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I was serious when I set myself the goal of finishing “God Save the Queen” in November, and I seriously devoted myself to the task. All the same, I didn’t quite make it. I put the last word in before going to bed on December 2nd.
In my defense, it was a bigger project than I had realized. The initial story ran three chapters, at just over 8,500 words; by the time I was done, it was six chapters, and almost 22,000 words. Pending sroni2004’s approval, this collaborative work will bulk 250% of its original form.
Meanwhile:
Open Cut - Personal military plans
Later this week I’ll go to Virginia to repeat the Combat Lifesaver class and renew my certification. (If no medic is available, someone CLS-qualified can stabilize a wounded/injured soldier until he-she can be transported to more advanced aid.) I’m not really looking forward to it, but then I didn’t especially want to go the first time, it just seemed like good training to have before I went downrange. These days the Army gives everyone CLS instruction in basic training, though you still have to attend the class to certify.
In January, I’ll accompany other members of my unit to Fort Bragg to provide training for soldiers about to deploy to Afghanistan. We’ll be acting as opposing forces, observer/controllers, and role-players. At this point, it appears that I’ll be one of the role-players, along with the only other Farsi-speaker in the company. More experience, more pay, more time to work with the language. (Unfortunately, they won’t be able to get a DLPT for me in January. Fine, I’ll continue to study on my own and be better-yet prepared for when the test comes available.)
In February, I’m scheduled for an NCO-development course in Colorado. I’m ambivalent about that - I don’t need it for my current duties, or even for my next promotion - but it’s something to do. Plus, it’s one of the qualifiers for another specialty that I might consider going into; I like my current company, like the people, like the job … but I really want to go to DLI, and this related specialty would pretty much guarantee my going there, and it’s a possibility that I don’t mind having in reserve in case other things don’t work out.
Finally, I’m on the list for a trip to Germany in March. I don’t even know what that one is about … but who cares? I loved Germany, both the single night on the town while we were headed to Afghanistan (transport delays, courtesy of the Air Force) and the two weeks’ leave I took there. Official duty there, obviously, won’t be the same thing, but I’m still happy for a chance to go.
Even though I declined the opportunity to deploy to Bosnia, it stayed on my mind. I even checked with our unit commander during this past weekend’s drill to see if there might still be space on the roster. There wasn’t, but he said there are always opportunities - short tours, long tours, various locations - and gave me the contact information so I could check out the possibilities myself. As I’ve indicated, my overall schedule is pretty much set for the next several months (plus there’s the fact that my daughter will return from the Far East for a few weeks in May, and I’d hate to miss her), but I’ll definitely think about it if there’s no good news regarding DLI on the horizon by then.
Close Cut
I just got this news last week: my son is getting set to go on a mission trip to Jamaica over spring break. He’s the only one in the family who’s never been out of the country, and is looking forward to becoming a world traveler like the rest of us.
Okay. Finally done with “God Save the Queen” (unless sroni2004 wants to revise my revisions, in which case it could go back and forth for a while). I have to prepare for and complete the duty in Virginia, but once that’s done, it will be time for me to get started on “Queen’s Gambit”. And only seven months after sroni2004 finished her draft of the story!
I was serious when I set myself the goal of finishing “God Save the Queen” in November, and I seriously devoted myself to the task. All the same, I didn’t quite make it. I put the last word in before going to bed on December 2nd.
In my defense, it was a bigger project than I had realized. The initial story ran three chapters, at just over 8,500 words; by the time I was done, it was six chapters, and almost 22,000 words. Pending sroni2004’s approval, this collaborative work will bulk 250% of its original form.
Meanwhile:
Open Cut - Personal military plans
Later this week I’ll go to Virginia to repeat the Combat Lifesaver class and renew my certification. (If no medic is available, someone CLS-qualified can stabilize a wounded/injured soldier until he-she can be transported to more advanced aid.) I’m not really looking forward to it, but then I didn’t especially want to go the first time, it just seemed like good training to have before I went downrange. These days the Army gives everyone CLS instruction in basic training, though you still have to attend the class to certify.
In January, I’ll accompany other members of my unit to Fort Bragg to provide training for soldiers about to deploy to Afghanistan. We’ll be acting as opposing forces, observer/controllers, and role-players. At this point, it appears that I’ll be one of the role-players, along with the only other Farsi-speaker in the company. More experience, more pay, more time to work with the language. (Unfortunately, they won’t be able to get a DLPT for me in January. Fine, I’ll continue to study on my own and be better-yet prepared for when the test comes available.)
In February, I’m scheduled for an NCO-development course in Colorado. I’m ambivalent about that - I don’t need it for my current duties, or even for my next promotion - but it’s something to do. Plus, it’s one of the qualifiers for another specialty that I might consider going into; I like my current company, like the people, like the job … but I really want to go to DLI, and this related specialty would pretty much guarantee my going there, and it’s a possibility that I don’t mind having in reserve in case other things don’t work out.
Finally, I’m on the list for a trip to Germany in March. I don’t even know what that one is about … but who cares? I loved Germany, both the single night on the town while we were headed to Afghanistan (transport delays, courtesy of the Air Force) and the two weeks’ leave I took there. Official duty there, obviously, won’t be the same thing, but I’m still happy for a chance to go.
Even though I declined the opportunity to deploy to Bosnia, it stayed on my mind. I even checked with our unit commander during this past weekend’s drill to see if there might still be space on the roster. There wasn’t, but he said there are always opportunities - short tours, long tours, various locations - and gave me the contact information so I could check out the possibilities myself. As I’ve indicated, my overall schedule is pretty much set for the next several months (plus there’s the fact that my daughter will return from the Far East for a few weeks in May, and I’d hate to miss her), but I’ll definitely think about it if there’s no good news regarding DLI on the horizon by then.
Close Cut
I just got this news last week: my son is getting set to go on a mission trip to Jamaica over spring break. He’s the only one in the family who’s never been out of the country, and is looking forward to becoming a world traveler like the rest of us.
Okay. Finally done with “God Save the Queen” (unless sroni2004 wants to revise my revisions, in which case it could go back and forth for a while). I have to prepare for and complete the duty in Virginia, but once that’s done, it will be time for me to get started on “Queen’s Gambit”. And only seven months after sroni2004 finished her draft of the story!