Well, life over here is getting peachier by the minute. It seems that the Army-wide mentality of laziness-driven mass punishment is always strongest right after you deploy. It's like some genetic flaw that says, "they must be disciplined! If one person is stupid and wears a towel to the shower, soon they'll all be running around naked! Gasp! Horrors! Must discipline..."

I imagine SGMs sitting in their rooms at night twitching and muttering to themselves after seeing all the slacker soldiers who just don't "get it". I feel pity more than anything at their obvious insecurity and need to compensate with brutishness.

In other news, we had a Secretary of Some Branch of the services visit. (I can't specify which branch because I guess being honest is the same as being disrespectful, so I have to be vague.) We all got our little, "Hi, I'm soldier nobody you could care less about, and this is what I do," speeches ready.

In he came, with all the division officers suctioned to his @&%. Then he did one of the rudest things I've been treated to in 8 yrs. of service: he asked me a question, then promptly turned himself 180 degrees, spoke with the officers, said goodbye to them, and never waited for my answer.

Away he walked, his rump pointed at me, as if to say, "hop on, there's still room for one more." I guess this is how they show we matter. Most of them at least try to pretend they give a damn. This guy showed his @&% to everyone that wasn't an officer. It made us all truly proud.

Enough about them. I don't have the time or space to detail all the asinine, foolish, downright ignorant crap these self-absorbed, mostly jobless, ego maniacs force soldiers to endure. If the army wants to save money, it just needs to thin the herd of bureaucrats floating like scum on the surface.

The soldiers here, even the ones I might not be overly fond of, amaze me with their ability to absorb the abuse and still get their jobs done. They bitch and moan, they flaunt the rules, but they get the job done. And so few of them will stay. If I could bet on how many would laugh when asked if they are going to reenlist, I'd be a rich man. Vegas wouldn't carry such lousy odds. You'd have to pay out when you placed the bet.

Nothing fazes anyone anymore. Incoming, outgoing, helicopters, jets, you name it and we'll sleep through it. Except for one small thing, bloated bladder. It's a catch-22. You have to drink water, but if you do, you won't get more than a few hours of sleep between trips to the bathroom. Finally, you are so exhausted from so many interrupted nights that you don't wake up to pee. I can't wait until it really gets hot. I'm not sure I can drink enough water. Maybe I should train to be dehydrated.

Well, as fun as this is, I need to get my three or four hours of sleep. Hey, when you think life sucks, think again. Come on over here and you'll find that with enough bureaucrats around, you too can be beaten down enough to not even notice you've become worth less to the Army than most of the machinery you use. Perception...heehee...I used to be free once. I think I was anyway.

Hey wife,

I love you...please edit my terrible grammar.

Hey husband,

done.