I just have to keep remembering that...
Started the countdown already, crossing my fingers that everything goes smoothly with my replacement getting over here.
I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting antsy and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, or if things are actually getting more annoying, but my patience is beginning to run thin. You see, it's swap-out season over here. The people I'm used to having around are leaving and new people come in to take their place. Doesn't seem like much of a problem at first, but let us peel back this onion a little bit...
Layer 1) The people that are already here have been here for a while (around a year). They're used to how things go and are not surprised by much. They know that we're here to fly planes and get the mission done. I, for the most part, enjoy these people and their mentality.
Layer 2) The new people coming in are probably pissed off that they have to stay here for a year and they're just getting started. I'd be pretty pissed, too. They're also coming from places where they don't fly wartime missions, which means they have the time and energy to focus on the menial little details that really don't create problems in the long run, but they think there may be a "trend" or something, so they focus in on that little insignificant detail like a laser beam and ask you all sorts of stupid questions, even though all of your stats are the best they've been in over a year so you obviously know what you're doing, but they're new and haven't quite gotten the grasp of how hard that is to do in this kind of environment...where was I? Oh yeah...
Layer 3) If you were taking over a leadership position, what's the first thing you would do to assert your dominance and ensure everybody knew that there was a new boss in town? If your answer is "change everything for no apparent reason!" then the Air Force has got job for you.
Layer 4) I'd get in trouble if I explained layer four...
Layers 5-10) Of course, everybody doesn't all swap out at once. They do it one by one, so the above items get repeated at every level of leadership, over the course of a couple of months.
Another thing that's been irritating me is having to shop for an apartment while I'm here. Out of all the places I emailed, only two responded with one apartment available each. Well, by the time I started asking questions about the apartments, one had already been snatched up. I decided to apply for the only one left, sight unseen. I was told after submitting the application through email that I would have to pay $140 in fees to hold the apartment until I got back, but that I should "hurry" to mail the checks in because they had an appointment to show the apartment on Tuesday. Seriously?!? If I lose this apartment, I'm going to have to start all over again...and maybe live in a van for a couple months...ROADTRIP!!!
Even though things are annoying at the moment, the overall experience of this trip has been one of the best I've had in the Air Force, so far (it's only been 3 years). I've been lucky to have had as many good experiences as I've had, but this is the first "good" experience I've had in aircraft maintenance. Almost good enough for me to not re-apply for a pilot slot this fall...but not quite. It's been great to be in a leadership position where I have a group of guys, a fleet of jets, and minimal interference from my boss(es). I've learned a great deal about my job as well. If I were to go back and do this trip all over again, there's not a whole lot that I would change. I would probably start looking for an apartment earlier on so I didn't get shortchanged when the time came to go back! (honestly, only TWO apartments available in all of downtown Omaha!?! Ridiculous.) Other than that, I would have focused more at the beginning on being more involved with submitting my guys for monthly awards. We're scrambling this month to put together some good awards packages so hopefully my guys can win some (including myself...cause I'm awesome). Also, I would have set stronger goals for myself and planned a little better to use my free time more productively. I haven't lost a lot of actual weight, but I have trimmed up and gained some muscle. Mainly because my knee hurts too much to run for more than 45 minutes and get the cardio in. Going on a tangent here, I'm pretty sure that deployed military members keep both GNC and Bodybuilding.com in business. EVERYBODY out here takes some sort of muscle building supplement or weight loss pills. Mainly because you get bored. But after working a 12 hour day, eating dinner, and getting a full night's sleep, you end up with about 1-2 hours a night of free time. Plenty of time to go get jacked in the gym or train for a half-marathon, if that's all you ever do in your free time. But I also had enough time here to probably fit in another master's course. All-in-all, it's nice to get away and have the time to focus on the things you never find the time to focus on when you're back home.
Well, I don't want this to get too long, so here's some pictures from our last beach trip to close this thing out:
This one's for the fellas
And this one's for the ladies...giggity!
(you can't see it, but there's a ripped six pack underneath that forearm, trust me)
(you can't see it, but there's a ripped six pack underneath that forearm, trust me)
I'm off to dinner!
