another place to sleep

So either there was a change of plan or I was misinformed, but either way I’m in Louisiana and have been since last night. I thought we were supposed to stay in Texas for about a week but we only stayed overnight. What to say about Louisiana? Thus far in my short career with the army, each place they send me is significantly worse than the place before it. Just when I began to think of Western Texas as a God forsaken crap-hole, a few days in Louisiana and I long for my days back in the Lone Star state. It stands to reason that once I hit Kuwait I’ll look back on this place longingly, and when I finally reach Iraq I’ll remember Kuwait as utopian bliss. It seems the army chooses only to place itself in the most inhospitable regions of the US and of the world. Why not instead place a military training center near beautiful Miami Beach, Florida? Instead of attacking desolate dessert countries why not preempt a war with a nice Caribbean island? Oh well, I’ll keep dreaming.

But seriously, though I’ve only been back living the army life for a few days, things are going just fine. I’m finally living in a place where trees are able to grow and green grass flourishes. If I squint my eyes and ignore the 99.9 percent humidity it almost looks like home. Some of us are happier than others however. Many of us don’t receive any cell service at all here. I realize that cell phones might seem a luxury, but I’m here to tell you that they have a very large impact on morale, particularly when we only recently left our loved ones who we won’t see again for a long while. With a little extra effort and some cash a soldier can use phone cards and nearby pay phones to call home, or pay to check email at the PX. I’m sure this will help us get used to the constraints we’ll encounter overseas. It still sucks though.

I’m not sure at this point what is in store for us. From what I’ve heard we’ll probably be here for two or three weeks. From the sound of it much of that time will be spent sitting around doing nothing. I hope I’m wrong about that though. Fort Polk is a place most soldiers go before they deploy and is known for excellent training. It would be a shame to waste this opportunity, not to mention our time. I’m still optimistic though, or at least am trying my damnedest to be.