This morning I woke up and got ready like every other day. We had to be at work at 0700. When I arrived there was nothing to do as usual. The air force guys were a little pissed because they were told to come in even earlier at 0600. We waited around for a about a half hour, then we were told we could leave and out-process. Why we even came in at all, I'm not sure. I headed to the Mayor Cell and out-processed which consisted of finding my name on a list and signing, then chucking my badge in a box. All done…FTX is over. No award…not even a coin. Now you see why the army has made me so pessimistic. At the beginning we were all told we'd be getting an award and a number of coins. "There's going to be a different VIP coming in each day and you'll all be getting a bunch of coins". LOL…so much for that.
We hung out in the barracks for a while, until the other guys got picked up. I had told my unit to come at noon because that's what the NCOIC told me. I wish I would have told them to come earlier, because I just sat on my bed spending time reading or playing games on my iPhone for hours.
Two guys from my office finally arrived and picked me up. SPC Whirlwind was the driver and he made excellent time getting back…which was the good news. The bad news is that I was informed that I have to go to work tomorrow even though I've only had one day off since I started this damned exercise…now that is a lot of BS! I will not be in a good mood tomorrow and I definitely will have 0% motivation.
When I did get home I was dropped off and given the rest of the day off. I spent it unpacking and relaxing until my wife came home from work. We then had a nice dinner and a wonderful night together. We both missed each other and just enjoyed every minute we had together again.
Showing posts with label FTX. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FTX. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Last Full Day (FTX Day 22) - (Germany) Day 133
Some people come very prepared...this was the guy next to me with his TV, PlayStation and laptop. The TV was left on playing a movie that the NCOIC had to finally come and turn off.
Rude and inconsiderate…that is how my morning started off. Those of us who are on my shift were able to sleep in because we don't have to report to work until 1300. Others that started waking up before 0600 were noisy…yelling across the barracks and just being generally loud. It just pisses me off that these guys don't care about anyone except themselves. I can't wait until I'm back in my house with my wife…back to normal. Once everyone finally left a little after 0700 I was able to get a little more sleep and finally got up around 0830. The morning spent reading and playing games on my iPhone.
We headed to work at around 1230 giving us time to swing by the food vendors. I ordered a bratwurst for lunch and grabbed a drink from the shoppette. We then headed to the help desk and did exactly what we've been doing the last couple of days…nothing. We heard that the exercise was officially over. We also heard that even though we were all put in for awards, they were sent back. Last we heard, the head civilian guy was trying to push them though, but at this point I don't really care. After the whole thing with my PCS award not going through, the army awards system has left a bad taste in my mouth. To tell you the truth I don't really care if I ever get one. Since I have no plans to become an NCO, I don't have to worry about the promotion points that come with an award, so it means nothing to me. I'm tired of being told I'm getting an award, then never seeing it get done. Who cares? Also besides the first few days, we haven't done much except have to stay in crappy barracks and eat crappy DFAC food…does that deserve an award? Maybe the iron stomach award…LOL.
We were able to leave at 1700 instead of 1900 because of the end of the exercise. We found out that we do indeed have to go in tomorrow in order to in-process people for the next exercise, which is starting right away. The permanent party folks will take over and then we'll be free to go home. I can't even in-process people because I don't have domain administrator rights, so I'll be doing nothing…along with the others that don't have domain administrator rights. The truth is that we only have 3 computers to in-process people and we'll have about 20 workers there in the help desk area…so there will be a lot of people standing or sitting around doing nothing.
We got a TMP and headed to the bowling alley to pick up dinner from their restaurant. Once back at the barracks, I read for a bit and then watched "In Time". This was an interesting movie set in the future where everyone has been genetically altered to stop aging at 25, after that they get one year to live. They can however purchase more time, so in essence "time" becomes the new currency. Go to work and get paid in time…your time remaining shows up on your arm and when it runs out…you die. Want a latte? That will be 3 minutes…then you watch the time get taken off the clock on your arm. The rich can live forever while the poor literally work day to day to stay alive. The story turns out to be a futuristic Bonnie and Clyde with a Robin Hood twist.
The day started off with rude and inconsiderate people and that is how the night ended as well. The guy next to me who brought a TV, a playstation, and a laptop started watching a movie. Everyone else in the barracks uses headphones when watching a movie, but this guy has his blaring over speakers and then just falls asleep. Finally the NCOIC cam over and turned it off at around 1030. I'm so glad this is my last night here.
More Good News (FTX Day 21) - (Germany) Day 132
This morning we started work at 0700, so I did the normal morning routine of getting ready and grabbing some cereal for breakfast at the DFAC. The cereal is normal, but I have to say that the milk makes me wonder a little when I use it. It comes in the little portable boxes (similar to a juice box) and they do not keep it cold. Somehow it doesn't go bad…it does taste different through. My co-workers say that there is something wrong with milk that doesn't go bad. I think I'll still take the unnatural milk over the regular DFAC food though…just a little while longer.
At work all we did was watch YouTube videos (most popular were pranks and the most brutal knockouts with both boxing and MMA). There were no tickets to do and we had nothing else to do. The PFC went to church and a guy the security guard calls "Earthquake" left and did his laundry without the NCOIC even noticing. It was a pretty boring day. We did receive some good news though, the NCOIC confirmed that we are indeed leaving on Tuesday the 8th. I asked him for a time to have my unit come pick me up…he paused, looked up…and said noon. I'm hoping he doesn't forget this like he's forgotten other things he's told us, because I've relayed the information to my boss. Whether it's over or not, I'll be leaving at noon because after driving three hours to get me, they aren't just going to wait around after getting here.
The weather here in Grafenwoer is a little strange. When I arrived it was pretty cold, even though it's spring, it felt as though it was still winter. A week later it was so warm that I was sweating in my uniform when outside. Today it started raining like crazy and the temperature dropped what seemed like 20 degrees. Instead of walking around in shorts and a t-shirt, it was back to full on sweats bottom and top. It seems like when it rains it really pours here too. I hope I don't have to come back here…at least not in the near future…and never in the winter…I've heard it gets unbearably cold here!
After work we headed to the USO and I used the time there to upload to my blog of course, then video chatted with my wife for a while. We then headed back to the barracks where I finished watching a movie I started yesterday "W". I didn't know too much about the movie before watching it. It was about the life of George W Bush, his rise to the presidency up to the start of the gulf war. It was an interesting take, and I should say a very liberal take on his life. The movie paints him as a drunk growing up and always under the pressure of trying to live up to his father even throughout his presidency. I've been a conservative all my life, but lately I would say I've become a moderate. The movie is based on some truths I'm sure, but you can tell it was made from an anti-bush agenda as well as an anti-war (at least Iraq war) perspective. If there was any truth to the movie about how we ended up going to war with Iraq, I'd be pretty ashamed. The truth is I personally lost all faith in ALL politicians a while back, all they do is say whatever they think you want to hear. I really hate the way our government has become so extreme, so polarized on the left and on the right that they can't even function. It makes me sick that these goofs are supposed to be representing the people, but instead only focus on their own agenda. Ack! Enough about politics and politicians, I think they all suck…republicans and democrats alike.
I had also watched another movie I got from one of the air force guys today. He had a hard drive full of movies and I copied a couple to watch. I watched one called "Battle Royale" and it turned out to be a foreign film (Japanese) with subtitles. It was age restricted and turned out to be pretty violent. The theme was similar to that of "The Hunger Games". An entire class of students is chosen to get dropped on a deserted island and forced to kill each other until there is only one survivor left. They are each given a back pack with some basic supplies and a random weapon. It was pretty crazy watching all these kids kill each other. There were friends that turned on each other as well as lovers and so on. It was an interesting…and different show to watch. Interesting because it was a foreign film and I like to see a variety of films from everywhere. Different because I have never seen so much violence by kids…it even shocked me a couple times!
At work all we did was watch YouTube videos (most popular were pranks and the most brutal knockouts with both boxing and MMA). There were no tickets to do and we had nothing else to do. The PFC went to church and a guy the security guard calls "Earthquake" left and did his laundry without the NCOIC even noticing. It was a pretty boring day. We did receive some good news though, the NCOIC confirmed that we are indeed leaving on Tuesday the 8th. I asked him for a time to have my unit come pick me up…he paused, looked up…and said noon. I'm hoping he doesn't forget this like he's forgotten other things he's told us, because I've relayed the information to my boss. Whether it's over or not, I'll be leaving at noon because after driving three hours to get me, they aren't just going to wait around after getting here.
The weather here in Grafenwoer is a little strange. When I arrived it was pretty cold, even though it's spring, it felt as though it was still winter. A week later it was so warm that I was sweating in my uniform when outside. Today it started raining like crazy and the temperature dropped what seemed like 20 degrees. Instead of walking around in shorts and a t-shirt, it was back to full on sweats bottom and top. It seems like when it rains it really pours here too. I hope I don't have to come back here…at least not in the near future…and never in the winter…I've heard it gets unbearably cold here!
After work we headed to the USO and I used the time there to upload to my blog of course, then video chatted with my wife for a while. We then headed back to the barracks where I finished watching a movie I started yesterday "W". I didn't know too much about the movie before watching it. It was about the life of George W Bush, his rise to the presidency up to the start of the gulf war. It was an interesting take, and I should say a very liberal take on his life. The movie paints him as a drunk growing up and always under the pressure of trying to live up to his father even throughout his presidency. I've been a conservative all my life, but lately I would say I've become a moderate. The movie is based on some truths I'm sure, but you can tell it was made from an anti-bush agenda as well as an anti-war (at least Iraq war) perspective. If there was any truth to the movie about how we ended up going to war with Iraq, I'd be pretty ashamed. The truth is I personally lost all faith in ALL politicians a while back, all they do is say whatever they think you want to hear. I really hate the way our government has become so extreme, so polarized on the left and on the right that they can't even function. It makes me sick that these goofs are supposed to be representing the people, but instead only focus on their own agenda. Ack! Enough about politics and politicians, I think they all suck…republicans and democrats alike.
I had also watched another movie I got from one of the air force guys today. He had a hard drive full of movies and I copied a couple to watch. I watched one called "Battle Royale" and it turned out to be a foreign film (Japanese) with subtitles. It was age restricted and turned out to be pretty violent. The theme was similar to that of "The Hunger Games". An entire class of students is chosen to get dropped on a deserted island and forced to kill each other until there is only one survivor left. They are each given a back pack with some basic supplies and a random weapon. It was pretty crazy watching all these kids kill each other. There were friends that turned on each other as well as lovers and so on. It was an interesting…and different show to watch. Interesting because it was a foreign film and I like to see a variety of films from everywhere. Different because I have never seen so much violence by kids…it even shocked me a couple times!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Day Of Nothing (FTX Day 20) - (Germany) Day 131
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning was a little different because our shift didn't start until 1300, so I slept in until about 0830. I then took it easy and read for a bit before even getting out of bed. I then got up and headed to the laundry mat with one of my co-workers "Chris Brown". We washed our clothes and I grabbed a small snack from the shoppette for breakfast. I then read some more before getting ready for the work day. We headed over to the food vendors right before our shift started so I could eat a large meal that would serve as my lunch/dinner.
The shift was very boring, we had no help desk tickets and just took turns using the computer or reading a magazine. As I walked around the area looking in the rooms I thought this exercise is quite a bit different from others I've been to in Korea. Like Korea this exercise is a group of people playing war games. Everything is classified, but if you know what's going on in the world and where the trouble spots are you can make a pretty good guess at what it's all about. The strange thing is that even though I do see air force, navy and marines every now and then, the majority of the people are old white civilian men. Kind of the exact picture you have in your mind when in a movie soldiers on the ground talk about old guys in a room directing a war that they are thousands of miles away from.
We left at 1900 and I headed back to the barracks to read a little and then talked with my wife.
This morning was a little different because our shift didn't start until 1300, so I slept in until about 0830. I then took it easy and read for a bit before even getting out of bed. I then got up and headed to the laundry mat with one of my co-workers "Chris Brown". We washed our clothes and I grabbed a small snack from the shoppette for breakfast. I then read some more before getting ready for the work day. We headed over to the food vendors right before our shift started so I could eat a large meal that would serve as my lunch/dinner.
The shift was very boring, we had no help desk tickets and just took turns using the computer or reading a magazine. As I walked around the area looking in the rooms I thought this exercise is quite a bit different from others I've been to in Korea. Like Korea this exercise is a group of people playing war games. Everything is classified, but if you know what's going on in the world and where the trouble spots are you can make a pretty good guess at what it's all about. The strange thing is that even though I do see air force, navy and marines every now and then, the majority of the people are old white civilian men. Kind of the exact picture you have in your mind when in a movie soldiers on the ground talk about old guys in a room directing a war that they are thousands of miles away from.
We left at 1900 and I headed back to the barracks to read a little and then talked with my wife.
Back To Work (FTX Day 19) - (Germany) Day 130
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning there was a little confusion on what time we were supposed to go to work, half the people in the barracks said 0700 and the other half said 1300. We split the day shift into two groups of 6 hours each…the army folks doing one of the 6 hour shifts and the air force group doing the other 6 hour shift. This made sense because there is really not enough tickets to keep everyone busy when all of us are there at the same time, and it's also nice not to waste an entire day with a 12 hour shift…our NCOIC finally took some advice and made a good decision for once! Finally the NCOIC came in the barracks from his shower and told us that the army folks will be going in at 0700…I had believed the guys that were saying 1300, so I had to move quick to get ready by 0700.
At work there still was not a lot to do. We watched some funny videos on YouTube and then hung around waiting for something that needed to be done. I helped a couple people with some minor issues and then had to configure a printer that was brought in to replace another that was blurry. As we were all standing around one of the head civilians came out and randomly picked three of us to follow him. It turns out an army colonel (promotable) was there and wanted to give out a few coins. I was a little pissed when I found out, because they were given just to some people…we have all done the same job here and if they're giving out coins we should all get them. I was then told that there will be more and they are planning to rotate us through so we all get a coin. I hope that does happen, coins aren't' worth anything…but they are nice to get and I haven't received one yet since I've been in Germany. I received plenty while in Korea, sometimes it all depends on being in the right place at the right time.
My last trouble ticket of the day was a tough one. We had a guy that couldn't print and when I went in to look at it, the guy tried to show me, but it printed just fine. I wrote on the help desk ticket for the action taken: "Went in and gave the computer a hard stern look…then it started printing just fine".
We were off at 1300 relieved by the air force and I headed out to the Greek vendor outside to grab my lunch/dinner…a tasty gyro. I then headed back to the barracks with a co-worker everyone calls "Chris Brown" because of the similarities. We watched a foreign film called "IP Man". It's a martial arts movie with lots of kung fu…all about a humble Chinese kung fu master who's life gets turned upside down after the Japanese invade. He kicks a lot of butt in the movie and near the end is shot, but not killed. He later ends up opening up a school and is the teacher to thousands including Bruce Lee.
After that I read a little, then took a nap. I'm going to miss my naps when I go back to a normal schedule…LOL.
This morning there was a little confusion on what time we were supposed to go to work, half the people in the barracks said 0700 and the other half said 1300. We split the day shift into two groups of 6 hours each…the army folks doing one of the 6 hour shifts and the air force group doing the other 6 hour shift. This made sense because there is really not enough tickets to keep everyone busy when all of us are there at the same time, and it's also nice not to waste an entire day with a 12 hour shift…our NCOIC finally took some advice and made a good decision for once! Finally the NCOIC came in the barracks from his shower and told us that the army folks will be going in at 0700…I had believed the guys that were saying 1300, so I had to move quick to get ready by 0700.
At work there still was not a lot to do. We watched some funny videos on YouTube and then hung around waiting for something that needed to be done. I helped a couple people with some minor issues and then had to configure a printer that was brought in to replace another that was blurry. As we were all standing around one of the head civilians came out and randomly picked three of us to follow him. It turns out an army colonel (promotable) was there and wanted to give out a few coins. I was a little pissed when I found out, because they were given just to some people…we have all done the same job here and if they're giving out coins we should all get them. I was then told that there will be more and they are planning to rotate us through so we all get a coin. I hope that does happen, coins aren't' worth anything…but they are nice to get and I haven't received one yet since I've been in Germany. I received plenty while in Korea, sometimes it all depends on being in the right place at the right time.
My last trouble ticket of the day was a tough one. We had a guy that couldn't print and when I went in to look at it, the guy tried to show me, but it printed just fine. I wrote on the help desk ticket for the action taken: "Went in and gave the computer a hard stern look…then it started printing just fine".
We were off at 1300 relieved by the air force and I headed out to the Greek vendor outside to grab my lunch/dinner…a tasty gyro. I then headed back to the barracks with a co-worker everyone calls "Chris Brown" because of the similarities. We watched a foreign film called "IP Man". It's a martial arts movie with lots of kung fu…all about a humble Chinese kung fu master who's life gets turned upside down after the Japanese invade. He kicks a lot of butt in the movie and near the end is shot, but not killed. He later ends up opening up a school and is the teacher to thousands including Bruce Lee.
After that I read a little, then took a nap. I'm going to miss my naps when I go back to a normal schedule…LOL.
The PFC (FTX Day 18) - (Germany) Day 129
An "action" shot of what I did the entire day today....sit in a chair and read....pretty crazy.
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning I got up and got ready just like every other morning, we started work at 0700 and as I was sitting in the help desk area the NCOIC called me and the lone girl in our group over to him. He told us at 0900 to 1700 we would be doing guard duty at a building. I was thinking to myself this is pretty stupid, but I've long since given up trying to figure out the ways of the army.
The girl I was with was pretty pissed off, she actually is in the same unit as the NCOIC and is not too happy to have to be here with him for the entire exercise. She took sleeping pills for the trip here so she wouldn't have to listen to him on the drive to the exercise…LOL. So we head out in search of the building we are supposed to guard because there will be German nationals working in there…it's basically a babysitting gig. We started looking for building 1026 and saw the direction we were walking was in the 1400's and getting higher, so we turned around and headed towards the 1000's. After looking all around the buildings in the 1000 range, we couldn't find this particular one…1026. We went inside one of the buildings and asked, the guy inside said "oh this happens all the time…I have a map, let me show you". It turns out that building 1026 is actually out of order and at the end of the 1400's…totally out of place. We ended up walking all over the place, but finally made it to our destination a half hour late.
Once there we found just an empty building with some construction workers in it. We found a small office and settled in there. We talked quite a bit during our walk and our time in the office while we were babysitting the Germans. This girl (I should actually be calling her a woman…she's almost as old as I am) is a PFC, but she's been in the army a while and has actually been deployed. She has a purple heart that she received on her deployment because she was shot in the leg. She was a police officer in New York for 12 years before the army. I then heard an interesting story on why she is currently a PFC. She actually punched a female officer a few times because of some disparaging remarks the officer said. She lost her rank from an E-4 to an E-3, but after challenging it she will now be receiving her rank and back pay because they ruled that the officer's actions caused the incident. It was a pretty crazy story!
We did absolutely nothing all day long. I sat in a chair and read from my iPad and also a copy of the army times that I bought during a run to the shoppette. The PFC wanted to sham as much as possible because this was such a stupid job. What doesn't make sense is that we were sent there to babysit the workers, but they already had access to the building and had been doing this work already before we arrived and before today. They were surprised we were even there. We also were only scheduled to work until 1700 and the construction workers were not leaving until 1900. I have no idea why we were even there. We took an extra long lunch and I drove the TMP to the food court where I had some Pizza Hut. We spent a little time in the PX before heading back.
Once back I read more and sat in a chair again doing absolutely nothing. We ended up leaving knowing we accomplished absolutely nothing today…what a waste of time. I headed back to the barracks and was able to copy a number of movies from her terabyte hard drive. She had a boatload of movies, I'm set for a while. Tonight's movie…"Real Steel" This is a movie my son watched and wanted me to see. So the whole time I was watching it I was thinking of him…it didn't help that it was a movie not only about fighting robots, but also about a father and son. Made me miss my son like crazy. I can't wait to see my kids this summer. I mentioned yesterday that I definitely will not be reenlisting for various reasons, but living closer to my kids is one of the main reasons. Having a normal job and being able to see my kids on a normal basis is going to be so nice. I hate being away from them for these long periods of time…it just breaks my heart.
Slammed (FTX Day 16) - (Germany) Day 127
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning was a little irritating. Some guys got up early and went for a run this morning, but instead of being courteous to those those of us still sleeping, they all talked back and forth in loud voices not caring about anyone else except themselves. That wasn't even the worst part, the guy in the bunk next to me was one of them and after he left, his alarm went off and kept going off because he was gone. I had to get up and turn the damned thing off, and I wasn't planning on getting up for another 45 minutes. The joys of living in the barracks. I laid around for a bit pissed off, then finally got up and got ready for the day.
The work day today was a little different than previous days. The official exercise hasn't started yet, but there are a number of people already here working and preparing for it, so they have been getting their accounts setup and they have also been turning in trouble tickets because of various issues that have popped up. A lot of them are because the images that we used on these machines are old and do not have everything setup properly for their needs. One of the biggest issues we ran into are a whole mess of computers on the domain that were put in quarantine because the image was so old, they did not meet the minimum security requirements. Once in quarantine there wasn't much we could do, only two of the civilian workers had enough privileges to log into them. They would log in and then we would start the update process and try and get them up to date, so they could get moved out of quarantine. (Once a computer is in quarantine the user cannot log in and the machine is pretty much useless…this is to protect the network as a whole).
So the day turned out to be pretty busy, in fact I only sat down once to check my email and Facebook, but after about a minute I had to get up and take care of another issue. Busy is good, the time passed quickly and I felt like an actual I.T. technician once again. I just wish I had more administrative privileges, so I could fix more problems instead of waiting and relying on others.
We left and I headed back to the barracks and took a nap. I don't know why, but I've been tired lately after each shift. Tomorrow we start the 12 hour shifts, so instead of working 0700 to 1300, we will work 0700 until 1900. This is a pretty crappy schedule, we'll be there the entire day and by the time we get out it will probably be starting to get dark. I guess we'll see how it goes, we should get a lunch and a dinner break. I think I would rather have this shift though than the other shift which is the opposite - 1900 until 0700. That would really mess up my sleep pattern.
I watched "Knowing" starring Nicolas Cage tonight and it was a pretty decent movie. I didn't know what it was about, so I was surprised that it turned out to be about the end of the world! It was entertaining and passed the time. I took a break and was able to talk to my wife for a bit before finishing up the movie and then getting ready for bed. I'll read some more of my book and then called it a night.
This morning was a little irritating. Some guys got up early and went for a run this morning, but instead of being courteous to those those of us still sleeping, they all talked back and forth in loud voices not caring about anyone else except themselves. That wasn't even the worst part, the guy in the bunk next to me was one of them and after he left, his alarm went off and kept going off because he was gone. I had to get up and turn the damned thing off, and I wasn't planning on getting up for another 45 minutes. The joys of living in the barracks. I laid around for a bit pissed off, then finally got up and got ready for the day.
The work day today was a little different than previous days. The official exercise hasn't started yet, but there are a number of people already here working and preparing for it, so they have been getting their accounts setup and they have also been turning in trouble tickets because of various issues that have popped up. A lot of them are because the images that we used on these machines are old and do not have everything setup properly for their needs. One of the biggest issues we ran into are a whole mess of computers on the domain that were put in quarantine because the image was so old, they did not meet the minimum security requirements. Once in quarantine there wasn't much we could do, only two of the civilian workers had enough privileges to log into them. They would log in and then we would start the update process and try and get them up to date, so they could get moved out of quarantine. (Once a computer is in quarantine the user cannot log in and the machine is pretty much useless…this is to protect the network as a whole).
So the day turned out to be pretty busy, in fact I only sat down once to check my email and Facebook, but after about a minute I had to get up and take care of another issue. Busy is good, the time passed quickly and I felt like an actual I.T. technician once again. I just wish I had more administrative privileges, so I could fix more problems instead of waiting and relying on others.
We left and I headed back to the barracks and took a nap. I don't know why, but I've been tired lately after each shift. Tomorrow we start the 12 hour shifts, so instead of working 0700 to 1300, we will work 0700 until 1900. This is a pretty crappy schedule, we'll be there the entire day and by the time we get out it will probably be starting to get dark. I guess we'll see how it goes, we should get a lunch and a dinner break. I think I would rather have this shift though than the other shift which is the opposite - 1900 until 0700. That would really mess up my sleep pattern.
I watched "Knowing" starring Nicolas Cage tonight and it was a pretty decent movie. I didn't know what it was about, so I was surprised that it turned out to be about the end of the world! It was entertaining and passed the time. I took a break and was able to talk to my wife for a bit before finishing up the movie and then getting ready for bed. I'll read some more of my book and then called it a night.
Bowling (FTX Day 15) - (Germany) Day 126
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning I woke up and got ready for the day, but when I came back to the barracks nobody that I work with was even up or moving yet including the NCOIC. So I laid down and waited drifting in and out of sleep. Every so often someone's alarm would go off, but it wasn't until about an hour later that all my co-workers started getting up. It turns out that we are going in an hour later today, but I was never told…oh well. I went to the DFAC to grab some breakfast and saw they had biscuits and gravy…something that is usually not too messed up in the DFAC, so I got a portion of those and then some of my normal cereal and juice…the bananas were MIA. I took a bite of the biscuits and gravy and realized that I would not be able to eat anymore. The biscuits tasted like they were about a week old…hard and stale. I shouldn't have even bothered…I know better.
The day was pretty uneventful, pretty much the same as yesterday. I checked on a couple of things, but the most eventful part of my day was when 1000 rolled around and the shoppette opened up. I headed over there for a drink and a snack. Other than that I didn't do much except read a magazine and surf the web a little on the computer that is now hooked up and ready to go for this use in the help desk snack area.
After work I took a short nap, then we joined the air force crew and went bowling. There were three army guys and three air force guys. The army won both games and I was the top scorer in both games with a 155 each game…that doesn't say much for the quality of the bowlers, but we all had fun. We ate Burger King for dinner and then they dropped us off back at the barracks. I spent some time reading a new book.
I then watched UFC 145 which I was able to download while at the USO yesterday. After that it was about time to get ready for bed…then pass out.
This morning I woke up and got ready for the day, but when I came back to the barracks nobody that I work with was even up or moving yet including the NCOIC. So I laid down and waited drifting in and out of sleep. Every so often someone's alarm would go off, but it wasn't until about an hour later that all my co-workers started getting up. It turns out that we are going in an hour later today, but I was never told…oh well. I went to the DFAC to grab some breakfast and saw they had biscuits and gravy…something that is usually not too messed up in the DFAC, so I got a portion of those and then some of my normal cereal and juice…the bananas were MIA. I took a bite of the biscuits and gravy and realized that I would not be able to eat anymore. The biscuits tasted like they were about a week old…hard and stale. I shouldn't have even bothered…I know better.
The day was pretty uneventful, pretty much the same as yesterday. I checked on a couple of things, but the most eventful part of my day was when 1000 rolled around and the shoppette opened up. I headed over there for a drink and a snack. Other than that I didn't do much except read a magazine and surf the web a little on the computer that is now hooked up and ready to go for this use in the help desk snack area.
After work I took a short nap, then we joined the air force crew and went bowling. There were three army guys and three air force guys. The army won both games and I was the top scorer in both games with a 155 each game…that doesn't say much for the quality of the bowlers, but we all had fun. We ate Burger King for dinner and then they dropped us off back at the barracks. I spent some time reading a new book.
I then watched UFC 145 which I was able to download while at the USO yesterday. After that it was about time to get ready for bed…then pass out.
Sunday (FTX Day 14) - (Germany) Day 125
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning we had to work the same shift…0600 until 1200. Today is the day we expected a lot of people to start showing up to get their network access setup, but we didn't expect the majority to come until the second shift which is actually what happened. We all had to sit around the help desk area which can get a little crowded with all of us in there. Since I don't have system administrator rights, I can't log into the system and access Active Directory to get new accounts setup…so I just sit around all day. In order to have system administrator rights I have to have a Windows 7 certification. Unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to obtain this…and in my current job back in Heidelberg, it's not a requirement…but I'm still going to push for it. That was my entire day at work…sitting around and chatting with whoever was not working one of the 3 computers. We didn't see many people come in until right at the end of the shift. By that time anyone that wasn't on a computer was told they could leave so it would not be crowded as the shift change took place.
I headed to the barracks for a bit, changed and then rode with the air force guys to the food court for lunch. I then had them drop me off at the USO where I video chatted with my wife for a bit and used my laptop for a while. Another guy from work met me there once a TMP was available and we headed back. It's nice to have unrestricted internet access once in a while.
Once back in the barracks we all watched David Chapelle "Killing 'em Softly". It's a stand up comedy and I had heard some of the guys talking about it, but I hadn't seen it yet. So we setup a laptop and a few of us gathered around to watch it…pretty funny stuff.
This morning we had to work the same shift…0600 until 1200. Today is the day we expected a lot of people to start showing up to get their network access setup, but we didn't expect the majority to come until the second shift which is actually what happened. We all had to sit around the help desk area which can get a little crowded with all of us in there. Since I don't have system administrator rights, I can't log into the system and access Active Directory to get new accounts setup…so I just sit around all day. In order to have system administrator rights I have to have a Windows 7 certification. Unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to obtain this…and in my current job back in Heidelberg, it's not a requirement…but I'm still going to push for it. That was my entire day at work…sitting around and chatting with whoever was not working one of the 3 computers. We didn't see many people come in until right at the end of the shift. By that time anyone that wasn't on a computer was told they could leave so it would not be crowded as the shift change took place.
I headed to the barracks for a bit, changed and then rode with the air force guys to the food court for lunch. I then had them drop me off at the USO where I video chatted with my wife for a bit and used my laptop for a while. Another guy from work met me there once a TMP was available and we headed back. It's nice to have unrestricted internet access once in a while.
Once back in the barracks we all watched David Chapelle "Killing 'em Softly". It's a stand up comedy and I had heard some of the guys talking about it, but I hadn't seen it yet. So we setup a laptop and a few of us gathered around to watch it…pretty funny stuff.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Slow Saturday (FTX Day 13) - (Germany) Day 124
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning we had to be at work by 0600. Since I had showered last night I slept in a little, then got ready and left after brushing my teeth and shaving. As expected there was nothing to do when we got there. The day shift has 4 air force folks and 6 army folks in it. There are three help desk computers to be manned in order to in-process new people that come for the exercise and get them access to the network. Three airmen were chosen to take the computers the first shift and stare at a large empty room. The rest of us were just waiting around and then finally the NCOIC said he wanted us to go around to all the rooms and check each computer to make sure it could print. We knew this was just "busy" work because we had already done this multiple times in each room. On top of that once we started we were told not to actually print test pages because it would be a waste of paper. So we are supposed to make sure each computer prints without actually printing…brilliant!
Everyone scattered out and basically just surfed the web for an hour or so until we were released for breakfast. We took our time eating at the DFAC, then headed back and continued to "check" the printing on each computer…everyone just surfed the web. Maybe I lack some imagination, but there is only so much surfing a person can do. Check Facebook, check email, read the news and so on. About 1100 we all started to gather in the help desk area waiting for noon when our shift was over and the other team would take over. During that time our first actual customers came and the guys at the computers in-processed about 4 people. Each one takes only a few minutes, so all of us came in for about 10 minutes of work. My guess is the night shift will be even slower.
I then went to the barracks and headed straight to do my laundry. Everything I had was dirty and I needed to get it all washed. The machines we have to use are all coin operated which kind of sucks. Unlike all the other washing machines I've used on army installations in the past, these are all awesome industrial strength machines. They take large loads and work fast! I ate a "ranger bar" out of my MRE for lunch and that was it. The ranger bars are the equivalent to an energy bar you can get at a store. I also ate some trail mix and called it lunch.
Once back at the barracks with my laundry folded I took a nap…after that I read. One thing I do a lot of on an FTX is read. This time I loaded my iPad with a number of books, so I would not run out like last time. I just finished an interesting book called "American Sniper" by Chris Kyle…the autobiography of the most lethal sniper in the U.S. military history. The book was about a guy who decided to join the navy with the hopes of becoming a navy seal. He tells about his tale of becoming a seal and then in turn becoming a sniper. He was deployed to Iraq 4 times and describes everything he went through over there. It's a complete biography as well with the tale of his life growing up and what he's done since leaving the navy. The strain that it put on his marriage and the strain it put on him losing friends. All told it's a pretty interesting story and he doesn't sugar coat anything. He does say that a lot of having the most official kills as a sniper has a lot to do with luck, being in the right place at the right time. It lets you see the Iraq war from his view instead of just what we've all seen in the news.
The other thing I do a lot during an FTX is watch a lot of movies, it passes the time and I can also watch some of the corny movies I know my wife doesn't want to watch. I have an external hard drive that I've copied movies to, mainly from people while I was in Korea. I mentioned that I watched Missing in Action with Chuck Norris the other day. I watched part 2 and 3 the last two days and they are both just as funny as the first. After watching them I don't understand how we lost the Vietnam war when Chuck Norris was in it. He could stand in an open field or road with a machine gun at his hip and kill everyone around him, while no shots ever hit him…LOL.
This FTX we are allowed to go off post and go to town if we want. Some of the guys have been going out each night to the bars, clubs, and karaoke joints. I guess I'm just too old to do that stuff now on a work night. There is no way I want to drink and stay up late when we have to start work at 0600. So far I've heard the most popular bar is a special one, but just on Tuesdays…that is a special day called "Titty Tuesday" and the waitresses go topless for the night. Oh to be young and wild again…I have to go to bed now.
This morning we had to be at work by 0600. Since I had showered last night I slept in a little, then got ready and left after brushing my teeth and shaving. As expected there was nothing to do when we got there. The day shift has 4 air force folks and 6 army folks in it. There are three help desk computers to be manned in order to in-process new people that come for the exercise and get them access to the network. Three airmen were chosen to take the computers the first shift and stare at a large empty room. The rest of us were just waiting around and then finally the NCOIC said he wanted us to go around to all the rooms and check each computer to make sure it could print. We knew this was just "busy" work because we had already done this multiple times in each room. On top of that once we started we were told not to actually print test pages because it would be a waste of paper. So we are supposed to make sure each computer prints without actually printing…brilliant!
Everyone scattered out and basically just surfed the web for an hour or so until we were released for breakfast. We took our time eating at the DFAC, then headed back and continued to "check" the printing on each computer…everyone just surfed the web. Maybe I lack some imagination, but there is only so much surfing a person can do. Check Facebook, check email, read the news and so on. About 1100 we all started to gather in the help desk area waiting for noon when our shift was over and the other team would take over. During that time our first actual customers came and the guys at the computers in-processed about 4 people. Each one takes only a few minutes, so all of us came in for about 10 minutes of work. My guess is the night shift will be even slower.
I then went to the barracks and headed straight to do my laundry. Everything I had was dirty and I needed to get it all washed. The machines we have to use are all coin operated which kind of sucks. Unlike all the other washing machines I've used on army installations in the past, these are all awesome industrial strength machines. They take large loads and work fast! I ate a "ranger bar" out of my MRE for lunch and that was it. The ranger bars are the equivalent to an energy bar you can get at a store. I also ate some trail mix and called it lunch.
Once back at the barracks with my laundry folded I took a nap…after that I read. One thing I do a lot of on an FTX is read. This time I loaded my iPad with a number of books, so I would not run out like last time. I just finished an interesting book called "American Sniper" by Chris Kyle…the autobiography of the most lethal sniper in the U.S. military history. The book was about a guy who decided to join the navy with the hopes of becoming a navy seal. He tells about his tale of becoming a seal and then in turn becoming a sniper. He was deployed to Iraq 4 times and describes everything he went through over there. It's a complete biography as well with the tale of his life growing up and what he's done since leaving the navy. The strain that it put on his marriage and the strain it put on him losing friends. All told it's a pretty interesting story and he doesn't sugar coat anything. He does say that a lot of having the most official kills as a sniper has a lot to do with luck, being in the right place at the right time. It lets you see the Iraq war from his view instead of just what we've all seen in the news.
The other thing I do a lot during an FTX is watch a lot of movies, it passes the time and I can also watch some of the corny movies I know my wife doesn't want to watch. I have an external hard drive that I've copied movies to, mainly from people while I was in Korea. I mentioned that I watched Missing in Action with Chuck Norris the other day. I watched part 2 and 3 the last two days and they are both just as funny as the first. After watching them I don't understand how we lost the Vietnam war when Chuck Norris was in it. He could stand in an open field or road with a machine gun at his hip and kill everyone around him, while no shots ever hit him…LOL.
This FTX we are allowed to go off post and go to town if we want. Some of the guys have been going out each night to the bars, clubs, and karaoke joints. I guess I'm just too old to do that stuff now on a work night. There is no way I want to drink and stay up late when we have to start work at 0600. So far I've heard the most popular bar is a special one, but just on Tuesdays…that is a special day called "Titty Tuesday" and the waitresses go topless for the night. Oh to be young and wild again…I have to go to bed now.
Truly Pissed (FTX Day 12) - (Germany) Day 123
If do not enter is crossed out...does that mean enter?
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning everything went as usual…some cereal at the DFAC and a banana, then off to work at 0900. There was not a lot to do…in fact most of the day we all just sat around the help desk area waiting for a task to do. I've vented a little about our NCOIC before and today will be no exception. He is the kind of guy who must feel a little insecure about himself. He always conveys that he's a smart guy, but then proves otherwise. He is the guy who will put you down in order to make himself feel better. Since he is an E-7 I wonder how he even got there, the guy is a moron and he doesn't try and train or help those below him. Unfortunately he'll probably get an award and a bunch of "atta boys" for doing such a great job with this FTX. The FTX will get done and we will take care of all the issues, but not because of anything he has or has not done.
Shortly before lunch I was tasked again with a VTC issue. They had added another VTC and I needed to get an address to it and update the spreadsheet I had made with all the room numbers and addresses on this. I had been using this same spreadsheet the entire time and emailing it back and forth to a civilian I was working with. Once finished the civilian asked me to email him the final version and also print out one that we can keep in the help desk area. No problem…I printed it off and didn't think much of it. I was about to grab it from the printer when the NCOIC took it and said "What the hell is this? It looks like something a two year old can do. Do it again and make it pretty". I was in a little shock for a minute, then angry, then pissed off. What the fuck is up with this guy? It's a simple spreadsheet that shows each room number and the address of the machine in it. I wasn't told anything except print off the spreadsheet I had. The NCOIC then came over to my machine and I just moved out of the way. He looked around for about 5 minutes trying to figure out how to do a special copy and paste from Excel to PowerPoint. Once he had that done he made the spreadsheet info a little bigger and told me to put a header on it and print it out. I did, then left for a walk to the shoppette just to get away from him for a bit. As I was leaving I heard him ask another guy why it was taking him two hours to add a printer to that machine, but he said it in a way to make the guy feel like an idiot (in truth of course it had only been a few minutes and he had to download the special drivers from the internet for this particular printer)…the NCOIC is just an ass.
By the time I came back one of the civilians had bought pizza for all the help desk workers, so I dug in and had a few pieces. We then waited around the help desk as we had earlier in the day. I was then told that he wanted another computer at the help desk for us to use and told me to go get it from "warehouse". I had to ask the permanent party folks how exactly to get to these "warehouse" folks, but when they asked why I was told they will not give me any computers because they're not on the room build. I relayed this to our NCOIC and he told me to go anyway. The warehouse folks are located down the street in the last building on the right. It was a nice day out so I took a nice…very slow…walk outside and away from everyone. I arrived and asked the warehouse folks for a computer, they said no and that this kind of request has to go through operations. No problem I said, then slowly walked back to work. The NCOIC was busy in some other conversation, so I figured I'd tell him later on and sat down with everyone else around the help desk.
At one point later on in the day the NCOIC and another sergeant asked me to follow them. The NCOIC then asked if what he said to me earlier offended me. I said yes, indeed it did you asshole…well not in those terms, I just said yes. He then made an official apology in front of another witness. It was all a little strange, my guess is that someone a little higher than him either overheard him or someone else told someone higher up and he was forced to apologize. He can apologize all he wants, but if he doesn't change his behavior it doesn't really matter. He's an ass, everyone hates working for him. The permanent party folks joke about how bad he is, the air force folks can't believe they are stuck with him, and of course all the rest of us army guys hate him.
We ended up sitting around for a few hours doing absolutely nothing. 1700 came and went and we still just sat there waiting to get released. Finally at 1730 we were able to leave. We found out our schedules for tomorrow and the next week. We will not get any weekend off unfortunately. They made two groups…the permanent party group and the TDY group. My group, the TDY group with everyone that came here from somewhere else, has the day shift. We will be working 0600 to 1200 Saturday through Tuesday, then on Wednesday on we will be working 0600 to 1800.
I headed back to the barracks and just relaxed for a while reading. I talked to my wife a bit and ate dinner which consisted of some wafers and some almonds, a light meal since I had pizza at lunch time. After yesterday I decided to keep showering at night instead of in the mornings. There are a lot less people in there at night. I put two big bandages on my feet in the morning and was able to keep them on in the shower. I want my feet to be at least partially healed before they come off. I watched Missing in Action with Chuck Norris…LOL. I forgot just how corny and cheesy this movie really was. The acting is laughable and so is the fighting scenes…pretty funny to watch, but definitely not something I'm going to keep in my movie collection.
Bad Feet (FTX Day 11) - (Germany) Day 122
An example of how some people brought extra blankets to add a little more privacy to their bunk
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning I did my usual at breakfast, cereal and fruit. We then headed to the warehouse and started work at 0900. Me and a co-worker were tasked with getting the VTC machines ready to go. They wisely decided to use static IP addresses for these machines (This means the address is a permanent address vs one that may change over time). We had to put in the address and then make a test call to verify everything works. We took our time because we knew there was not a whole lot to do today…we finished almost everything yesterday.
We did find a couple problems and had to troubleshoot the issues. Finally we were down to two machines that didn't have speakers, so we had to request them from the warehouse. After this we settled in and started surfing the net. There was absolutely nothing to do, but for some reason the NCOIC wanted people doing something…so he would have people go and recheck rooms we've already checked at least twice already. Our NCOIC came in the room my co-worker and I were in and said "What are you guys doing? Come follow me I got something for you to do" We proceeded to follow him and he had us move two folding chairs about 3 feet. I kid you not, that is what he had us do. At one point in the day while I was working on the VTCs and he saw me walking across to another room, he called for me to come over to his desk. He then told me to put some paper that was on top of a cabinet in a box. It started to become a game where nobody wanted to be anywhere the NCOIC could see them. I ended up hanging out with the air force guys because they have their own NCO and he doesn't play the stupid games.
The air force guys also have two TMPs and offered to take the junior soldiers to the food court and PX for lunch. Anything to get away from the NCOIC is fine with me. After lunch we spent the rest of the day doing nothing…everything is setup and we are just waiting until next week when the exercise starts.
After work we headed to the gym to play some basketball. We were supposed to play against the air force, but they ended up not showing up for about an hour later. I tightened my running shoes and decided to play with everyone. Two of my co-workers were there and also a captain that is pretty cool and staying with us in the barracks. I probably shouldn't have played because I didn't have my basketball shoes, but my competitive nature got the best of me…that and my co-worker really wanted me to play. I ended up tearing up my feet just like I did in Korea when I played in running shoes. The skin on my feet just tore off and now I have big flabs of skin just hanging off my feet and I can barely walk. I also played like total crap. I couldn't hit a shot to save my life. Normally I consider myself one of the best shooters out there no matter who I'm playing with, but for some reason I couldn't hit anything today. The only good thing is that I got a bit of a workout, but it came at a big price.
I took a shower back at the barracks and listened to the bombs and artillery going off consistently. It's strange being so close to and actually feeling the artillery at times even in our barracks. I heard today that the battalion that is in the set of barracks right up the road from us just lost two soldiers in an accident on the way here while traveling on the autobahn. Pretty crazy how one minute you can be on your way to do some training and out of the blue you get hit by a semi and it's over. I really changed my mindset after divorcing my first wife, and now I try to live and experience every day to its fullest. It's reminders like this that help you remember just how short life can be and you really don't want to waste it. It's one of the reasons I wanted to do this whole army thing…I wanted to do it before I got too old and I wanted something different, I wanted to see the world, and I wanted a little adventure.
Appreciated (FTX Day 10) - (Germany) Day 121
Our dinner at the BräuWirt restaurant...good food, good beer!
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning I headed to the DFAC and didn't even bother with the meal line, I headed straight to the cereal and fruit, then grabbed some OJ and coffee and called it good. When I got back to the barracks and was getting ready, I kept hearing everyone say just how bad the food was…it was worse than yesterdays.
The day was pretty easy since we had most of the work done yesterday. We finished up one of the rooms that we had trouble in yesterday. A bunch of the hard drives were bad, so we had to get new ones. Once that was done we just stayed in the room and surfed the internet. We went to lunch and I grabbed an MRE like yesterday, but only ate a small piece of a muffin out of it. I snacked on some almonds and crackers that I had already as well.
Back at work we did some cleaning up and then double checked everything once again. We then did some more surfing as we waited to be released. A little after 1700 we all met up expecting to get released, but instead the place went on lock down. The laptop used to push out the images was missing and nobody was allowed to leave until it was found. I don't think anyone would want to steal it, it's an old piece of crap Windows machine…it serves it's purpose, but I doubt anyone would want to take it. We waited and waited and then around 1830 we were allowed to leave only because there was an appreciation dinner offered at a local German restaurant for anyone who wanted to attend. I can never turn down free food, so of course I went. A lot of people have grown to really despise our NCOIC so nobody wanted to go. It turned out that two others decided to come along, but the entire air force group and the others in our group didn't want to have anything to do with it because our NCOIC was going to be there.
Our NCOIC is a horrible project manager, but at first I thought he was a nice guy. I've since changed my mind…he's really obnoxious and thinks he's the smartest guy around, when in reality it seems he's a moron. He has all these crazy theories and goes on and on about stupid stuff. The meal turned out to be great though because it involved a number of people besides just the help desk. All in all there were a good 25 to 30 people there for the appreciation dinner. The restaurant was great, the food was great, the beer was great too. They were also a small brewery and served their own beer which I had both a light and a dark. All told it was well worth the minor inconvenience of having to travel there with our NCOIC. The place is called BräuWirt and I would recommend it for anyone in the Grafenwoerf area.
Shooting Around (FTX Day 9) - (Germany) Day 120
The building on the end is the bathroom and showers
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning we started at our usual time of 0900, the nice thing was I didn't have to worry about how or what I was going to eat for breakfast. The bad thing was that the DFAC food just really sucked. I tried some sort of omelet in a pita bread concoction. I only took a couple of bites before I had to stop. I thought about eating the bacon, but it was very limp and was just dripping with grease. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge bacon fan...but I just couldn't bring myself to try this stuff. Luckily the DFAC also offers other items such as cereal and fruit, which I decided to have instead…I think I'll be sticking with that from now on.
The work day was somewhat productive, I started off getting all the VTC (Video TeleConferencing) machines tested and ready to go. These are basically a large screen with a camera on top used to make video calls over the Internet…similar to Skype, but this is their sole purpose and they have better quality from what I have seen. I then helped get more SIPR computers up and ready on the network. We have a lot more SIPR machines and it seemed like we had a lot more problems with them as well. We had to have "the warehouse" exchange more than a few machines because of hardware issues that we kept coming across. Each time this happened it would take extra time. The process of getting a machine working good takes a few reboots and some configuration settings, but the machines aren't the fastest. So if all goes well we get a machine up and on the network in about 10 minutes. It always seems there is something that needs to be fixed though, the network cable is bad, the video card is bad, the image is bad, the bios is locked…etc. Each of these items takes time to troubleshoot and then resolve, so it was slow going…but we did make a lot of progress. I think we should be able to finish up tomorrow, or at least get really close to being finished.
We were given MREs for lunch, which we grabbed from the DFAC and brought back to the barracks to eat. Because we are in a training area we can hear and feel the explosions of either tanks or artillery around us. It's pretty crazy because sometimes it seems as though there is a tank right outside the barracks firing. It's loud and you can feel the rumble as the windows shake.
Back at work we continued our progress and worked until about 1745. Once we were let go, my co-worker wanted me to come play basketball with him at the gym. We decided to skip the DFAC and go play, planning on eating afterwards. I didn't actually play any games, I just shot around. For one thing I'm old and out of shape and I also didn't have my basketball shoes. To be honest though I really don't care for playing with people I don't know and I don't mean to be racist here, but I especially don't care for playing with black folks when I don't know them. Their style of play is a lot different, and being the only white guy playing I don't think I would even get the ball passed to me at all. So I just shot around and my co-worker played in a few games. I'm really glad I didn't play, because I can feel my legs are sore from just shooting around…that is pitiful, I'm so out of shape!
It turns out we left the gym too late and all the places to eat on post were closed. We decided to go off post and grab a bite because we were starving at this point. We went to a little restaurant that we had a brochure for about 10 minutes away from post. The place was nice and quaint. I wish we would have stayed there to eat, I would have tried one of their family beers and watched the soccer game on the TV. I'm not a huge soccer fan, but there were about 6 locals in there all excited and watching the game.
We got back at almost 1000 and I quickly ate and then prepared for bed. Hopefully I'll get some good sleep tonight and be ready for the another day tomorrow.
Overheard Quote: "Man….I'd rather get my prostate examined than eat that shit!" (A guy in our barracks after coming back from eating at the DFAC)
SIPR Setup (FTX Day 8) - (Germany) Day 119
Ummmmm.....I can see the exit right there!
As expected the new barracks was quite a bit different than our old barracks. Last night I realized another advantage of bringing a couple blankets to drape on either side of your bunk. The couple that did had their privacy as I mentioned, but they also had a nice dark area to sleep in. It didn't matter how late the lights stayed on, or how early the sun came up…they stayed relatively dark. I'll definitely have to consider that next time if possible. The problem is that you have to secure a bottom bunk in order to make it work. I used my PT cap as usual and put in my ear plugs. The PT cap pulled down over my eyes does a decent job of keeping the light out. At 0500 in the morning people's alarms started going off. Not all at once, but about every 15 minutes or so I would hear one even with my ear plugs in. This was kind of a bummer because I wasn't planning on getting up until 0700 (a half hour earlier than usual because we had to be in a half hour early at 0900).
I finally just got up about 0645 and started getting ready for the day. Today was the day the SIPR (secret) network was turned on. This in turn causes a lot more security to be enforced such as no personal electronic devices are allowed inside the warehouse and there are guards posted at the entrance to check for ID badges and inform folks to leave said electronic devices behind. Me and a co-worker found out when we arrived that we would actually be pulling this guard duty today…or at least this morning. The people that are coming to do this for the exercise were arriving today, but they were not sure when…because of this we were voluntold.
We were given the security brief and then started our new job. It was actually a really easy job and turned out to be just sitting in a room waiting for the occasional person to come show us their badge so we could buzz them in through the door. As each person would go by, we would remind them not to bring in any personal electronic devices. Most of the time we just sat there and surfed the internet on the computer in the room. We ended up doing this until the real guys pulling guard duty arrived. They came in perfect time for lunch, so we ended up leaving in a TMP to the bowling alley for lunch. We heard their restaurant was pretty good and wanted something different.
Once back at work we joined the rest of our crew getting the SIPR computers up and running. The process was very similar to the unclassified network (NIPR), but this time the NCOIC picked 4 rooms and had everyone concentrate on these four rooms until each step was finished. This seemed to work out a little better than the crazy "chicken with their head cut off" method used last week. We stayed until about 1730 getting everything finished and then had an end of the day meeting to update the status of everything.
Tonight the exercise DFAC finally opened. There are a couple of advantages of this…I don't have to buy food anymore, it's located literally 40 meters away from our barracks. There of course are some drawbacks as well…I will not be getting paid the full per diem rate and…well…it's DFAC food. We had dinner there and I had some sort of chicken stir fry concoction over rice which was edible, but my buddy tried the pork dish and couldn't eat it. He had me try and I couldn't blame him. I told him to go up and get a serving of what I had and he did. The really nice thing is that the DFAC will be open for breakfast, so there will not be anymore scrambling in the morning trying to figure out how to eat. (This morning I just had to wait until the shoppette opened at 1000 and make a quick run over there to buy a NutriGrain bar for breakfast).
A Day of Rest (FTX Day 7) - (Germany) Day 118
One of the unique landmark buildings I snapped a picture of
while we were driving around the main post of Grafenwoehr
(Due to the FTX my posts may be a little sporadic, I found out the USO offers free Internet and will be toting along my laptop and uploading posts as I get a chance)
This morning I slept in until 0745. I could have slept longer, but nature decided to call early and when that happens the bathroom is not just in the other room here. Once the trip is made 50 meters to the bathroom and back (outside), you're pretty much up. I listened to music on my iPhone for a while waiting until the shoppette opened up at 1000. I planned on doing laundry today, but I had to get out cash, then buy a little snack for breakfast to make some change (the ATM only spits out $20 bills). Once that was done I headed to the laundry mat to wash my clothes in the coin operated machines.
Back in the barracks we found out that the room we were all in was reserved for E-8's and above. These folks would start arriving today or tomorrow and we had to get out. Nice…I wish we would have been told this earlier and had us just move into the other building. Now there are already people in there and the good spots next to the few power outlets are all taken. We all packed up our stuff and moved the 30 meters or so to the new building. The one benefit is that it's a lot closer to the bathrooms. The main drawback is that there are a number of people in there along with some NCOs. It's always a gamble with NCOs, they can be cool or real assholes. So there is the potential that the next couple of weeks could really suck. Our NCOIC is not much of a project manager, but he seems like a nice guy otherwise and he never bothered us in the barracks.
I ended up getting a bunk next to a guy who had his playstation plugged into a transformer along with a couple power-strips, so I am able to reach my power cable to it which is perfect. The other guys ended up buying some long extension cords to reach their bunks from the other guy's power-strips. I do learn something new every time I do go on an FTX though. Last time I realized that I needed to bring a pillow, a blanket to cover the mattress, and a power-strip. I see now that bringing a couple extra blankets will come in hand to drape on either side of the bed for some privacy. There are a couple guys in this bay that are doing it and it looks like a good idea.
Me and my co-workers took a TMP to the food court where I had Pizza Hut of course. We all brought our laptops and headed to the USO to make use of their free Internet. There is nothing else really to do except hang out in the bay, so this worked out well. We spent a few hours there and I kind of video chatted with my wife. I say kind of because the microphone on my headphones is broken, so I could hear my wife, but she couldn't hear me. I had to type everything while she talked to me…kind of a one way conversation, but it was nice to see her and hear her voice. I may have to look into purchasing a new pair of headphones with a microphone before next weekend.
We left and the others ate dinner, but I was still full from the pizza and cheesy bread. I just ended up eating some trail mix later on back in the barracks. Once back everyone started coming back in the barracks and it filled up a bit. What a difference from our previous bay which was relatively quiet. There are conversations everywhere and someone is bouncing a basketball. Hopefully it will quiet down at night, but I'm sure the morning will be noisy with people getting up to go to the gym.
I settled down in my bed and watched "What Happens in Vegas". A chick flick about a couple that meet in Vegas and after a night of drinking, get married…oh and they win 3 million dollars on a slot machine. Instead of giving them an annulment, the judge orders them to work on their marriage for six months with required weekly marriage counseling. It's a typical romantic comedy and runs through the same routine that all romantic comedies go through and yes in the end they live happily ever after. It's a decent watch and had me chuckling a few times…always nice to veg out and let your mind escape this boring place.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Late Lunch (FTX Day 6) - (Germany) Day 117
The Men's bathroom in "The Warehouse" (Bad Urinal Design)
This morning started off similar to yesterday, get up…get ready…take TMP for breakfast…go to work. It's a Saturday and at our morning meeting we were told that we would only have to work until lunch. I am not going to hold my breath on that promise. The entire day was retarded. There was no direction, our NCOIC was getting pissed off and all the soldiers were getting pissed off. The problem is that the leaders need to send a clear message to soldiers, tell them exactly what they want done and let them finish the task. This wasn't done today and it turned out to be very frustrating for everyone involved. We were told to go re-check every room to make sure everything was done. So even though there was a sheet on each screen with someone's initials by each task that needed to be completed, we had to check again.
It turned out that everyone just kind of spread out and ended up doing much of nothing. The guys stationed here permanently have an interesting way to find each other. We are working in a warehouse and all the rooms are just walls without a ceiling, you can hear one of the guys yell "Marco"…then a few seconds later another will yell "Polo". This is how they find each other throughout the day, so we are constantly hearing "Marco…..Polo" all day long…LOL.
Once I finished a room I just sat on a computer and checked my email and Facebook. I started to read the news as well. Nobody was doing anything, and I'm not too sure why we were even there. The few problems that remained were cleared up. These problems shouldn't have even been problems at all. It turns out that a number of the ports were not active when we set everything up, so when a computer was plugged in…there would be no connectivity. This is something that we could not fix, the "warehouse" had to fix it. The "warehouse" is a number of civilian workers that maintain the computers and networks that are used in the warehouse. Why all the ports don't work before an exercise is a little strange to me. Alas…all the needed ports and final issues were fixed…and we waited…and waited.
The help desk printer did not have drivers for the computers to use, so we had to wait some more until that was resolved. We waited and waited. 1130 came and went…people started grumbling a little. We were told to go check all the rooms again because (and I'll simplify the process a bit) the NCOIC did not see what he thought should be running at the end state, but it turns out that once the computer is restarted, this does not need to be running. He had freaked out and was yelling at the junior NCOs about this. I then had to prove that once the process starts it's good and will not show up after a restart. We waited some more…and longer.
By this time everyone was just pissed off. We had one guy in our group that just stopped talking all together. Another wouldn't stop talking about how pissed he was. Everyone was hungry and it was 1400…well past lunch time. We were finally let go at 1530 for the day. I guess we were able to leave after lunch, it's just that lunch didn't happen until 1530! I was a little pissed too, not for the fact that we had to work, but I think we should have been let go and then come back.
We immediately left before any change could be announced. We grabbed a TMP and headed off to the food court. I had an entire foot long sandwich at Subway because I knew it was going to be my lunch and dinner. We then headed to the USO so one of our guys could make a phone call. I was pleased to find that they had free WiFi and made use of it with my iPhone. I then hung out with the other guys with the laptops that were setup for users, when all of a sudden they all start laughing and tell me to look behind me. As I turn around I have to take a moment to realize what I'm seeing. Here is a young 9 year old Asian girl with the laptop turned so nobody can see it except our table because we are the only ones behind her. On her screen is cartoon pornography. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Here is a very young Asian girl who I would just assume is looking up spelling bee words, or perhaps something for her next science project, but no I see naked cartoon characters. The only one I made out was the little mermaid and Scooby Doo, but I'm sure if I were into cartoons I could've named them all. So we all got up and left unable to control our laughing. I'm not sure what the world is coming to after seeing this.
I spent the rest of the night talking to my wife for a bit and then watching Apocalypse Now. I'd heard the name before, but never really knew what the movie was about. I copied it from our maintenance sergeant during our last staff duty, but never had a chance to watch it yet. It turns out it's a pretty interesting Vietnam war movie about a guy with some demons of his own. He has to go on a mission and "terminate" a colonel who has gone rogue. The film is an interesting look at some of the right and wrong things we do as humans and how a lot of what is right gets thrown out the window during war. I thought it was a good movie, but perhaps not good enough to keep in my movie collection. It's definitely a movie worth watching, but I probably wouldn't watch it again.
Have No Fear…The Air Force Is Here (FTX Day 5) - (Germany) Day 116
A typical room that we setup inside the warehouse with both unsecured and secured computers.
This morning after yesterday's ordeal with breakfast we all just got ready and then got the keys to the TMP and took ourselves to breakfast at Burger King. It worked perfectly and everyone was happy. (We should have been doing this all week).
The day started off with a meeting as usual. We were told that there would be a group of air force personnel coming to be part of the exercise and helping us with the I.T. portion. We were also told they will not be staying in the barracks like us, they instead will be staying at a hotel off post the entire time. This is the difference between the army and the air force. The air force treats their people so much better. You can go onto any air force base and the quality of living is so much better than the closest army base. I've seen this first hand on multiple occasions.
We were each given tasks for the day and sent off. My task was to check each room and image any stray computers that had not been imaged yet for various reasons. Whatever the reason was, it was supposed to be fixed and they should be ready to image. I was skeptical at first, but as I started making my way from room to room the image worked on each computer. To put the image on takes about 15 minutes, so while I was waiting I would get on a working computer and check my personal email and Facebook. It's strange when I go for a few days without having internet, I feel so isolated.
At lunch we headed to the food court in a TMP and I decided to have Pizza Hut once again. I've had it 3 days this week! I could eat pizza everyday (I did when I was a young lad working at a pizza joint), but I know it can't be that good for me.
When we arrived back at the warehouse I continued working on imaging a computer here and there. By the time I finished I had also caught up on my email and Facebook for the most part. We were then gathered together for a meeting where our NCOIC complained about how everything is going. It's really due to his bad leadership, but everyone let him bitch and moan for a while. We then were told to pair up and get assigned to a room. We were not allowed to leave "even if it takes until midnight" until the room was good to go. One of the NCOs who is stationed here permanently then printed out a sheet to go with each computer that we would check off the status of everything that has to be done (Imaged, Joined to Domain, Named, Printer…etc). This should have been done a long time ago and would have resolved a number of problems earlier on. My room had an issue with the printer not working, but I found out it was because the pause button was stuck on, this caused it not to work at all…or even show that it can network connectivity lights. I resolved that and then we got all the computers connected to the printer and made sure they were all good to go. Once I told our NCOIC we were good, he told us we could go. I left immediately which ended up about 1645. I then headed to the barracks and read for a while.
Getting off work was short lived as the NCOIC wanted to have an end of the day meeting and forgot he said me and another guy could go. So I had to get dressed up in my uniform again and head back over to the warehouse. I wasn't surprised, it just seemed typical. We were informed we would have to work tomorrow (Saturday) to finish things up for the NIPR network. The funny thing is that the air force guys have tomorrow off and will come in on Sunday if needed. I say if needed because there is not a whole lot to be done. I think there are a few computers and loose ends to tie up. We were told we would only work until lunch…I laughed a little on the inside.
We then were released for the day. I headed back to the barracks and finished watching the movie "War Horse". I would say it's not my typical movie. It had the word "war" in it so I thought I would give it a try. The movie revolves around the life of a horse who happens to end up in the middle of world war 1 and gets passed through a number of people's hands. Each time someone comes across the horse, it makes an impact on their lives. It's basically a chick flick that I was tricked into watching because it had "war" in the title. There was some trench warfare scenes which were interesting, but not enough to make me like the movie. It did pass the time, but I would not recommend it to anyone but girls that like horses (isn't that all girls?)
Running In Circles (FTX Day 4) - (Germany) Day 115
by staking up mattresses around his bunk...it didn't really work,
but it was funny when the dude woke up and wondered
why he was surrounded...LOL
why he was surrounded...LOL
This morning started off bad and the rest of the day went downhill from there. I woke up with a raging headache, which just sucks. The mattresses on these beds just suck and I must have slept wrong. The mattresses have about the same feel as a wrestling mat…they are just not that comfortable. I popped 3 Excedrin and then went to get ready for the day. As I was almost finished getting ready our NCOIC asked if everyone wanted Whoppers for breakfast as he was heading out. We all waited for him to return, but he never did! We all headed to the warehouse and waited for our morning meeting to start at 0900. Our NCOIC walks in and doesn't have any breakfast for us. Now I don't expect him to purchase breakfast every morning for us, but if you say something like that and walk out the door…everyone is expecting food. If you're not going to buy it for us, then let us give money or go with so we can get something.
In the morning meeting we were told we would probably only work until lunch today, then each of us were given tasks to accomplish and were sent off. I started working on my task (finding out which network ports were still not up and running), then at 1000 when the shoppette opened, I headed over there and bought a couple snacks (NutriGrain bars) for breakfast. Once back I continued my work, then suddenly the NCOIC comes in and tells me and my co-worker that we need to stop doing that and do this other task. This went on the same way throughout the day which was driving everyone completely nuts. Our NCOIC is the project manager for this setup and he is the absolute worst project manager that I've ever worked with. I've done a number of big projects working in the IT field and this is the absolute worst leadership ever! We all felt like we just kept starting on something, then moved to something else, then moved again and again before finishing any task. We also felt like we kept doing the same thing over and over. The fear that we would have to re-image all the machines to Windows 7 came true…all the time that we took imaging computers before to Vista was all for nothing. I think the worst thing about this NCOIC is that he thinks he knows everything. He is always bragging about how smart he is, though he proves the opposite every chance he gets.
We got a TMP for lunch and went to the commissary once again. This was a pretty funny event in a stressful day. The guy driving hadn't used a stick shift in five years he said and he kept killing and stalling the engine, unable to work the clutch very well. He killed the TMP after showing the ID to the guard and it took us a few minutes to get moving out of there, I was laughing pretty hard.
Back at work it was the same ol' same ol', running around like a bunch of chickens with our heads cut off. Instead of getting off at lunch time, we got off at 1930. I headed back to the barracks and quickly changed into my comfy clothes, then ate the other half of my sandwich I saved from lunch, by this time everyone was getting pretty hungry. I then talked to my wife for a bit before reading my book and then starting a movie for the night.
Beautification (FTX Day 3) - (Germany) Day 114
A photo of our barracks bay...it's pretty bare now with only 5 of us in there.
This morning I woke up on my own once again. I had my alarm set for 0730, but woke up at 0700. One thing I can say is good about this FTX, is that we don't have to get up at the butt crack of dawn to start the day which I very much appreciate. Our NCOIC took me to Burger King and bought everyone breakfast, which I helped him bring back. For some crazy reason they sell Whoppers for breakfast now, and that is what everyone got except for me. When I have breakfast I want breakfast food (Pizza is the only acceptable alternative…and it can even be cold when eating it for breakfast).
We started the day again in the warehouse and the whole first half of the day was spent doing "beautification" in each of the rooms. This was basically taping all the network cables under the long tables so they would be out of sight and not presenting a tripping hazard. We went to lunch at the commissary, which I have to say was awesome. They make a nice fresh sandwich and the total with a very large drink and chips was under $5.
Once back at the warehouse we started adding computers to the domain. Once added we did a couple steps to finish up and then the machine was ready to go. This all seems like an easy process, but somehow the leaders ended up changing some things up and getting everyone confused. We ended up working until 1800 and then finally were able to leave. This I don't think would normally be a big issue, but yesterday our NCOIC had told us we would probably be out of there at 1430 or 1500. So by 1800 everyone was grumbling and upset. Before I left I heard one of the leaders say we need to upgrade all the systems to Windows 7. If that is the case, I think they should have used a Windows 7 image when we pushed it out to all the machines. I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow, but I have a bad feeling that we are going to do a bunch more redundant work.
We headed back to the barracks and everyone left to the bowling alley to eat and hang out. I just wanted to relax, so I stayed back. If the place had free Internet I would probably go, but I don't think it does. This place really sucks for free WiFi. There is a couple places where you can purchase a temporary internet connection similar to ones found at AIT, but that is just a rip-off.
I read my book and then watched the last movie in the Blade series "Blade Trinity". I wasn't expecting much of anything from the movie, but it was surprisingly pretty good. It had a more modern feel and even a little "Matrix" flare to it. Toss in a little bit of cheese and kung-fu and it was a fun movie to watch. It even had Dracula in it of all vampires!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)