As The Sparks Fly Upward

Monday started earlier, but also ended much earlier, which was a nice relief after Sunday’s marathon session. Formation (again, term used loosely) was at 0530, and then all of the health care providers were given red tags to attach to our uniforms, which would give us priority in any lines we encountered during the morning medical readiness section.

By about 0545, we were on a bus to the “med shed,” which is a small building near the Martin Army Community Hospital . Because I am a doctor and got to go first, and because the Ft. Gordon people squared me away very well, I was done with the medical portion very quickly–including the anthrax shot, it took about 30 minutes.

The anthrax shot is an experience in and of itself. This was shot #2 for me (of an eventual 6, though it takes literally years to get to #6, and it seems that many never get there). When I got my first shot, I was warned that I would have a powerful stinging and numbness afterwards, but after the injection, for a minute or two, I felt nothing other then the regular modest discomfort which is typical of an intramuscular shot. Then, it started to hit me: an intense stinging at the injection site (felt like burning, actually), with an accompanying tingling sensation that radiated down to my fingertips. It was really uncomfortable, and unlike any vaccination I’d gotten before. In the past, I had always been warned about how certain vaccines might hurt, but had never been bothered much in the past. But anthrax actually hurt. The intense pain subsided after a few minutes, and over the next few days, a palpable lump appeared in my triceps muscle (the outside of the forearm). Three weeks later, that lump is still there, and I am told that it never completely goes away. Shot number two was about the same, but this time in the right arm. So now I have two lumps. The anthrax vaccination is itself a point of controversy, as some veterans of the first Gulf War claim that it caused them to have a syndrome of various medical problems ranging from headaches to GI problems to joint aches and pains to birth defects. It was halted for a period of time, but has been re-started as longer-term studies have continued to show that it is quite safe. A little-known fact about anthrax, though, is that in spite of how big and bad it is portrayed to be in the mainstream media (and it is, indeed, a potentially deadly bacteria), the reality is that it is easily killed off by one of the cheapest, most common, and least potent antibiotics, good old tetracycline. In other words, the teenager who is taking oral meds for acne actually is more protected against anthrax than I am.

After I signed off on medical, I had to walk up to the hospital to ensure that my credentials are in order. This again took jut a few minutes, so I was done and back in the med shed writing this blog by 0830. When I got back to the compound (around 0930), I found out that I was actually done for the day, except that we had formations at 1400 (HCPs only) and final formation at 1700. I took the opportunity to head back to the hotel, clean up some things, and then I went to the library for a while. Something about going to the library which always sends me directly to my happy place. The Fort Benning library is very nice (not always the case with on-post libraries). It is large, clean, and has very friendly, helpful staff. Probably most telling about a library is whether or not there is a decent selection of new materials, such as recent bestsellers, new media items (audiobooks, CDs, DVDs) and a reasonable number of computers for internet access. The Benning library succeeds on all accounts, and was full of soldiers taking advantage of the great things it offers. I checked out a few audiobooks; I’ve been looking for that Stacy Keach version of Hemingway’s stories, got a little Stephen Covey–stuff to listen to on planes and while treadmilling, which I plan to do quite a bit in Iraq. They also, to my great pleasure, had a bunch of PBS discs, and I checked out a couple (two Ken Burns documentaries, on the Statue Of Liberty and Thomas Jefferson). I’ll throw one of those in my laptop, and maybe have a chance to watch a bit during down time. I eventually went back to the guest quarters, and listened to the Stephanopoulos podcast while laying down to rest for a minute.

The nap was short but sweet, and I made it back to the CRC compound for formation at 1400. Turned out I didn’t really need to be there (this happens a lot in the Army) and so I was quickly dismissed and decided to go off-post to search for that most ethereal and lovely of things: wireless internet access. The irony is that I have access at my hotel in guest quarters (wired, actually), but they have put these very rigid filters on the line, so that no streaming media, nothing with an mp3 extension (among many others) can be downloaded or viewed on the machine. So, just to update my podcasts, I had to find something in town. Turns out Krystal Burger has wireless access, but I eventually settled on MacDonalds because it was free and seemingly unrestricted. I sat down and ate a MacRib that I really did not want, just so that I could update my podcasts. Note to restaurant owners: when I am away from my family on a business trip, I do not even bother with any establishment that does not have FREE wireless internet. I eat at Schlotzsky’s and Panera a lot.

Back to formation at five, where a five-foot-one female SSG gave us the next day’s plan via megaphone. 0630 tomorrow, with three stations planned: finance SRP, ACUs issued, and then back to CIF (Central Issuing Facility) to get body armor and other things issued to us. Supposed to be another short day, though probably not quite as cushy as today was.

A brief word before I check out tonight, about the people who are here with me. Our CRC “class” includes 401 people. Around 100 are soldiers, and only about half of those are active duty, the rest being reservists, national guard, etc. No Marines, very few Navy, one Air Force, and the rest are Army. But the biggest group by far are the civilians, who are each from different and very diverse groups, ranging from large defense contracting corporations, the Red Cross, DoD and DA civilians (most of these retired military). Of the 400, maybe about 30-40 are women. Quite a few are foreigners, including people of likely middle-eastern descent. The civilians are given the last priority on just about everything, and I have heard some grumblings. Often, items which are issued to the military members are not given to the civilians. I guess that their companies will buy them these items? Not everyone of us is going to Iraq and Afghan, by the way; I have met people heading to Germany, Italy, Djibouti, Qatar, Kuwait, Yemen, Saudi, and other places.

The people I’ve talked to, civilians and military alike, all seem to be a nice group–fairly humble, some visibly nervous, all very quick to follow orders given by the CRC staff. I think that, even when compensation is good (as I know it can be for civilians, who are often bonused $50,000, possibly more, for a trip to Iraq), the willingness to take a trip to Iraq or Afghanistan probably selects out a relatively selfless person. I’m sure there are exceptions, but I’ve found this to be a particularly amiable and non-egocentric group of people. Maybe I’ve just spent too much time around doctors (i.e., one MAJ Erik Rupard).