day tomorrow, so it's time to get my uniform together and try to get some sleep. The day and my emotions are catching up with me as I write this and I'm looking forward to getting lost in my book before falling asleep.
Sunday morning came too quickly. We woke up early so that I could run through my usual morning routine: walk the dog, have breakfast and read the paper. The walk felt more invigorating than it had in awhile and the coffee the best it had been in awhile. I wanted to cherish every minute. But before I knew it, I was consumed by last minute packing and then it was time to go. I was surprised by our ability to treat it like any other trip. As my husband, son and I drove to the airport, we joked and traded last minute instructions. After dropping my son off at the subway for his eventual trip back to NYC, my husband and I arrived at the airport and were quickly consumed by the normal activities of checking in. I guess since I was still among familier surroundings, the reality that I was leaving for a year still had not hit me. Until I arrived in Columbus, GA.
The Columbus airport is tiny and it was apparent that most of the travelers were connected with the military in some way. Eventually the 20 or so of us heading to Fort Benning were assembled on the sidewalk in the oppressive heat and humidity waiting for the shuttle to post. A beat-up mini-van taxi arrived towing a trailer for our gear and ferried us to the post in shifts. As I rode in the hot, dirty taxi van the reality that I was entering an unfamiliar world with no escape began to take hold of me. My comfortable and familiar world was gone.
The CONUS Replacement Center, or CRC, is located on a dusty and run-down portion of the post. The rows of cinder block buildings and sparse, dry grass surrounding them provided a dismal welcome. We signed in, were assigned rooms and issued worn-out bedding. I'm in a two-person room with another Army Reserve LTC -- an 8 X 8 stark room with a window air conditioning unit, a metal bunk bed and two wall lockers. It's old and depressing, but than goodness it's air conditioned.
Some 120 of us gathered for a briefing by the cadre -- a mixture of civilian contractors, military from all branches of service and a few government civilians. Many of the military are medical. The briefing was a straightforward recitation of the next four days worth of activities -- up at 5 a.m., formations at 6 a.m. and a full day of processing each day beginning with medical on Monday, issuance of combat gear and weapons qualification on Tuesday, chemical training and various briefings on Wednsday, and completion of processing on Thursday. Virtually all of us will be leaving either Friday or Saturday. Anyone with problems will be left behind to be processed as needed. Shake and bake.
After a few phone calls home I headed to the mess hall for dinner. It was barely edible and I spent considerable energy swatting flies. But you can almost always find something to thankful for, and in this case it's a softserve ice cream machine.
I'm facing an early day tomorrow, so it's time to get my uniform together and try to get some sleep. The day and my emotions are catching up with me as I write this and I'm looking forward to getting lost in my book before falling asleep.
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