SRP
Everything in the Army begins and ends with SRP - the Soldier Readiness Program. It promises to be the better part of a day (sometimes 2) to get your medical and administrative affairs in order. At Ft Carson, this occurs in 1 building with 3 floors and you zig and zag your way through a maze of screenings, each of which ends with about 3-5 stamps being applied to your SPR form. These stamps play a vital role in ensuring that you don't miss a station, and in confusing you since there's not actually enough space on the paper for everyone's stamp. You also get to practice writing your name, last name first of course, as well as your SSN and unit as you sign in at every station to confirm that you were there - because the stamp that said you were there isn't enough. Redundancy may be the key to success, but it almost always brings a bit of madness along with it.
So what DID I get out of SRP? I was able to get 2 of the 3 immunizations that I need for deployment, but unfortunately the small pox vaccine wasn't one of them. Apparently I can't have the shot <2 weeks from my flight because someone, somewhere had their shot too close to a long flight and had complications. It's no big deal of course, I'll just get the shot once I get to Afghanistan. I was even given a bag of bandages and something that looks like sanitizer to keep the "wound" clean. I also picked up my malaria pills (oh joy!) and got a new CAC with a picture of me smiling instead of looking like death. It was a good day. Best of all, I was able to get a short run in on a treadmill at the gym (since the high today was 13 degrees and it was dark by the time I finished SRP, I stayed indoors. It was a good call since the temp dropped to 6 degrees by the time I left the gym!). Thankfully tomorrow is forecasted to be a balmy 32 degrees so a run outside is definitely doable!
I heard today that I'll be traveling with about 6 people as we make our way to Afghanistan. This made me happy, like I have an entourage going with me - or I am part of someone's entourage. In any case, if one of us makes a wrong turn, we all do. Now that's just plain fun.
So what DID I get out of SRP? I was able to get 2 of the 3 immunizations that I need for deployment, but unfortunately the small pox vaccine wasn't one of them. Apparently I can't have the shot <2 weeks from my flight because someone, somewhere had their shot too close to a long flight and had complications. It's no big deal of course, I'll just get the shot once I get to Afghanistan. I was even given a bag of bandages and something that looks like sanitizer to keep the "wound" clean. I also picked up my malaria pills (oh joy!) and got a new CAC with a picture of me smiling instead of looking like death. It was a good day. Best of all, I was able to get a short run in on a treadmill at the gym (since the high today was 13 degrees and it was dark by the time I finished SRP, I stayed indoors. It was a good call since the temp dropped to 6 degrees by the time I left the gym!). Thankfully tomorrow is forecasted to be a balmy 32 degrees so a run outside is definitely doable!
I heard today that I'll be traveling with about 6 people as we make our way to Afghanistan. This made me happy, like I have an entourage going with me - or I am part of someone's entourage. In any case, if one of us makes a wrong turn, we all do. Now that's just plain fun.
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