Today and yesterday have felt like I’m sitting in the cockpit of a space shuttle slowly moving on the trawler towards the launch pad.  The exciting next stage is in sight, but for now, in a sense, I feel like I’m stuck on the back of a vehicle that couldn’t outrun Fred Flintstone’s foot-powered car.  At the same time, the list of things to do (which seemed short and easy a week ago when I had more time on my hands) now seems to be building each day.  I still have the remainder of this week and the first three days of next week to come into work, but it’s become increasingly difficult to avoid the distractions associated with beginning my service.  Fortunately, I work with a group of attorneys that recognize and respect the path I’ve chosen, which has lessened my guilt (it could also be that they think I look like a kid on December 23rd who is completely absorbed by the challenge of making the next 48 hours go by).

(Speeding towards the JAOBC start date at 1/20th MPH)

       One issue that’s likely to be a common theme among JAOBC students is how to wind down work before the start of training.  Unlike most jobs, you can’t just walk away from clients and leave them holding the bag.  There are a few in my class who are experiencing the busy times that come along with closing cases or withdrawing from those you were officially helping on.  I tried to head all that off at the pass in August, which was helped since I haven’t been running my own practice.  Instead of officially becoming a part of the cases I’ve worked on, I’ve worked underneath the attorney I’m with, preparing documents, filings, and other papers, while he reviews and then submits them to court. 

    Although on one hand it would be nice to have my own name attached to some of the projects I poured hours into, it’s nice to not have to deal with attempting to withdraw now.  With that, I’m simply continuing to do the same thing I’ve been doing the last few months, which is to do any needed work on existing case files, which will then be handed off to the attorney who takes my place next month.  As of next Wednesday, I’ll be able to walk away free and clear from the job, with no loose ends to worry about once I’m in JAOBC.

    Yesterday (and so far today) have also been added chapters in the orders waiting game.  By now, large chunks (if not a majority) of my class has received their orders, mostly via their personal email account.  Others received them by snail mail (some got both).  Unfortunately, I’m in the shrinking boat of people who still don’t have their orders yet.  It’s sort of like a rescue helicopter keeps coming and letting people climb the ladder to get in and fly to safety, but there’s not quite enough room on board for me.  Getting the request for orders (RFO) in my AKO inbox yesterday (these aren’t the actual orders, but rather evidence that orders have been requested for you) was like being halfway up the ladder to safety, and then being told to climb back down.

    In the meantime, I’ve tried to focus my efforts on helping those who have gotten their orders.   Many have asked questions about how to decipher the acronyms and abbreviations that litter the orders, especially to figure out their specific unit, or (in the case of many of those headed to places like Korea and Europe) the actual base they’re assigned to.  Since I was lucky enough to have been lent a copy of the JAG Pub. 1-1 (directory for the Corps), I’ve worked on having people send me their unit identification codes (UIC) found on the orders.  I’ve taken the UICs, looked them up in the pub., and then provided the name of the unit, as well as contact information for younger JAG officers who could possibly be called with questions.

    Yesterday also saw a second trip down to Fort Bragg.  One of my classmates posted a helpful tip about pre-shaven and pre-formed berets, which are sold by an off-post store called General Jackson’s (www.genjax.com).  I had seen these berets before (which look much better than any beret I’ve been able to form), but never knew where they came from.  Since the shipping rates were a little ridiculous, and since I already needed to go to AMCSS to return some excess PT gear, I decided to make the hop down there. 

     For those of you unfamiliar with Ft. Bragg, the street layout is generally efficient, but their design me think that the planners and traffic engineers forgot that two-way roads existed.  The AMCSS is on one of the larger one-way roads, which makes it a little challenging if you come onto post at a gate that doesn’t put you on a direct trajectory to the store.  Add in rain, darkness, and a general lack of familiarity with the post, and you get to take the scenic route around post to your final destination.  Luckily I learned my lesson from my last trip down, and I made it there within a minute of getting onto post.  

     The returns went smoothly, and I was able to replace one of my US flag patches that I’d accidently burnt (as I was going through my new uniforms and taking a lighter to get rid of the excess thread hanging off different places, I grabbed the patch without thinking to do the same-instead of burning off cleanly, the thread was like a fuse, and before I could blow it out I had a half-blackened patch).  The GenJax store was right off post, and had a huge amount of equipment in the store, including every size shape and color beret you could wish for.  I was able to snag one that fit better than my last beret, and was able to get one for a classmate who lives out in Texas for now.

     Once back home from that trek, my boots (ordered after reading a classmate’s incredibly helpful boot discussion/recommendation post) had arrived.  Based on past troubles with boots not matching up to the size you think they are, I was worried I’d have to return these, but they fit perfectly (even with thick boot socks), which caught me by surprise.  That win was negated when I opened the box for the bug out bag I’d ordered (basically just a large ACU-patterned backpack) to find that it didn’t look quite right.  I got it into some brighter light and realized it was the Air Force’s new ABU digital pattern.  Most people wouldn’t realize the difference, but a soldier would recognize it in about .00003 seconds and rib me for it, so this morning was spent correcting the mistake with U.S. Cavalry.  You can’t win ‘em all, I suppose.

For now, it’s back to the slow crawl towards the launch pad.  I for one am ready for the final countdown sequence to begin.