This Past Week
I know I haven't updated in a bit, and it was a hellish last week. This is gonna be a long one. Go to the bathroom, make sure your seats and trays are in their full and upright position.
Well, Monday wasn't so bad. Just the regular 8 hour shift on my regular gate, where I supervise and instruct the civilian contractors that are taking over our gates here pretty soon. Some of these guys are a trip, whereas others are quite questionable as to if they are actually capable of using the firearm issued to them in a case of emergency. I don't carry a gun anymore because of my back problems, so honestly, I don't feel safe out there.
TUESDAY: Boy oh boy. Again, 8 hour shift, same gate that I'm "assigned" everyday. at 1330 hrs (that's 1:30pm for you non-military types lol) I get a call from the SFCC (Security Forces Control Center, our dispatch office if you will) telling me that there was a green in color car, make and model was a Pontiac Bonneville with temporary plates that is suspected for shoplifting at our Base Exchange, and was trying to get off base. If we see the vehicle, we are to detain it and call the SFCC immediately. Im like, great....Im about to get off work, and here we got some punkass, probably Navy (sorry Ted) breaking the law as usual. So I am kinda peeved. I don't mind doing my job or anything, and I won't shy away from my responsibilities, it's just that why don't they wait a half hour or so, when I'm on my way home, to go commit crimes? Anyway, so here I am hoping that this idiot will go to another gate and I won't have to worry about it, when guess what I see commin' down the road? Wonderful. I step outside the gate and tell the car to pull over into the unused outbound lane. Let me tell you something, this woman (yes, woman) looked suspect from the start. She honestly looked like a crack whore. Her features were extremely worn, and her makeup was quite sloppy looking. So, she pulls over via my hand signals, and I go over to her driver side window and this is how the convo went:
Me: "Excuse me ma'am, may I see your driver's license please?"
Woman: "What do you want to see it for?"
Me: "I just need to check for something real quick. It won't take but a minute, and you can be on your way, I promise." (hee hee hee)
Woman: "Well, you can see it, but I am not going to let you have it."
Me: *sigh.....great* "Ma'am, I need to check something, and it requires me to physically handle your license. The sooner you give it to me, the sooner you can be out of here."
Woman: "I don't have time for this, my lunch break is over, and I need to get back to work. They'll fire me if I'm late."
Me: "Ma'am, you won't get in trouble at your work if you are late due to my holding you here. If you tell them that I stopped you, you aren't at fault, and cannot be punished. Here is my rank, name and phone number to this post if they do. Your supervisor can call me and I will verify that I stopped you. Now, please hand me your driver's license." (at this point, I have called the SFCC via radio that I have the vehicle stopped, and the subject is being very uncooperative, they have patrols on the way)
Woman: "No, you can't have it...I'm leaving."
Ok, great....now I'm pissed. I want to pull her out of her car and punch her in the ovaries, but I must remain proffessional, so I walk to the front of her car while she's putting all her crap back in her purse, stand there with my arms crossed and say:
Me: "You aren't fucking going anywhere!" (so much for proffessionalism, eh?)
As I am now calling the SFCC via radio again, stating that I need patrols out here ASAP, because she's trying to leave the installation. As I turn my attention back to the car....it happens. BAM! That bitch took her foot off the brake and hit me with her vehicle! I was standing a good 3-5 feet in front of her car (reactionary gap, lot of good that did me) so she was only going about 5mph. I started to fall backwards, but somehow managed to pull myself to land on her hood instead. I come accross the radio again stating that the subject has just struck me with her vehicle. Instinctively, I reach for a 9mm that isn't even there....stupid back problems. Now, for those that don't know, when she hit me with her car, she just committed a felony: Assault with a dealy weapon, and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer. She's fucked. I now hear sirens in the background..good, my buddies are on the way. The civilian contractors here my last radio transmission and come running over to back me up, and you know how safe I feel with them around. I tell them to shut down the gate, and close the barriers. Just FYI, with my back the way it is, had I fallen backwards onto the street and landed on my back, I would have been fucked. I wouldn't have been able to get up, or out of the way, in excrutiating pain, and she might have decided to keep going, right over top of me....such a lovely thought, don't you think?
Woman: "You can't stop me! You can't do this to me! I'm calling my lawyer!" (at wich point, she rolls up her window and locks her doors)
Now, my buddies are on scene.....5 patrol cars, 1 security vehicle (those guys carry M-16's :-D) and the flight chief all roll up together. The flight chief comes over and asks me what happened, as I am now taking myself off the front of her car. As soon as I tell him everything, he goes to bash her window in. Before he can do that though, obviously seeing defeat, the woman comes out of her car. Myself and one of the other guys grab her and literally throw her against her car. We had a female officer on scene as well, and she took the woman aside in cuffs, and did a search of her. The Base Exchange Detectives then roll up and tell us what she stole, and they need to search her vehicle for those items: A Faith Hill "Breathe" CD, a box of Godiva chocolates, and a fold up table that acutally, the Base Exchange Detectives managed to confiscate from her before she left the parking lot. I looked at the woman and so wanted to punch her in the head. She would have run me over for a stupid CD and some chocolate. Now, I knew Godiva made good sweets, but they aren't worth a felony...not to me anyway. So we take her back and process her. Guess what Ted! She was Naval Reserve, 0-4!!!!!! Activated, and on orders. WTF is an officer doing commiting crimes? WTF is wrong with the Navy as a whole? Seems like we're always locking those guys up for stupid shit on our base. Anyway, while she's in her cell awaiting a mass ass-kicking (just kidding):
Woman: *kicking and knocking on the door, looking through the small window in the door* "I have a 5 year old son down in Norfolk Hebrew School that is going to get on a bus and be dropped off at a bus stop and I won't be there to pick him up. You can't hold me here!"
Me: "Shut up!" *as I put my face right in front of hers at the little window in the door* "You should have though about that before you disrespected the military, decided to steal worthless items, and then committing a felony by hitting me with your car! What do they teach you in the Naval Officer Academy anyway?" (man, I'm so professional, and even though the flight chief told me to stop...he was laughing, as well as 5 others on the SFCC at that point. I laughed too, actually)
We let her call the Norfolk School and tell them not to let her son get on the bus, then back in the cell she went. After talking to the Exchange Detectives, turns out she has been shoplifting for a couple weeks now. Getting away with it, bringing the stuff back, and returning it all for store credit. A couple of the base commanders and vice commanders came down as soon as they were notified of the incident. They were pissed that I was hit by a car and wanted to see how I was doing. One of them gave me the call sign: "Roadkill" Aww....isn't that sweet? They just asked me a bunch of questions, and made sure I was ok. Which, even though I was still kinda shaken up, I was fine. My statement will be used in court to put her sorry ass is jail. I might even get to go to the court and testify if she pleads not guilty.
WEDNESDAY: Starting of 12 hour shifts, same gate, nothing big going on. Slow, long day.
THURSDAY: Another 12 hour shift, and today something else decided to grace my gate with it's presence: Get a phone call from the SFCC telling me to BOLO (Be On the Look Out) for a maroon Dodge Ram with a tonneau cover on it, for smuggling people on the base. Yes, you heard it right. Some contractor guy, who is doing construction on the base, is smuggling other people (probably mexicans, they're used to being smuggled anyway, and we have a plethera of them on the base doing construction work anyhow) As many as 7 were being smuggled. So, that truck pulls up to the gate and I have the guy pull over. I tell him some B.S. that's it's a random vehicle inspection and I just need to check his lisence with his base pass. He agrees and then I tell him to open the cover. No problem with that as he does it, and there's noone in the back. I ask him if he knew why I was doing this, and he was oblivious. Figures. I told him what I was told and he was kinda bewildered by it all. One of our patrols came out and followed him to the job site and checked out all the people that were their to make sure their passes were legit. Nothing wrong was found. Oh well....they told us to search him, and every other truck with a tonneau cover (I don't even know if I'm spelling that right lol)
FRIDAY: Went out bar hopping with a couple of the contractor security guys. Good times. I really didn't drink a whole lot, and I didn't really dance because of my back. But a good time none theless.
SATURDAY: Day off, didn't do a damn thing.....it was great.
SUNDAY: Went to church with a couple of my Senior Associates from the business. I was the only white guy in the whole place, and it was fun. I had never been to a church like that before, where while the pastor is giving sermon, everyone is yelling "Praise Jesus" and stuff like that. It kinda got me excited to be there. Everyone was very friendly.
MONDAY: Back to work, nothing special happened
YESTERDAY: Same thing...after work had to race down to Chesapeake for a business meeting. Which was a very important one. There was a guy there who was quite high up in the business as a speaker and gave a lot of good information.
TODAY: Off....not planning on doing anything, maybe go to a friends house later this afternoon and take out my dash in my car so I can finish painting the interior.
NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!!
I just got a phone call this second from a guy in the hospital on Langley who's been helping with my back surgery that needs to be done down in Texas at Wilford Hall. For those who don't know, The AF just started doing the Artificial Disk Replacement Surgery that I can get as an option to Fusion. He just told me that he talked to the DR down there and things are good to go!!! I have to get an updated MRI and X-Rays, and after that I'll get to fly down there and get an eval by the Doc!!!! WOOOHOOO!!!! I so hope my eval goes well, and he lets me have this surgery....I will be able to run...dance...lift weights...and be my happy self again! My life will once again be truly mine! I gotta get going.....I think I will be getting these X-rays done today....he's gonna call me right back. OH! He also told me that my Commander had called yesterday or today, and was asking about me. Of course, the doc can't tell him anything, that's all confidential....but it pisses me off that he can't come to me and ask me anything.....and tries to go behind my back. He's trying to screw me and kick me out of the military, I know it. Let him try. I will fight him with every bit of legal info I can get my hands on. THIS JUST IN!!!! I just got off the phone with the doc again....I can get my X-Ray and MRI done this weekend! I'll be down in Texas for my eval in 2 weeks at the most!!! OMFG!!! I can't believe it....after all this time....a door has opened! I'm so happy I could go streaking down the street I live on! I won't though, of course ;-)
Everyone have a wonderful day!
Well, Monday wasn't so bad. Just the regular 8 hour shift on my regular gate, where I supervise and instruct the civilian contractors that are taking over our gates here pretty soon. Some of these guys are a trip, whereas others are quite questionable as to if they are actually capable of using the firearm issued to them in a case of emergency. I don't carry a gun anymore because of my back problems, so honestly, I don't feel safe out there.
TUESDAY: Boy oh boy. Again, 8 hour shift, same gate that I'm "assigned" everyday. at 1330 hrs (that's 1:30pm for you non-military types lol) I get a call from the SFCC (Security Forces Control Center, our dispatch office if you will) telling me that there was a green in color car, make and model was a Pontiac Bonneville with temporary plates that is suspected for shoplifting at our Base Exchange, and was trying to get off base. If we see the vehicle, we are to detain it and call the SFCC immediately. Im like, great....Im about to get off work, and here we got some punkass, probably Navy (sorry Ted) breaking the law as usual. So I am kinda peeved. I don't mind doing my job or anything, and I won't shy away from my responsibilities, it's just that why don't they wait a half hour or so, when I'm on my way home, to go commit crimes? Anyway, so here I am hoping that this idiot will go to another gate and I won't have to worry about it, when guess what I see commin' down the road? Wonderful. I step outside the gate and tell the car to pull over into the unused outbound lane. Let me tell you something, this woman (yes, woman) looked suspect from the start. She honestly looked like a crack whore. Her features were extremely worn, and her makeup was quite sloppy looking. So, she pulls over via my hand signals, and I go over to her driver side window and this is how the convo went:
Me: "Excuse me ma'am, may I see your driver's license please?"
Woman: "What do you want to see it for?"
Me: "I just need to check for something real quick. It won't take but a minute, and you can be on your way, I promise." (hee hee hee)
Woman: "Well, you can see it, but I am not going to let you have it."
Me: *sigh.....great* "Ma'am, I need to check something, and it requires me to physically handle your license. The sooner you give it to me, the sooner you can be out of here."
Woman: "I don't have time for this, my lunch break is over, and I need to get back to work. They'll fire me if I'm late."
Me: "Ma'am, you won't get in trouble at your work if you are late due to my holding you here. If you tell them that I stopped you, you aren't at fault, and cannot be punished. Here is my rank, name and phone number to this post if they do. Your supervisor can call me and I will verify that I stopped you. Now, please hand me your driver's license." (at this point, I have called the SFCC via radio that I have the vehicle stopped, and the subject is being very uncooperative, they have patrols on the way)
Woman: "No, you can't have it...I'm leaving."
Ok, great....now I'm pissed. I want to pull her out of her car and punch her in the ovaries, but I must remain proffessional, so I walk to the front of her car while she's putting all her crap back in her purse, stand there with my arms crossed and say:
Me: "You aren't fucking going anywhere!" (so much for proffessionalism, eh?)
As I am now calling the SFCC via radio again, stating that I need patrols out here ASAP, because she's trying to leave the installation. As I turn my attention back to the car....it happens. BAM! That bitch took her foot off the brake and hit me with her vehicle! I was standing a good 3-5 feet in front of her car (reactionary gap, lot of good that did me) so she was only going about 5mph. I started to fall backwards, but somehow managed to pull myself to land on her hood instead. I come accross the radio again stating that the subject has just struck me with her vehicle. Instinctively, I reach for a 9mm that isn't even there....stupid back problems. Now, for those that don't know, when she hit me with her car, she just committed a felony: Assault with a dealy weapon, and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer. She's fucked. I now hear sirens in the background..good, my buddies are on the way. The civilian contractors here my last radio transmission and come running over to back me up, and you know how safe I feel with them around. I tell them to shut down the gate, and close the barriers. Just FYI, with my back the way it is, had I fallen backwards onto the street and landed on my back, I would have been fucked. I wouldn't have been able to get up, or out of the way, in excrutiating pain, and she might have decided to keep going, right over top of me....such a lovely thought, don't you think?
Woman: "You can't stop me! You can't do this to me! I'm calling my lawyer!" (at wich point, she rolls up her window and locks her doors)
Now, my buddies are on scene.....5 patrol cars, 1 security vehicle (those guys carry M-16's :-D) and the flight chief all roll up together. The flight chief comes over and asks me what happened, as I am now taking myself off the front of her car. As soon as I tell him everything, he goes to bash her window in. Before he can do that though, obviously seeing defeat, the woman comes out of her car. Myself and one of the other guys grab her and literally throw her against her car. We had a female officer on scene as well, and she took the woman aside in cuffs, and did a search of her. The Base Exchange Detectives then roll up and tell us what she stole, and they need to search her vehicle for those items: A Faith Hill "Breathe" CD, a box of Godiva chocolates, and a fold up table that acutally, the Base Exchange Detectives managed to confiscate from her before she left the parking lot. I looked at the woman and so wanted to punch her in the head. She would have run me over for a stupid CD and some chocolate. Now, I knew Godiva made good sweets, but they aren't worth a felony...not to me anyway. So we take her back and process her. Guess what Ted! She was Naval Reserve, 0-4!!!!!! Activated, and on orders. WTF is an officer doing commiting crimes? WTF is wrong with the Navy as a whole? Seems like we're always locking those guys up for stupid shit on our base. Anyway, while she's in her cell awaiting a mass ass-kicking (just kidding):
Woman: *kicking and knocking on the door, looking through the small window in the door* "I have a 5 year old son down in Norfolk Hebrew School that is going to get on a bus and be dropped off at a bus stop and I won't be there to pick him up. You can't hold me here!"
Me: "Shut up!" *as I put my face right in front of hers at the little window in the door* "You should have though about that before you disrespected the military, decided to steal worthless items, and then committing a felony by hitting me with your car! What do they teach you in the Naval Officer Academy anyway?" (man, I'm so professional, and even though the flight chief told me to stop...he was laughing, as well as 5 others on the SFCC at that point. I laughed too, actually)
We let her call the Norfolk School and tell them not to let her son get on the bus, then back in the cell she went. After talking to the Exchange Detectives, turns out she has been shoplifting for a couple weeks now. Getting away with it, bringing the stuff back, and returning it all for store credit. A couple of the base commanders and vice commanders came down as soon as they were notified of the incident. They were pissed that I was hit by a car and wanted to see how I was doing. One of them gave me the call sign: "Roadkill" Aww....isn't that sweet? They just asked me a bunch of questions, and made sure I was ok. Which, even though I was still kinda shaken up, I was fine. My statement will be used in court to put her sorry ass is jail. I might even get to go to the court and testify if she pleads not guilty.
WEDNESDAY: Starting of 12 hour shifts, same gate, nothing big going on. Slow, long day.
THURSDAY: Another 12 hour shift, and today something else decided to grace my gate with it's presence: Get a phone call from the SFCC telling me to BOLO (Be On the Look Out) for a maroon Dodge Ram with a tonneau cover on it, for smuggling people on the base. Yes, you heard it right. Some contractor guy, who is doing construction on the base, is smuggling other people (probably mexicans, they're used to being smuggled anyway, and we have a plethera of them on the base doing construction work anyhow) As many as 7 were being smuggled. So, that truck pulls up to the gate and I have the guy pull over. I tell him some B.S. that's it's a random vehicle inspection and I just need to check his lisence with his base pass. He agrees and then I tell him to open the cover. No problem with that as he does it, and there's noone in the back. I ask him if he knew why I was doing this, and he was oblivious. Figures. I told him what I was told and he was kinda bewildered by it all. One of our patrols came out and followed him to the job site and checked out all the people that were their to make sure their passes were legit. Nothing wrong was found. Oh well....they told us to search him, and every other truck with a tonneau cover (I don't even know if I'm spelling that right lol)
FRIDAY: Went out bar hopping with a couple of the contractor security guys. Good times. I really didn't drink a whole lot, and I didn't really dance because of my back. But a good time none theless.
SATURDAY: Day off, didn't do a damn thing.....it was great.
SUNDAY: Went to church with a couple of my Senior Associates from the business. I was the only white guy in the whole place, and it was fun. I had never been to a church like that before, where while the pastor is giving sermon, everyone is yelling "Praise Jesus" and stuff like that. It kinda got me excited to be there. Everyone was very friendly.
MONDAY: Back to work, nothing special happened
YESTERDAY: Same thing...after work had to race down to Chesapeake for a business meeting. Which was a very important one. There was a guy there who was quite high up in the business as a speaker and gave a lot of good information.
TODAY: Off....not planning on doing anything, maybe go to a friends house later this afternoon and take out my dash in my car so I can finish painting the interior.
NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!!
I just got a phone call this second from a guy in the hospital on Langley who's been helping with my back surgery that needs to be done down in Texas at Wilford Hall. For those who don't know, The AF just started doing the Artificial Disk Replacement Surgery that I can get as an option to Fusion. He just told me that he talked to the DR down there and things are good to go!!! I have to get an updated MRI and X-Rays, and after that I'll get to fly down there and get an eval by the Doc!!!! WOOOHOOO!!!! I so hope my eval goes well, and he lets me have this surgery....I will be able to run...dance...lift weights...and be my happy self again! My life will once again be truly mine! I gotta get going.....I think I will be getting these X-rays done today....he's gonna call me right back. OH! He also told me that my Commander had called yesterday or today, and was asking about me. Of course, the doc can't tell him anything, that's all confidential....but it pisses me off that he can't come to me and ask me anything.....and tries to go behind my back. He's trying to screw me and kick me out of the military, I know it. Let him try. I will fight him with every bit of legal info I can get my hands on. THIS JUST IN!!!! I just got off the phone with the doc again....I can get my X-Ray and MRI done this weekend! I'll be down in Texas for my eval in 2 weeks at the most!!! OMFG!!! I can't believe it....after all this time....a door has opened! I'm so happy I could go streaking down the street I live on! I won't though, of course ;-)
Everyone have a wonderful day!