Thoughts on CRC

Sitting in Freedom Hall at Ft. Benning waiting on my flight...which departs in six hours. More hurry up and wait...I'll post pictures later as most of my crap is packed away.

CRC sucked. It wasn't hard in the least it was just a lot of sitting around with your dick in your hand...CRC brought "hurry up and wait" to an entirely new level. The sad thing is that we really didn't "do" anything all week. CRC turned out to be nothing more than standing in line waiting for folks to quickly look at a few papers and sign off on a form which indicated your status was still "go" (vice "no go"). The upside I suppose is that I've had so many shots during the last week or so that I'm pretty much incapable of getting sick. I was, thankfully, able to escape both the anthrax and the smallpox vaccinations.

There were an odd mix of folks at CRC...many of which were on their third or fourth (or more) rotation through the AOR. The majority of folks are going to spend time in Iraq, a small percentage are going to Afghanistan, and a handful are heading to points more exotic such as Djibouti.

I'd say, conservatively, that about 65% of the folks here (minus the Army) are mechanics that are deploying to Iraq to fix Hummers, Bradleys and MRAPs when the get "blowed up," as they say. An odd mix of folks which includes a lot of former enlisted types, a bunch of civilian wrench-turners, and more than a few folks that are recently released from prison (no joke).

There are a few of the Human Terrain analysts (all of whom fancy themselves to be operators given all the 5.11 gear) and a few PA pogues like me. The chow was edible but certainly nothing to write home about...at least it was free. On more than one occasion we had to eat MREs which are specifically designed to back up your system. The laxitive gum is a joke. The beef ravioli is fair decent, the meatloaf sucks ass, and the jalepeno cheese spread was worth about as much as heroin.

I was able to get off post two nights during which we consumed a substantial percentage of the beer in Columbus, GA (if anyone ever gets offered a trip to Columbus...fake the plague or something as it sucks). The first night was the local Hooters...which had no problem keeping the beer flowing but had some lame policy that a single person could not have more than two shots...like that is really a barrier to getting shitty.

The second night off post we managed to go "downtown" which consisted of about 7 bars that did not even have local barflies. We found the one bar that had live music and a pool table. I learned, quickly, that much beer does not mix with pool...particularly when the three ball was missing so there were two two balls. We ended the night at a local dive called "The Shanty Shack" which is about as exciting as it sounds. Short of having doors marked "white" and "colored" you would have thought that Jim Crow was still in effect. Black people on one side...white people on the other...there were even separate bathrooms. I had to use the latrine to make room for more beer and wandered into the "black bathroom." You could have heard a pin drop...very strange. We somehow managed to make it back to post about 0330...

A note to any DC cabbies hurting now that the city is metered...come to Columbus. Every damned ride cost a minimum of $30. Seriously.

That is really pretty much about it...nothing but lines, waiting and a substantial amount of boredom. Luckily the PX sold beer as there is nothing to do at CRC besides sitting around smoking and drinking. Given the oppressive heat a few of the bubbas from Texarkana built a "redneck cooler" for us to chill our beers. Hard-sided suitcases and / or "rollies" are not allowed so there were several sitting around the trash. Rip off the top, fill with ice...toss in beer...of course there was still some clothing in the case but that certainly didn't seem to bother anyone...one last day to feel human, I guess.