Trail of Tears

So the past two days rank right up there as some of the most miserable days of my life.  Ok, maybe that's being a bit too traumatic, but I'm so ready to get on the flight for Kuwaiit on Friday.  For the past 48 hours we have been issued everything that we will need for our deployment and then some.  Most of the stuff I'm sure that I will never use including items such as an entrenching tool (if I'm forced to dig my own trench something over there has gone horribly wrong), extreme cold weather gear(for those cool 90 degree nights in Baghdad), and body armor which I'm told is outdated and can't be worn in theater. 

It would be fine if we could decline to take certain items, but in the Army's infinite wisdom every item must be placed into a duffel bag and transported to Iraq.  The duffel bags are large and weigh probably 70lbs a piece so I'm not quite sure how they will be carried - tune in later for that.

The next two days are called the "long" days by people around here but I'm not quite sure what that means since the last two days have seemed fairly long.  On the bright side I'm told that the MD's don't have to be certified in CPR so we should have tomorrow afternoon off.  I will probably be venturing off post with a couple of the guys to pick up some last minute supplies and perhaps even a real meal.

Finally, as we were signing for the thousands of dollars of useless equipment that we had just picked up, there was a sign-up sheet for baggage detail on Friday.  After a sarcastic remark to the next person in line I was ready to head out the door - I mean I'm willing to help the next guy but lugging 70lbs bags for a couple of hours didn't seem like all that much fun.  It was then I read the fine print: volunteers for the baggage detail may receive better seating on the plane.  I quickly scribbled my John Hancock on the line and hope that it's true.  Otherwise I guess it serves me right for signing up not out of the goodness of my heart, but for the promise of extended leg room