SAND, SURVEYS & THE MISSING ID CARD

Today had a few twists to it, unique to Iraq and the military. First, we're having a heck of a sandstorm now. The high winds are whipping sand into the air which is then mixing with the falling rain. So it's like driving in a snowstorm but worse. It's probably more like driving into volcanic ash as you constantly have to use your wiper fluid and windshield wipers. Quite the weather! Driving to dinner at 6:30, it looked like the sun had already set. You could see dark brown clouds of sand looming nearby. By the time I parked nearby the dining hall, I could barely see 20 feet ahead of me. You could even see a thin layer of sand floating about the dining hall.

Earlier in the day, I completed a Command Climate survey which gauges the sailors' perceptions of the Battalion in regard to subjects of equal opportunity, morale, and leadership. Somewhere at the end of my particular on-line survey, a series of religious questions pop up, including if I believed in G-d, and did I think G-d was particularly vengeful, loving, or friendly. As I'm looking at these questions, I start to wonder what they have to do with the Command climate. There were 15 of these questions and if it wasn't for the fact I already answered 40 appropriate questions , I would have exited and voided the survey. So I finished the questionnaire, thought about it for a few minutes, and whipped up an email to the Skipper letting him know that I was not comfortable with religious questions being appended to a Command Climate survey. Later in the day the Skipper called me into his office to ask about these religious questions. I explained and he looked perplexed. He hadn't seen these questions. He then asked the XO and another officer who both said "no". So the only logical explanation is that somehow my survey mistakenly added 15 religious questions by accident. In hindsight it's amusing. Only in the military...

Yesterday towards the end of lunch I was relaxing upstairs in my loft when there was a loud knocking at my door and someone yelling "Four" (short for my designation as S4). With that tone, I figured it was an emergency or the Skipper. It was the Skipper, of course, and he was on a tear. At the start of lunch one of my sailors couldn't find his ID card, which he left in his computer. I happened to be in the area when this occurred and while it seemed obvious someone had removed it from the computer, the reason was unclear. He felt someone took his ID with malicious intentions. I said to wait until after lunch and then ask the other sailors who work in his space if they saw his ID card. I couldn't have been more clear. Well this sailor, who had complained a number of times that he was being unfairly picked on, was given an opportunity to air his grievances directly with the Battalion CO a few weeks back. In order to do so, though, he had to get permission from his chain of command, including me. As a quick aside, he and I get along fine and I've tried many times to help his see his concerns are more self-induced than anything. So I had no objections with him speaking to the CO and we signed the permission chit. Now, back to the story. The sailor takes his previous visit with the Skipper as an invitation to speak with him anytime he has an issue, which led the CO to become a little frustrated and charge into the Supply Office. So I jump into my boots, run down the steep ladder without lacing them up, and follow (more like run) behind the CO as he points to each of my sailors asking if they have this sailor's ID card. Along the way, I'm trying to lace up my boots and maintain some dignity. When the CO finishes with his questions, he turns to the sailor and tells him to get another ID card. The Skipper leaves and within minutes, one of my sailors appears with the ID card. He had pulled it from the computer in order to try and find the sailor who left it behind (you can't get into the dining hall without it and you shouldn't leave the card lying around). No malicious intent. You'd think the sailor who left the ID would now tuck his tail between his legs, realize the error of his ways, and apologize for creating such a ruckus. But no..... So we gave him formal counseling, reinforcing the importance of using the chain of command at all times. I even spoke to him offline, trying to get him to understand that his paranoia is unfounded. No luck.
P.S. I went to the Skipper to let him know that the ID card was found and that the sailor had not followed my earlier direction of waiting until after lunch. In turn the Skipper apologized and shared with me his reasons for storming about. We have a good working relationship and I know the CO isn't usually a bull in a china shop. Again, only in the military.....

I biked to the swimming pool today. Although the temperature was about 105 degrees (F), it wasn't that bad riding. I definitely wouldn't run in that type of heat. Getting exercise at lunch makes the day go faster and gives me more time at night to relax.

It was an interesting day and all humorous in retrospect. Oh, yeah, I also slept through three alarms on my watch and missed this morning's meeting. It's obvious I wasn't there because I have a seat at the "table". It's the first time that happened and the Skipper didn't even mention it to me. However, I have to set the example for my folks so I better not do that again!!

It's late once again and time for bed. I hope everyone has a nice evening!