JAG - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 259

Headed to morning formation in ACUs because I had a 0700 appointment with my PCM. Once accountability was over I went back to my car and quickly ate breakfast. I then went to my 0700 appointment with my PCM. I let her know I was doing pretty good except for the 3 day spell earlier this week. I had her put in prescriptions as usual for my pain medication, then left. I had a 0800 acupuncture appointment at the pain clinic. This went as usual, first walking on the hard plastic rocks in my socks and then laying on my back and getting poked in my forehead, wrists, hands, shins, ankles and feet. One the needles were all in, the relaxing music was on and the lights off, I pretty much just relaxed and slept for most of the time.

After my appointment, I headed to my chiropractic appointment which was pretty quick. The doc just had me lay down while he did his manipulation on my neck. After that was over, I headed to the hospital pharmacy and picked up all my refills and prescriptions. The pharmacy was of course busy, I had to wait for a while…luckily I had my iPhone to keep me entertained.

I had lunch in my car and then waited for my 1230 physical therapy appointment for my positive profile. This is something that just appeared out of the blue on my appointment sheet. My NCM said it was located on the 8th floor of the hospital, but that was all I knew. I wandered around for a bit until someone finally showed me where the office was located. Once there I spoke with the physical therapist for a while. We went over all of my issues, then she took measurements on my range of motion with my legs, arms and neck. She also did some resistance test and logged everything in her computer. I guess I’ll get an updated positive profile in a week or so. A positive profile basically states what I can do versus what I can’t do.

After this appointment I headed back to my car and took a nap. I then went to the JAG office. While in the waiting room I received a text from my squad leader stating that I had to do staff duty on Monday. I really hate this place and I hate staff duty. This just really pissed me off. I did find out later that I would only have to do it from 0800 to 1600, this is much better…but I was still pretty pissed. I hate the short notice and I also hate that I was told that everyone only has staff duty about once every three months. I just had one about a month ago, so this really sucks!

At JAG I spoke with a lawyer that specializes in the medboard process. My PEBLO suggests that everyone have JAG look over the findings and make sure everything looks good. I was fine with my findings and the lawyer just wanted to make sure I was fine with getting out of the army…of course I am…I can’t wait…I’m done with all this stupid shit. After JAG gave their blessing I went straight to my PEBLO and signed all the paperwork. I was going to wait until Monday which was my final day, but after the staff duty text, all I wanted to do was get this process started and get the hell out of the army.

I headed home after signing everything. I was told the next step will have me put into transition processing. Once this is done I’ll get a call from my PEBLO and she will give me a date for my retirement brief that I’ll attend. At this brief I’ll find out all the steps that I’ll need to do before getting out. The max for getting into transition processing is 30 days, but my PEBLO said it can be as short as a week.

Tonight just my girls came over to stay the weekend, my son has the flu and is feeling pretty sick. We had a great homecooked meal and then watched a couple of movies that arrived via Netflix. The first was Charlie Bartlett, which was a comedy about a rich privileged student who gets kicked out of private school and must attend a public school. It was pretty good and kept my girls entertained. The second movie of our double feature was Untraceable, which was a thriller about an FBI agent who is trying to track and capture a villain who is killing people and broadcasting it live on the internet. This movie was also decent, it kept everyone entertained.

A Long Day - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 146

Sunrise this morning at Ft. Lewis from my parking spot...unfortunately 

I was driving and couldn't take an amazing view with Mt. Rainier 

in the background a few moments earlier.

This morning we had our morning formation at 0830 in ACUs. I arrived and was thankful to be able to sleep in a little. Our first sergeant arrived in front of the formation and I guess wanted to stroke her ego or something. She had everyone who was on profile that cannot do push-ups move to the back, the rest of us had to start doing push-ups. Doing push-ups is fine, but it just pisses me off when people have to strut around and show people who's boss.

My mood worsened when after formation we broke up by platoons and I was voluntold to clean the stairwell in the barracks along with another soldier. I was pretty pissed off. All I did was just glare at the NCO while he was instructing us what to do. What made it worse was that I was really looking forward to my coffee that was waiting for me back in my car. Instead I have to clean up a stairwell in a building that I don't live in or ever use…but that is the story of my army life…cleaning up after others it seems. The other soldier quickly volunteered to do the sweeping leaving me with mop duty…this morning just keeps getting better.

I do the cleanup and then head to my car where I finally have my coffee. I get a text shortly after from my squad leader telling me I have to sign my appointment slip at his desk. Stupid new rule. I head up and do that, then head to Starbucks on post, get a coffee and hang out in their lobby with my iPad making use of their WiFi. I needed to get away from the WTB for a little while. After that I headed to the JAG office to inquire about electronic repair estimate forms that the moving company needs me to have filled out because they broke a few things during the move. The JAG officer gave me the forms, but said if there is no physical damage evident that "the little elves inside electronics just die sometimes" and I will not be able to get reimbursed for the damage. They broke a 2TB external hard drive of mine and a pair of Bose wireless speakers. Both are not cheap, and now I realize that I will probably not get reimbursed for them. They worked fine in Germany before they were packed up and shipped here by the movers. That just pisses me off.

I head to Subway for lunch, then hang out some more in the lobby with my iPad. I head back to the WTB and wait in my car for a while…taking a small nap. I then went to my hydro massage appointment at 1500. The massage was great as usual. When I left I saw my company all getting in formation, there is no way I'm going to join them…I just head to my car and head home. Luckily I'm enrolled in class, so I don't have to attend any evening formations even if I'm not working with the navy.

I get home, do my schoolwork, then prepare for the weekend!

Shaving Profile? - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 145

This morning as most mornings that I head to Ft. Lewis, I woke up in a haze (my alarm goes off at 0420). I made my way around my house like a zombie getting ready for the day and then took off for the commute to Ft. Lewis. I chose to make the sacrifice of living an hour away from Ft. Lewis because I'm now back in my hometown and we have both our families within a five minute drive. I don't mind the drive, but sometimes like today I realize I don't really function well when I get up so early in the morning. When I arrived at Ft. Lewis I realized that I didn't shave this morning. Oh Crap! That was all I could think…the commissary and PX don't open until 0900 and our morning formation is at 0630.

I just headed to formation and thankfully it was still dark enough that nobody said anything or even cared that I had a face full of stubble. I couldn't slip away after morning formation as I usually try because we were released to our platoon sergeants. For some reason everyone and their mom had an appointment today and our platoon only had 4 people left. We all had to go inside and do some warmup and stretching. It's not bad, but I just didn't want to be there…and we were inside where the lighting was much better. Luckily nobody said anything, so when we released the platoon sergeant said we could go ride a stationary bike or go for a walk to get some cardio in. I got my cardio in by walking to my car. I have my breakfast in my car as usual and then have to head to a physical therapy appointment. I stay in my PT uniform along with my stubble and head to the appointment. The folks in there (even though some are army) just assumed I had a shaving profile. I had my traction done at physical therapy, now my neck feels nice and stretched.

I head to the SFAC and check my army email. I then print out my LES so I can take it to Verizon. In order to get a military discount they need a printed LES, for some reason a military ID isn't enough. No problems, I got it and took off. Once home I change and then head off to my wife's office for a side job. She works in the marketing department and their two computers in there are Macintosh computers. The company IT department doesn't know what to do with them. They also have a MacBook Pro, which was giving them some problems. So now when the marketing department needs any work they contract me to fix them since I have my Apple certifications along with several years of IT work and Apple experience. It's nice to actually do a little IT work and get paid for it!

Physical Therapy - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day139

I got a text last night stating that the morning formation was at 0830 and in ACUs. I had to reply back letting him know I would be missing it because of an appointment. So I got to sleep in a little and get ready for the day at my house. It's always nice being able to take a shower in the morning and eat breakfast at my house before heading out. I usually shower the night before then get up and leave while in zombie mode.

At 0845 I had a physical therapy appointment for traction. It was the same as usual, lay down on a bed and have a machine gently pull my head away from my body relieving the pressure that builds up within the disks in my neck. I haven't noticed anything right after the appointment, but I have noticed that overall I've been feeling better because of them.

I head to my car and take a nap…well I was trying to, just as I was just about to fall asleep I get a text from my squad leader telling me that he needs to see me. This pisses me off just a little, because I was just about to enter dreamland and all of a sudden I'm jerked out of it. I head up to see him and find out that there is a new policy. Everyone will receive 2 copies of their appointments each Friday. One is to keep and the other needs to be signed and dated acknowledging that we received it. This is pretty stupid. I'm sure it all came about because someone missed an appointment and said they didn't know about it. Now everyone has to go through this process once a week…and I was almost asleep!

Speaking of sleep, I headed back to my car and promptly fell asleep. When I woke up, it was lunchtime. I grab my lunch and head to the SFAC. When I arrive I see they are having some sort of Mexican food party. I get asked why I'm eating my own lunch and not all the Mexican food…I say I didn't even hear about it. I love Mexican food, but in reality I probably would have avoided it anyway…I don't really want to spend any time with army people unless I have to now. I wait a while then take my turn to use the microwave and heat up my leftovers, then eat in the SFAC.

I head to the WTB physical therapy office for a hydro massage appointment. On my way there I see Bravo company getting in formation, I just shake my head and continue on. Hydro massage is awesome as usual, a half hour of nice warm jets up and down my back while listening to music on my iPhone…bliss!

After that I headed home and did schoolwork.

Focus Transition Review - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day137

This morning we had our formation and were released to our platoon leaders. There really wasn't a chance for me to just walk away since a platoon is a much smaller group of people than an entire company. Our platoon sergeant told everyone to do laps around the WTB complex…he didn't say how many though. I walked around once and then headed straight to my car. Once in my car I did my usual morning ritual of eating breakfast while listening to the radio and then taking a nap.

When I headed to the WTB bathroom to change into my ACUs, I realized that I did not pack my undershirt, boxers, or my green socks. Normally I do this all the night before, but for some reason I totally forgot and just threw in my ACU top and bottoms (I'm pretty much a zombie in the mornings practically sleep walking). Normally this wouldn't be a huge deal, but I have something called an FTR (Focus Transition Review) that I have to attend at 0900. I put on my ACU top without an undershirt, but make sure it's zipped up as far as it goes so it's hard to tell if I have an undershirt on or not. This FTR meeting that I have is in the company conference room and involves pretty much everyone it seems…my social worker, my NCM, the company commander, the battalion commander, the NCM commander and my squad leader. The meeting happens every 90 days and they go over my progress and the goals I set at my initial CTP meeting. Everything went pretty smoothly, I have my act together, I haven't missed any appointments, I am going to school, and I am doing an internship. The meeting lasted about 40 minutes, which is pretty fast from the sound of it I guess. I was a little nervous, not because of the material covered, but because I didn't have an undershirt on…luckily nobody noticed.

I then headed to physical therapy and had traction done on my neck. This lasts for about 15 minutes or so and I just relax with the head on my upper shoulders and the machine pulling my head away from my neck. Once finished I headed off to the Tacoma Mall Apple store and picked up an iPod for my son. He did a great job saving up the money for it. He had to have the red color, which can only be found at the Apple store or online. If it were any other color, I could have purchased it at the Exchange and saved because there is no tax.

Once home I ate lunch and then did schoolwork. When my wife came home we headed off to the YMCA and had another great cardio workout.

The Headache Class - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day136

Pretty much me on a daily basis!

This morning we had our PT formation at the gym. Our first sergeant went into a big speech about formations, especially the evening formations. I guess a lot of people haven't been showing up. Now she says she's going to start checking and if we're not at the evening formations we better have an MOU or an appointment. Luckily I have an MOU (my internship and my school), so I will never go to another evening formation. She then started going on and on about adding more formations throughout the day because of this. I'm just so thankful I only have to deal with this crap once in the morning on the days that I have to come in because of appointments. She then started to go on and on about soldiers that have early appointments. She's going to require everyone that has a morning appointment to carry their appointment slips with them so she can check them and verify the appointment.

I was going to head to my car after everyone broke from formation and headed to the gym, but after this morning's big speech I decided that may not be such a good idea. I headed into the gym and hopped on a stationary bike. I plugged in my headphones and basically used the time to listen to music while peddling every once in a while. I have no desire to get a workout in during morning PT anymore. I don't want to get sweaty and have to take a shower…I'd rather just change in the bathroom.

After PT I went to my car and drove it to the WTB parking lot. I then ate my breakfast, listened to the radio and then took a nap. I got a call later on from the hydro massage guy, he wanted to see if he could fit me in today. We decided on 1145, this is a nice surprise! I hung out in my car until my new appointment at 1145 and proceeded to get the hydro massage done. It was nice and relaxing, just laying there listening to my music. I can adjust the settings of the hydro massage settings and I had it concentrate just on my upper shoulders and neck.

I headed back to my car and hung out for a while longer until lunch time. I ate lunch in my car and continued just chilling in my car. It seems I live in my car lately (as I've mentioned before). At 1300 I had to attend a headache class given by the neurology clinic. The class was pretty long (3 hours), but it was full of some great information. To be honest I wasn't expecting too much from the class, but they had a lot of good ideas and info...and it helped me understand my headaches and my situation. I get a lot of tension headaches for the most part, but these tension headaches can trigger migraine headaches as well. There are quite a number of things that can trigger headaches and I have a better understanding now of all things headache related.

I headed home after the class and did my normal schoolwork. When my wife came home we went to the YMCA and I got a great cardio workout done. I've always liked working out in the evening or at least the afternoon, and I really prefer doing my workouts away from the army.

Getting Out of Training - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 132

I headed to the morning formation in ACUs because I had an appointment at 0800. During the formation we were all told to head into a training room for some mandatory suicide prevention training. When we all get in there we find out that the movie we have to watch is going to last over 2 hours. Since I will have to leave before it ends, my squad leader says I can just leave now before they get started. Unfortunately they are waiting until the end of the training to pass around the sign in sheet, so I know they are going to want me to watch this suicide movie at some point in the future. For now I'm going to leave and hope they forget.

I head to my car and eat my breakfast, then just hang out and listen to the radio until it's time for my appointment. My appointment was an MOU follow up. The MOU is my school and the internship I'm doing with the navy. Most people do either one or the other, but I'm doing both! The appointment went pretty fast, the lady I had to see just wanted to make sure everything was going well and if I had any questions or concerns.

I headed back to my car and relaxed for a while until my 0930 appointment with my PCM (Primary Care Manager). We go over how I've been doing. No real changes, but I do make sure to get a couple new prescriptions of the medications I'm running low on. Once finished, I head to the pharmacy and pick up the meds. The pharmacy is as crazy as ever…luckily I'm in uniform, so I get a special ticket. Even with the special ticket, it still takes a while, I can't imagine being a retiree or dependent trying to get something at this pharmacy…they must wait half the day there.

Back in my car I do some schoolwork, listen to music, and eat my lunch. In the afternoon I have another hydro-massage appointment, which is pretty awesome. I would love to have one of those things in my house! I could get used to one of those every day for sure! After that I headed home, then picked up my kids from their grandparents. We all headed out to my hometown and watched my high school football team play my wife's high school. It was cold, but a lot of fun. It turned out to be my high school's homecoming game which added a little more entertainment to the mix. My high school also beat my wife's…so I was able to give her a hard time.

HydroMassage - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 129

I guess I won't be taking that elevator down!

I headed to morning formation, but when I arrived there was nobody there. It was then I realized that it was Tuesday (not Monday because of the long weekend) and on Tuesdays we form up at the gym. Not much I can do now, I headed back to my car and ate my breakfast and listened to music. I'm guessing my squad leader probably thought I was at my internship with the navy…who am I to let him think otherwise?

I headed to the SFAC to check my army email and then to my NCM appointment which was at 0800. Everything's going the same, no changes, so the appointment went by pretty quick. I then went back to my car, covered up with my blanket, and then took a very long nap from about a little before 0900 to a little after 1100. I ate lunch in my car and listened to music for a while. I'm starting to feel as if I live in my car, I spend quite a bit of time in there. I listen to the radio or my iPhone. I have a lot of music on my iPhone as well as Pandora, the iTunes radio, and podcasts…and I make use of all of them to mix it up a bit.

I headed back to the WTB physical therapy office and then had a hydro massage once again for a half hour. I guess I'll get 6 of these total as part of my therapy…and I have no complaints. I mentioned before that it's a pretty awesome experience! The hydro massage lasts for a half hour, then I put my boots and coat back on and head back out to my car. I head home and do schoolwork. When my wife gets home we head off to the YMCA and I get another good cardio session in.

Busy Day - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 124

This morning I headed to formation in ACUs as has been my way lately. I planned on going to the dentist, I didn't actually have an appointment, but they allow walk-ins from 0700-0800 for WTB folks. Once formation was over, I headed to my car and picked up my dental records that I brought with me from Germany. I also had to bring a copy of my orders. Why I need a copy of my orders I'm not too sure. I guess they want to verify that I am indeed assigned to the WTB.

I arrived at the dentist and stood in a short line for a bit. Once at the desk I handed over all my paperwork and they told me to have a seat. At least they had a TV in the waiting room, I ended up hanging out in there for about 15 minutes. A lady came out and brought me back to get X-Rays, then sent me back to the waiting room. After another 10 minutes or so, I was called back to see the actual dentist. No cavities! I just have to schedule a cleaning appointment now. I did that on my way out and then headed to my car.

Once in my car, I ate my breakfast and listened to music for a while. At 0845 I had a follow-up appointment with my physical therapist. I let him know that I think the traction has been helping. I usually feel pretty good after the traction, and I haven't been taking as much pain medication as before. I'm not out of total pain for sure, but I am feeling better.

I then went immediately to another traction appointment, then headed to the pharmacy to pickup a refill for a medication that I called in. After that headed to an area next to the pharmacy where they are giving out flu shots. I fill out all the required paperwork and then wait a few minutes. They give me an actual shot in the arm and then give me some verification paperwork. Everyone is required to get the flu shot, so I take the paperwork to my squad leader to file and mark that I've had my shot. In the normal world I don't think I would get the flu shot, I will just rely on my good ol' immune system to fight off anything that comes my way. I don't see how filling us with a bunch of crap that will protect us against old flu viruses is going to help with new ones that are coming out…but I don't get that choice. (Don't take this as a stance against normal vaccinations, I do think those are necessary)

I check my army email at the SFAC and then grab a sandwich to eat at the shopette. I almost forgot that I have an ACAP appointment later on this afternoon. I drive over to North Ft. Lewis and arrive at an ancient building that is now serving as their ACAP office. The class is on social networking and LinkedIn. The class was actually interesting and a bit longer than I thought it was going to be. It started at 1300 and ended a little before 1500. The teacher had us all do a Google search for our names and see what comes up. This is something potential employers can and will do. We also went over the privacy settings in Facebook and then dove into LinkedIn. I had a LinkedIn account, but wasn't an active user of the site. After the class I will be updating mine and connecting with a lot more people. LinkedIn has a lot to offer the professional who is looking for employment.

I started to head home and received a text requiring 100% participation for a battalion formation. It's going to be the 4-day weekend safety brief. I don't need to hear any of that crap. I have my school as an excuse to not attend evening formation, so I just keep driving home and ignore it. Just another reason I can't wait to get back into the civilian workforce…I don't need a safety briefing every weekend as a grown man.

Just Wasting Time - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 122

A photo I took in front of Madigan hospital of Mt. Rainier.

This morning we had formation at 0715 in ACUs. When I received this text from my squad leader last night I knew something was up, but just didn't know exactly what. I did enjoy the little bit of extra sleep, but I went in already grumpy wondering what we were going to do.

We formed up and stood there for a while…it's cold and I'm grumpy. Finally they give the command to open ranks. This has each row (or squad) move apart from each other so an NCO can come through and do an inspection of each individual. Today they were checking for our IDs, our ID tags (dog tags), and our profile. These are things we are always supposed to have on us at all times. I have all of mine, my ID is in my wallet and my tags and profile are always kept in a pocket in my ACUs. I hold them out and wait for the NCO to come through and check me off. I would say about half the people don't have one or more of the items. It doesn't really matter to me, I don't give a crap. I just stand there pissed off wondering why the hell we have to stupid crap like this. I'm here to get through the medboard and get out of the army. The longer it takes, it seems the more I hate pretty much everything about the army. The platoon sergeant finally gets through and has everyone marked down on a sheet of paper, I'm not sure what the consequences are going to be for those that don't have all the inspectable items on them…I don't really care. We get to hear the first sergeant yell at everyone, telling us we're still soldiers even though we're here at the WTB. She goes on for a while, I just tune her out and wait.

We finally get released and I head to my car. I eat breakfast and listen to music for a while. The WTB has a lot of different events and stuff that go on, but I don't want to have anything to do with the unit. I don't want to run into the first sergeant or any of the NCOs if I don't have to. I head to the SFAC and check my army email. I also print off a signed CIF form. This form shows everything that the army has issued me, mine is totally blank because I turned in everything back in Germany. I take the form up to my squad leader because he said he needed it. I guess it's just to make sure none of the soldiers have any outstanding items they need to turn in. I then have to sign another form he has stating that I have all the other items that the army has issued, that we actually keep. This is stuff like underwear, socks, and uniforms. Why we have to sign this I'm not sure...but we do. Even my squad leader said it's kind of stupid, but they have to do it. I sign it, shake my head, then leave.

I have a physical therapy appointment that I go to and have traction done. I lay there relaxing while a machine tries to pull my head off for about 12 minutes or so. When I do get up, my head does feel better. I think this whole process has actually helped quite a bit! I head home and do schoolwork.

Lack of Communication - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 117

I arrived for morning formation and as usual I headed inside the building where we form up in front of. As I was sitting down passing the time dinking around on my iPhone I notice my squad leader is at the staff duty desk. He sees me and says "Oh, I meant to tell you last night when I called you that formation this morning is at 0830". That sucks…I could have slept in quite a bit this morning. I head back out to my car, eat breakfast, then pull out my blanket and take a nap. A little before 0830 I head back to where the formation should be and don't see anyone there. I think my squad leader also forgot to tell me that the formation is at the theatre today for a town hall meeting. I don't really care, I have an appointment anyway. I head back to my car and listen to the radio for a while.

I head to physical therapy and get traction done again on my neck. This time they up the strength to 16 pounds. It's not too much and I lay there for the 12 minutes or so relaxing while the contraption pulls on my head stretching it away from my body. It may sound like a medieval torture instrument, but it actually seems to be helping my pain! Once therapy was complete, I made my way home and did schoolwork. With the government shutdown and no budget being passed, I'm now starting to worry about both my paycheck and tuition assistance for future classes. I've been told that military will be getting paid on time, but I would like to see the check deposited in my account before I rest easy. As far as tuition assistance goes, there is no telling whether it will be part of this next year's budget or not. I'm so close to getting my degree, I sure hope it at least gets partially funded.

Surprise Appointment - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 115

A random photo I found on the web showing the hydrotherapy bed

pretty much the same as I used 

This morning's formation was at the gym as is every Tuesday. We had accountability, then everyone was told to go into the gym. I was in ACUs and hung out with everyone else in ACUs that had appointments. We waited and waited, then we all just took off because it didn't seem like any NCO was going to come over and say anything. I think we all had better things to do with our time than just stand there and look stupid.

I eat breakfast in my car and then take a nap. It's been getting colder lately, so I've started to leave a blanket in my car to use for the long naps I spend in my car. I don't want to leave it running with the heat and just waste gas, so the blanket is going to work out great.

I headed to my 0945 physical therapy appointment and had traction done again on my neck. The process was good, they applied heat to my back and stretched my neck and it all felt great. I headed back to my car afterward and listened to music for a while. For some reason an extra mystery WTB physical therapy appointments showed up on my schedule and the first one is today at 1330. Nobody I asked seemed to know what they are for, so I am getting a little pissed. I wasn't even sure where to go exactly and I'm a little surprised they just showed up without anyone even calling and talking to me about them.

I go to the SFAC and eat my lunch, then check my army email. I then headed over to the main WTB therapy center and checked in at their desk, which happened to be the right place to go. I then find out this is probably the best surprise appointment ever! The therapist takes me back to a room for something they call "hydrotherapy". I lay down in what looks like the bottom of a tanning bed, but instead of light tubes, it is filled with a small water bed. I take off my boots and my ACU top, then lay down in the bed. To my surprise it's nice and warm…very relaxing. The therapist explains a little about it, gives me some big noise canceling headphones which I plug into my iPhone and start listening to music. Jets start shooting water inside the bed slowly up and down my back and it feels pretty darn good. The surprise therapy lasted a half hour and it was pretty awesome. I was able to totally relax and just let the warm water massage me.

I then headed home and did schoolwork. When my wife came home we headed off to the YMCA for a good workout.

More Traction - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 110

At the Ft. Lewis commissary...I've heard them called 

lots of names, but never a "Toilet Room"

This morning I headed to the morning formation in ACUs. It's getting pretty cold out lately and I see the company has upgraded to full winter PTs. (This includes the jacket, pants, gloves, and hat). Once released our platoon sergeant has everyone report up to the company headquarters. We all head up and find out that we have to fill out some paperwork. In typical army fashion, this is just filling out paperwork to have it in our file. We weren't given any instructions, just told to fill it out to the best of our ability and turn it in. It was basically stating everything that needs to be done before we separate from the army, we would choose either green, amber, or red depending on how we feel we've accomplished each item. The problem is that some were so full of acronyms, I had no idea what they were. I turned mine in half empty, then left and headed to my car.

I already didn't care for the army too much, but the longer I'm away and in the civilian world, it seems the more I am really starting to just hate the army. Take this paperwork we had to fill out, if they wanted everyone to do it correctly, they would have given us instructions instead of just telling us to leave it blank if we didn't know. There is so much that is done just to check the box, it drives me nuts. Back in my car I ate my normal breakfast and then took a nap.

When I woke up, I headed to physical therapy for some traction. I have a good feeling about this physical therapy, but I guess time will tell if it's really helping or not. After physical therapy, I made my way to the commissary and did some basic shopping before heading home and doing my schoolwork. Once my wife came home, we headed to the YMCA for some good cardio workout.

No Hat - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 108

I headed to morning formation as usual. I leave my house at 0445 for the 0630 formation at Ft. Lewis. I only takes me an hour to drive, but I give myself much more time just in case there is bad traffic or any other unseen delays. In order to leave my house at 0445, I get up at 0420. Most of the time I'm on complete and total auto-pilot that early in the morning. I've done many things like forget to shave and forget my lunch. I guess my brain just doesn't work that well that early. This morning proved to be one of those days…I realized when I was getting ready to get out of my car and head to the morning formation, that I forgot my hat. I'm in ACUs and we are not allowed to walk around outside without a hat…that is not a complete uniform. Oh Crap!

So I just stayed in my car, my squad leader will assume I'm at my internship with the navy because it's a Tuesday. I didn't want to text him and lie, so I just didn't do anything and let him assume. I really can't believe I forgot my hat! So I eat breakfast and then take a nap in my car. I then keep an eye out for people and make a strategic escape from my car to the hospital, luckily I didn't run into any NCOs on the way. I don't feel like getting chewed out for being out of uniform.

I get a text from my squad leader stating we have 100% flu shots at 0900…I ignore, I'll text him later, I'm not going to show up out of uniform. I head to physical therapy at the hospital for traction on my neck. I have a headache before and the traction along with the heat seem to help temporarily. It doesn't take long before my headache returns and it gets worse as the day progresses. I'm not sure if it's coincidence or if the traction made it worse.

I head back to my car, walking fast trying to avoid any NCOs…or any soldiers for that matter. I head to the SFAC and use their computers to check my army email. I then head to the ACAP office (in the same building) and speak with the navy HR folks. I had an appointment to see them while they were in today. They gave me the ins and outs of getting a job as a civilian working for the navy. It was pretty much the same as the federal resume class I have already attended. I may have been a little preoccupied as well because I was still pissed at myself for forgetting my hat.

After the appointment I head home and do schoolwork, but by this time my head is killing me. I try one of the new medications the neurologist prescribed me and much to my surprise, it gets rid of my headache completely after about an hour. This is good news! The medication is called "Maxalt" and is for migraines. My normal headaches aren't migraines, but they can trigger migraines. I was just about to take some Percocet, which would have helped, but doesn't get rid of my pain totally.

When my wife got home we headed off to the YMCA to get a good workout in. I'm enjoying working out at the YMCA. They have some great equipment and I am totally out of the army environment. I think this was a good decision, I can get a good workout in a better atmosphere and a better mood.

Gimme Some Traction - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 100

A random photo on the web that I found. This shows pretty much

what the cervical traction device looks like in physical therapy.

I headed to this mornings formation in ACUs. When all appointments form up at the back, I tell the NCO that I have an NCM appointment (technically I'm not lying, I just don't have an actual appointment at 0830 or before…mine is at 0900). I have no desire anymore to do anything at all with the army. The army PT is just a waste of time and the entire time I'm doing it, all I do is get pissed off. It's better for my well being to just get away as fast as possible.

I head to my car and eat breakfast then take a nap. At about 0830 I head into the SFAC to check my army email, but the room is full…I just head up to my NCM appointment a little early. The weekly NCM appointments are just to make sure everything is moving along smoothly and I don't need anything like refills or extra appointments made. I've mentioned before that the NCM is my central point of contact during the medboard process. The NCM makes all my appointments and lets me know if I have any new ones coming up. My NCM sees that I've been referred for physical therapy and makes a call while I'm there. They make an appointment for next week…I take off.

I head back downstairs and check my army email at the SFAC. A few minutes later I get a call from my NCM telling me that physical therapy called back and changed my appointment to today at 1345. This pisses me off quite a bit. I didn't pack a lunch, I had plans to head home eat lunch and do my schoolwork. I have to take the appointment, so I get to sit around and twiddle my freaking thumbs until 1345 this afternoon.

After my head cools a little I call my friend who happens to live about 10 minutes away from Ft. Lewis. We meet up for lunch and then hang out in a coffee shop for a while just chatting and passing the time. This worked out perfect, we got to catch up and I wasn't bored out of my mind while waiting for my newly scheduled appointment.

I headed to the physical therapy appointment with pretty low expectations. I had several weeks of physical therapy while in Germany and it didn't help much at all. When I arrived and was called back, my therapist asked a bunch of questions and to my surprise he has already done a check over my medical records and even took a look at my MRI. He performs a few tests such as having my arms in various positions and resisting as he pushes or pulls on them. There was one that he did twice which had both my elbows to my side with my arms out in front of me. He pushed down on my left arm and I resisted, but when he pushed on my right arm it went down fairly quickly. In my head I though he was just using more force. He asked if I was right handed (yes) and did the same test again with the same results.

He then has me lay down and place my neck in a device they use for something called "traction". As I lay down and place my head in a cradle, the therapist straps my head in place and tells me to relax. The device slowly starts to stretch my neck, slowly moving my head away from my shoulders. It didn't seem to stretch a lot, but it was definitely noticeable. After a few minutes he unstraps my head and has me stand up. We then perform the same test with my right arm, this time I am able to resist his push downwards. This was a total surprise to me, in fact it seemed like a magic trick. He assured me that he was using the same force every time he tried to push my arm down. He said it seems there is some compression in my neck, and this traction device will help relieve the compression. This is the first physical evidence I've seen involving my pain in neck and head. Usually all I can do is describe the pain all the time, but now I see that it's actually affecting me physically as well.

The therapist then puts me on a schedule for traction twice a week for 3 weeks. He says if it helps with the pain as well, he will recommend a portable unit for me to use. I actually feel optimistic again…maybe I can do something to actually reduce the pain I'm feeling on a daily basis. When I go up to the front desk to schedule the remaining appointments I find out I can only do it on Tuesdays and Thursdays…looks like I have to change the days I'm doing the internship, at least temporarily.

I head home excited with the news and the possibilities. I labor through my schoolwork which is pretty tough. The class I'm taking is business law. All the reading is pretty dry and I have no real interest in the class other than just getting through it. Every day with this class is going to be tough just to get through!

On a side note I see that I've now been at Ft. Lewis for 100 days now. I've done everything I can do, now it's just a waiting game to see how long it will take to get my percentage results from the VA. On one hand I want to get them and get out as soon as possible, but on the other hand I'd like to finish school before I get out. I guess we'll see which comes first.

Therapeutic Stretching - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 74

A photo I took on Ft. Lewis of Mt. Rainier. 

Always a pretty amazing site on clear days

This morning we formed up for PT in our summer PTs with the jacket. Once accountability was done were were broken up by platoon to do a police call around the WTB complex. Yes…today's PT was picking up other people's trash around the complex. I walked down our platoon's assigned side and back, threw away what little trash I did find, then headed to my car where I ate breakfast and took a short nap while listening to the radio.

I then headed to the SFAC to check my army email. I also brought in my two awards that I have paperwork for so the HR guy could add them to my ERB. Now I show two Army Achievement Medals. I was never in a hurry to get anything put on, because I really didn't care. When I first in-processed the HR guy talked me into getting everything updated. It's just too bad I still have not received my joint award that I was promised when in Korea or my PCS award when I left Germany. I have come to realize that if you don't get the award before you leave, then nobody really cares or follows up with it to make sure it gets done. Oh well.

I then used the SFAC computers to file my damages claim from our household goods move. We had a few glasses that broke, my Bose wireless surround sound speakers, and an external hard drive stopped working. I've never filed a claim before, so I'm not sure how long the process takes or even how much of a pain it is.

I then headed to the gym parking lot to meet up with an NCO from the maintenance side of our ComSec office back in Germany. He asked if I could have his butterfly knife shipped with my household goods. He was afraid to put it in his suitcase and ended up leaving to Ft. Lewis before me. No problem…I gave him his knife and we chatted a bit before he took off. I then headed to the library to do schoolwork until lunch time.

I had lunch in the SFAC and then headed to a Therapeutic Stretching appointment that I was required to attend. There was a group of us and the instructor just went over a bunch of stretches we can do on our own. It was pretty basic stuff and as soon as she was done, I packed up and headed home for the day.

Physical Therapy Follow-Up - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 55

This morning we had a battalion formation for PT. They were planning on basketball, sit volleyball, spin class, a run, and a walk. I chose none of the above because I actually had a physical therapy appointment at 0800, so I headed off to my car. I had breakfast in my car and listened to music for a while until it was time to head to my 0800 physical therapy appointment.

At my physical therapy appointment, the therapist just went over the stretching exercises I've been doing. She corrected one of my techniques and also gave me an alternate technique for one of my other stretches. Other than that, they said if I'm still having knee pain in a month to schedule another appointment. I have to continue stretching twice a day until then.

I went to the gym and changed into my ACU and then headed to the library to do schoolwork. I sent my squad leader a message asking if there is an end of day formation today. Sometimes on Fridays we don't have one, so it's worth checking. I got a reply shortly after saying not to worry and I could head home. It's 1045 and I get to start my weekend….woohoo!

Physical Therapy - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 48

I headed to morning formation in my PT uniform, but did not actually participate in PT because I had a 0800 appointment. I headed back to my car and ate breakfast while listening to the radio. I then headed to the hospital's physical therapy department. I am finally getting my knee looked at, it has always taken a back seat to my headaches.

The physical therapists asked a bunch of questions, then had me lay down while they stretched and moved my leg all around. After consulting each other for a while they came back with a plan. They believe because of the degeneration in my knee, the bones are getting too close to each other because my muscles are so tight. They are starting me on a twice a day stretching routine and suggested that I start taking glucosamine to help with my joints. We went over each of the stretches and they gave me a handout. I'll be doing them each morning and night.

I had Subway for lunch and then went to the library to do schoolwork. I ended up getting a text from my squad leader at a little after 1300 stating there will be no end of day formation today…so I headed home for the weekend early!

The Chaplain's Assistant - (Germany) Day 343

I arrived at my new office at 0800 this morning to start my day off with the chaplain. I basically did the same thing I did yesterday and boxed up books. I'm taking it slow because I learned my lesson working too fast in S1. I had an appointment at the physical therapist to get my profile extended. He asked some questions and had me lay down while doing some massages on my neck. He extended my profile another month, I'll have to go back to my primary provider from now on because physical therapy has not been able to do anything to help out with my headaches.

I headed home for lunch and then back to my new office to box up some more books…it keeps me busy I guess. I changed for PT at about 1530 and headed over to the gym early. We are supposed to workout at 1600 with this new schedule, and I have to make sure I'm there 10 minutes early and all…I can't do anything wrong now with the spotlight on me. I arrived and walked around the gym without seeing anyone. I tried calling my boss…no answer. I hopped on a bicycle and started riding. Nobody every showed up! My boss called back about 45 minutes into my workout and said they were running late. They were going to work out at PHV, so he just told me to finish my workout and head home. I was starting to worry that I would get an FTR (Fail to Report) at a formation, because nobody told me anything had changed.

Another day down…only 1,082 days left…I just think I threw up a little in my mouth.

The Follow-Up - (Germany) Day 297

This morning for PT we went in civilian clothes and everyone headed to the gym to workout. I used weights and had a great core and arm workout. I then headed to work at the normal time, but I only stayed for about a half hour before leaving for a follow-up appointment with my physical therapist. After discussing everything with my doctor we decided to move it to the next level. I will now have to schedule an MRI that will be done at the Landstuhl hospital. I will also schedule an appointment with the neurologist. I'm hoping they can pinpoint exactly what is causing all my headaches and make them stop. It would be nice to make it through a day without having a headache. He also extended my profile. Their system was down, so he just printed out a form stating that my current profile is to be extended.

I headed back to the office for about another half hour before it was time for lunch. I headed to my car and had lunch while listening to music and reading my book. When I came back in the office our CAM said I still need to get a flu shot. She got a call from our S-1, damn…I was hoping they would forget about that. So I headed back to the hospital only to find that the immunization clinic is closed on Fridays for training. Now I have to remember to go back next Monday.

When I got back to the office I did a Skillport. I've been trying to get one done here and there when I have the time. I have my points maxed out, but I've been using the completion certificates to add to my continuing education points for my CompTia certifications. Even though the certifications I have (A+, Network+, and Security+) are good for life, I decided to do the continuing education program in order to keep all my certificates up to date. Each hour I do with SkillPort is worth one point for the continuing education credits. I have to get 50 total points within three years to keep everything up to date. You can view ComTia's website here for all the details.

I then surfed the web a bit until we were told we could inventory and close the safes, then clean up. It was only me and SPC JayZ in the office today, so it was pretty easy going. We were let go at 1600 which was nice. I headed home and spent time with my wife before we took a walk to the movie theatre here on post to see "Here Comes the Boom". A comedy about a school teacher who decides to do MMA fights to make money and save the music program. It's a pretty funny show and we both had a good time out.