Never a dull moment

Somehow I let an entire week slip by without sharing another entry. It's much more realistic to say the week didn't just slip by - more like flew by. Every day when I come into the office I have to prepare myself for whatever the drama of the moment will be. There's never a dull moment. I think I just might write a novel based on all the things that happen in Bagram. The past seven days are simply a microcosm of "As Bagram Turns". When I last wrote it was about a memorial ceremony for three fallen Heroes. Fortunately, since then we haven't had a similar event. But my life has been full of adventures.

A synopsis of the last week gives a glimpse into my world. We had two Vietnam era Medal of Honor recipients in for a visit. They were accompanied by actor Stephen Lange, who was promoting his stage production "Beyond Glory". Their visit gave a welcome interruption to the day-to-day silliness of Bagram. The rest of the week was filled with a variety of adventure. It went from mundane to exhilarating. A necessary mundane task that filled a large portion of my time was completing awards and evaluations for my Military Police detachment from the North Carolina Army National Guard. I definitely wanted to ensure my fellow Tarheels were taken care of before they go home. Then I had to deal with the usual complaint issues that come from a base of 30,000 - primarily housing issues like no hot water, electrical problems, backed up toilets, and broken HVAC systems. The worst billeting issue came from complaints of mold forming inside the walls of a certain housing area. This became high drama when the Division Surgeon determined it was a potential Life, Health, Safety (LHS) issue. The result was a directive to relocate all 700 occupants, which is not easy when housing is very tight. But we got it done. Next came the incessant drumbeat of endless meetings dealing with just about anything that could be imagined. Garrison Command is brief spurts of productivity frequently interrupted by meetings. We supported a big security sweep of Bagram to net a bunch of foreign workers identified as being potential threats to the base. That was high excitement for my team. And, finally, the seven-day span wrapped up with another MWR visit. This time it was the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders on their "Adopt a Soldier" tour, which for some reason included an Elvis impersonator.

With that, I embark upon another week of fun and adventure. Welcome to my world. Like I said, it's never a dull moment.