We have one week left here at Ft. Polk.  And I, for one, couldn’t be happier.  I have decided the following about Louisiana:  I will never choose to live down here.  Don’t get me wrong – there are good people, fun fried food, and nice scenery.  But the way that water interacts with the land here is just atrocious at times.  And I’m here in the winter; I hear that the summers are unbearably painful.  The last OMLT ahead of us was here last summer, and I guess they’d do some of their training in the early, early morning (i.e., 4:00am) in order to avoid heat casualties.  But even before dawn, temps would be in the 80s. 

I write about such frustrations because last week, as my team went out for training on a mounted combat patrol, it stormed.  By “stormed,” I mean torrential rain, severe lightning, and a tornado near post.  And for this mission, we had to have gunners up in the MATV and humvees, which creates a nice big hole for a guy to stand in, effectively allowing said rains to pour into the vehicle.  I was a driver, so it wasn’t that bad for me.  But our gunners were 100% soaked.  And then it took days for the ground to dry much.  And some ground here doesn’t dry.  The walkway beside our barracks has literally been saturated since we got here.  I haven’t seen anything leaking into it, and I don’t smell sewage in it, so I don’t understand where water enters it.  I’ve just decided that it rained once, and the ground there is somehow so saturated that it’s not possible for the mud to dry.  Interestingly, I find that some of my complex confusions with the environment here stir in me the same sporadic angst I would feel back when I was teaching in Colorado.  Hhmmm.

Here is a picture of my team from this course.  You might notice a few folks who don’t look quite like the rest of us.  They are Department of the Army Civilians who are also going through this Combat Advisor training with us.  And they are awesome.  I am incredibly glad to have them on our team for this training; their experiences and insight have been helpful, humorous, and appreciated.  You might also notice that we’re wearing different uniforms.  We were recently issued our multi-cam gear.  It’s pretty cool, and it’s what we’ll be wearing in Slovenia and Afghanistan, so we were happy to receive it because it feels that much closer to leaving Ft. Polk.

Yesterday was our last official day of instructional training.  Next week, we have our capstone event and then graduate and move on to Slovenia (finally!).  Do you remember in high school or college when the teacher would give a comprehensive exam?  You’d think to yourself:  How am I going to remember all of this?!  But, somehow, you passed the class, graduated, moved on, etc.  That’s how it feels down here.  We’ve received an incomprehensible amount of knowledge since arriving back in October.  Some stuff comes easily; other information, not so much.  But I look at our team, our mission, and humanity in general and just say to myself:  it’s going to work. 

When I was going through National Guard Recruitment Sustainment Process (RSP), back in the fall of 2007, a girl there told me about a tattoo she’d gotten.  It read, “It will all be all right in the end.  And if it’s not all right, then it’s not the end.”  I’ve said that to myself a number of times since 2007, and it comes to mind now.  I know what you’re thinking:  “But that doesn’t make sense, Jerrod.  Sometimes, it’s not all right in the end.  Look at history’s tragedies and you’ll see how it’s not always all right.”  Ok, got it.  You’re correct.  But this is where that whole big faith element of our existence comes into play.  For example, Afghanistan is not in the best of shape at the moment.  Do I think we’re going to walk in there and solve the problem?  The Taliban and insurgents will just give up and go home, grow something besides poppies, and live happy little lives?  Only in my dreams.  However, I do believe that God can use any situation we are in for His purposes.  Are tragedies going to happen in the future?  Yes.  Is the war going to end in a year’s time?  Probably not.  Is Tim Tebow eventually going to be bigger than Elway?  Well, with a little faith and trust, I believe that all things do work out in the end, especially for those who are willing to believe.

So, what have I learned here at Ft. Polk?  A lot, but here are a few things that stand out:

*Army and Air Force personnel are able to get along better than I’d expected

*There is a lot of random wildlife in Louisiana, to include stray cats, wild horses, and razorback boars

*A group of 12 men together is a recipe for the worst humor in the world

*Saying goodbye to family and friends is never easy, no matter how sober-faced you try to look

*Too much fried food will give you digestive distress

*The military helps keep tobacco companies in business

*Alligator meat is rougher to chew than I’d expected

*I’ve learned what it sounds like when someone snores and grinds his teeth at the same time

*One’s iPod is a life-saver when you need to escape

*Actions speak louder than promises

*Sometimes the best way to get to know someone is over a drink or two

*Receiving a letter or a postcard in the mail makes you feel like life is still worth it because you’ve been remembered by somebody

*When it comes to living with others in close quarters, flatulence (at any volume) must be tolerated; in fact, it’s sometimes just another form of communication

*Cell phone games help kill dead time

*When stressed, you’ll have random, odd dreams (one such example:  The other night, I dreamt that I was looking at the sky and there were rips or tears in it.  And as I looked through the rips, I could see an innumerable amount of stars.  It was both beautiful and comforting.  And then I woke up at Ft. Polk and the happiness ended, but the memory is nice.)

*Chow hall food can sometimes just depress a person

*Learning a new language is easier if you understand the grammar of your own language first

*Who I thought I was a year ago is not who I am now – we’re always growing and changing

And the next time I write a blog, we’ll have graduated from Combat Advisor training.  And there will be much rejoicing among the villagers (or the razorbacks, whichever).  Until then, do good things, my friends.
- SGT Griebel