Camp Atterbury Day 6

I had a friend email me today and tell me I write this blog "like I'm getting paid per word", and I think I might tone down the info a little. I guess anyone can just ask me questions if they want me to elaborate more.

This past week, well almost week, has been full of administration junk. We've been going through all our paperwork, from medical to dental to legal. I'm pretty stoked that I got issued a few more pairs of glasses, as my past prescription was a few years old. There are new regulations in place that say we cannot wear contacts in combat zones anymore, so it looks like I'll be rockin' some spectacles for this deployment. I really don't mind, just as long as I get a better pair.

Almost all of my medical files were up to date, minus a few shot records. I had to get the second of six anthrax shots, which really sucked. It makes your arm go numb for a few minutes, and it stays pretty sore for a few days. I also got a TB skin test, which I had no reaction to so I passed. They stick you with it and push a little bit of the TB sample just underneath your skin creating a bubble. Then you come back 72 hours later and have it checked. No marks or bubble and you're good to go. I also had another HIV test and a urinalysis, and I passed both. The worst of all of it was and is the smallpox shot. They stick you 19 times with a man made version in the shoulder, and you have to let your body fight it for a little over 2 weeks. As soon as the scab falls off your good to go, but it's a pain to keep it clean. It's also extremely contagious while in this phase, so I have to constantly wash my hands.

The legal section of this week wasn't difficult for me. Most of what takes the most time is when people need to draw up power of attorney documents or stuff that has to do with divorces and kids, of which I have neither. I did, however, have to draw up a will. At first, I thought it'd be a cakewalk, seeing as I don't have much to sign off. But then the thought kind of got to me a little. Here I am, signing this document that says if I bite the bullet, all my stuff goes here and all my money goes here. It was a little disturbing, mostly because I've never done it in the past.

My day today started off a little crappy. I had latrine cleaning detail this morning, so I didn't get to eat breakfast. We had a medic course this morning, which wasn't really difficult. Every medic course is different, mostly because of the people you take it with. Everyone has their own stories to tell of how they treated this guy, or how they handled that situation, and it's always different. I had never heard most of these guy's stories, and they had never heard mine, so we had a pretty informative and graphic class. I learned a lot, not from the course, but from my 'Battle Buddies' as the Army teaches us to say. I had never seen this new thing they have to rapidly stop bleeding called a Chitosan (kye-to-san). It really sucks up the blood like a sponge and helps control large wounds. Stories were shared from everyone, including a few from me. Poles sticking through people, pieces of the bulletproof vests we wear in someone's chest cavity, and even one about a soldier that was found a few yards from an IED site clutching both severed feet in on arm and dragging himself with his other. Movie-style stuff, but from on hand witnesses and medics.

We also had an interesting task this afternoon. We had to update our morgue profiles. It's this system the military has for identifying bodies and verifying that they are really them. We have to take a front and side profile picture and throw it in there. Also, any new tattoos or identifying scars have to be input to help identify the remains. Pretty heavy stuff, especially after all the medic stuff this morning. But there's a kicker: today is my birthday. What a great way to celebrate your 23rd year of living right!?

My birthday present from the group was a surprise Arabic test, which I aced, and 230 push ups I had to do in front of everyone. I'm in pretty good shape, but it still took me about 15 minutes to knock 'em all out. Someone gave me a rice krispie treat as a cake too, yippee.

We have some other junky class stuff to take care of, and a PT test on Monday. The rest of the week is going to be spent preparing for a big field mission we have at one of the FOBs (Forward Operating Base) they have out here. After that is another field mission which is going to be strictly ammo based, and we should be outta Indiana in no time.

-Mac