1. The Perks of Military Command- Part IV


    Date: 10/1/2015, Categories: Hardcore, Author: CommunicationDirectr, Rating: 8, Source: LushStories

    Being a military commander in a training cadre had its perks. My next assignment was in a Support Command unit at a military base in Texas. I was assigned responsibilities as an Operations Staff Officer in a rather large combat support battalion. We had engineers, mobile service stations, medical units, supply units, payroll processing and military police units, all a part of our broad and over-reaching scope of operations to take care of the soldier. While combat units, by tradition, are still male dominated and somewhat restricted to males only, combat support units are a mixture of both males and females. One of my very first assignments was to overhaul how we conducted field operations, insuring continuity in our mission, while at the same time not compromising it. I sat down in my private office and looked around. I had a silver-grey-colored, government issued metal desk, two grey chairs, a grey metal filing cabinet, a grey-colored conference room table and a ratty old grey, government issued Naugahide couch. A photo of the President was hanging on the wall; it was the first item sent into the grey-colored metal trashcan. I called in a staff sergeant and told him I would need to re-decorate. “With what?” he asked. “This is what the U.S. Army provides, sir. It’s all that we have.” I knew better, but wasn’t going to argue with him. “I need a laptop,” I told him. “Sir, yes sir, we will requisition one for you,” he replied. “It’ll take about six weeks.” “Six weeks?” I ...
    responded. Six weeks wasn’t going to cut it. I had work to do. I did not like what I was hearing. “Yes sir,” the staff sergeant replied. “This isn't Afghanistan. This is the U.S. Things move slower here.” I had to take a break. Staff work was definitely going to take some getting used to. I was on my way out the door when I heard a voice, an all-too-familiar voice. It was Private Lisa Lovejoy, only she was no longer a Private, but a Private First Class. I had experienced the pleasure of helping PFC Lovejoy work through some personal conflicts in basic training. I stepped over to the cubicle from which the familiar voice came and looked around the corner. Almost immediately, PFC Lovejoy stood at attention, while the desk Sergeant looked at her like she was crazy. “At ease," I remarked. I looked at the desk sergeant, who looked back at me. “Can I help you sir?” he asked. “Well, yes,” I replied. “First of all, you can start by showing some respect to my rank.” The desk sergeant seemed totally clueless. “If this PFC can stand up and render respect,” I began, “I expect that you, as a seasoned non-commissioned officer, should be able to do the same.” The sergeant stood at attention. I told him to stand at ease. I looked at PFC Lovejoy. It had been several months since I had seen her in basic training. How fortuitous could this possibly be? “How was your AIT?” I inquired. “AIT” is the Army acronym for advanced individualized training in a military specialty. “It was good, sir,” PFC ...
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