Living the Dream, USAF invading the Army Barracks during Exodus

FORT GEORGE MEADE, Md. — Living the dream here in the Army barracks. I stole that line – or at least part of it, from Flint, the soldier of mysterious origin whom I see in the dining facility/chow hall/galley/DFAC/cafeteria every day.

Flint has a strange accent and point of view that’s difficult to pin down on a specific source. He told me he grew up in Korea on some sort of military establishment but that doesn’t explain the accent.

Flint is one of the many interesting charachters here enrolled in DINFOS, including Johnson and Smith, who live across from me in the dorm. Although those names sound fake, they’re real. Probably. Johnson and Smith are two Air Force guys who are in tech school at Fort George Meade for broadcasting. They are hilarious as a pair – I feel like I gained an extra few minutes of my life for every hour I’m around them. English is into zombie movies, Mel Brooks and the color red. Blackwell, one of the Coasties, is from Las Vegas and spent time rescuting people and traveling over water before he found his way here, the Defense Information School. We say “DINFOS” for short since the military love acronyms even if the titles for which they mean don’t make any sense. Kelsey is funny and has a naturally laid back manner and easy smile. Josea and Epps both annoyed the hell out of me at first but they’ve grown on me and I’m starting to like them.

They are only a few of the people whose paths I cross on a daily basis. I know the first names of some and will actually attempt to maintain contact after tech school. To put that in some sort fo context, I generally keep poor contact with people. For example, I don’t keep in contact with any old co-workers or classmates.

Tim Sohn in an exception to the classmates thing. He and I are as close of friends as I have with people. Dave Raphael as well. I neother see nor speak with either very often but when I do its a good time. Tim is a journalist and Dave is a fantastic photographer.

Maybe this next paragraph should run higher in the story but I need to say why I’m here. May I need to explain the sudden, or near sudden appearance of the disclaimer above.  Besides, I’ve gotten way off target. If this were an interview or press conference I would have to warn the “media representitive” that the interview needs to be reeled in. How strange it is to be in the other side of the lens and podium.

Enough of that.

I’m enrolled here in the Defense Information School in Fort George Meade as part of my Air Force training, or “tech school” as we say. It’s the portion of training generally lasting two to four months after basic military training. I’m here until February and I arrived Nov. 2 after graduating with honors from BMT on Halloween. After I graduate from DINFOS, I head back to San Antonio to work for my unit, the 433rd Airlift Wing based in Lackland Air Force Base.

We’re all public affairs here. Or at least those of us in DINFOS. Public affairs encompases a wide range of fields from broadcasting to photography and video to news writing to guided tours. PA is the public face of the military, or maybe the Department of Defense or the Pentagon. As far I’m concerned, I’m a photographer who will also write stories to get the “positive” message of the 433rd out the the general public. As a reservist I have some flexibility with work, I’m free to work civilian work, civilian contract, active reserve or any combination if there is work. Of course the downside if being reserve is everything is a mystery. No one here knows anything about my leave, health care, pay … anything. I have to contact my unit back in Texas and hope they know.

I enlisted for the adventure, to do something bigger and better than what I was doing before. I want to do something important and have access to places where I couldn even dream of going before. That is the reason I’m here in DINFOS. Its the reason I wear the uniform. I brought with me more than a decade of experience and my own talents and fascinations and I add to it every day.

Living the dream. Not yet. I’m still in a “training environment” so some aspects of my Air Force career are still a pain in the ass, especially for a 34 year old. But it’s worth it. I can see where this is going and I know how damned near impossible it can be to find work in these career fields in the civilian world. I’m still an Obama-supporting, anti-war Democrat. I don’t like guns and I don’t fit into any of the negative stereotypes of military people. Hell, I had the military “high and tight” haircut before I enlisted. Most of the people I knw in this strange environment don’t adhere to the negative stereotypes – the alcoholic, promisquious, Jesus preacher. I’ll save the rest of that characterization for another time.

Some of the kids don’t realize what we have here and they’re throwing this all away. It’s not fun to live under some of the restrictions we have and in the 24 hour training environment but it’s hardly difficult. Basic was much worse. I can think of two of my airmen (we say “airmen” even of they’re girls) who are on the edge of being thrown out or having us all under disciplinary restrictions. It happens. They don’t realize how short our few months of training is compared to their work after training. If they only stay one enlistment for  four or six years, three months isn’t much of a big deal. Of course being thrown out just at the end of training, at the cusp of the easy part, for being stupid must be a difficult thing to take.

Living the dream. Yea, that’s what Flint says about his time here. It’s a mix of sarcasm and frustration. Or maybe all sarcasm, I don’t know him very well. He was wasting a lot of time waiting for his class to start. He made jokes about it and all of the time he spent napping and sitting in the DFAC drinking coffee but that would drive me crazy. I don’t know, maybe he was really living the dream and his natural speaking tone seems sarcastic.

I never explained why I’m in the army barracks and what exodus is.

Every year around Christmas and New Year the military shuts down and the non-essentual personnell take leave or at least sit around not doing anything. This is exodus. First it was a Biblical book, then a cheesy 80′s glam metal band and now it’s a vacation. I’m only taking four days and heading to Boca Raton. The rest of the time I have to stay here in the army barracks with some other Air Force stragglers who are also not taking their entire leave. After I return from Florida I’ll come back here until the Air Force detachment reopens and live continues as normal.

Living the dream, the journey continues. As the late Doctor Hunter Stockton Thompson said many times, buy the ticket, take the ride.