At 76 Days

Situation Report: At 76 days
16 September 2010
Cornelle D. Carney

Eleven more weeks and a new unit will be here to replace my unit. Anticipation has never been greater as we are slowly coming closer to ending the 2010 deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

Side note: Did you know that the original name of the Iraqi war effort was going to be Operation Iraqi Liberation? President Bush and the Department of Defense decided against that name because its acronym is Oil.

There was a combustible situation that happened about a week ago when soldiers, myself included, started protesting the situation under which we were expected to work. The biggest protest was transitioning from eight to 12 hour shifts. I was not too much concerned with the hours I worked. My concern was not being able to read anything that was not military related while at work. Apparently, unauthorized “propaganda” (they called my school books this) could negatively affect my alertness while on duty. This was ironic and unfair because the same leaders who made this rule played video games, barbecued, and even went to the gym during work hours. I approached my leadership with this issue and threatened to seek assistance from the Equal Opportunity and Inspector General Offices and conditions changed immediately.

On a lighter note, I got a letter from my six years old nephew, Ashton, two days ago. That letter came just in time and further motivated me to do what I have to do here so that I can get home to my family and Ashton. He loves that I am in the Army and boasts about me to all of his classmates. All of the stresses that come with being in the Army and deployment are worthwhile when you have someone that looks up to you in a positive light. Ashton is an extra layer of accountability in that I know he is watching me so I have to make sure my actions are reflective of a positive mentor.

I am about to finish doing homework. Thanks for reading; I hope this provided some information as to my situation. If you have any questions feel free to contact me; information below.

Cornelle D. Carney
E-mail: editor.cornell@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cornelle.carney
Blog: www.situationreport1.blogspot.com