Don't Count Your Days
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Lesson learned in today's army. Don't ever count on days off. My NCOIC has made it a habit of recent to volunteer me for guard duty or whatever else details that happen on Sunday. In return, he has promised me days off in the future. Like two weeks ago, I was told that I was going to pull an 8 hour guard duty shift on my day off. Well, almost day off, because I was already coming in to do Air Sampling. In fact, I still came in and did Air Sampling though most of it got nixed on account of the weather. I got half the next morning off anyway, just to take into account that I was up until 2 pulling guard duty. But that's beside the point. Last weekend, I was tasked to do air sampling and go to the Airport to pick up the Hearing Conservation Instructors on what would normally be a half day. I ended up working about 12 hours or so. And on Sunday, my day off, I came in doing Air Sampling still. All this week I had class on Hearing Conservation (and my Air Sampling Mission went to somebody else for this week), and so I was informed that to compensate for the fact that I haven't had a full day off in well over two weeks (well, since February at least), I was going to get this entire weekend off. I asked who was going to take the people back to the airport, I was instructed to not worry about it, as they would take care of it. Then the notorious good news / bad news. My NCOIC always disperses any news as good news and bad news. The bad news, I was going to have to come in today to do Air Sampling because the soldier that was originally going to do it has to go to the airport to drop the Hearing Conservation instructors off. Alright, the good news is I don't have to go to the Airport, because he has to. Or, well, supposedly I have a choice. Do Air Sampling or go to the Airport. I chose the Air Sampling. And guess what? I ended up doing both. Yeah, that's right, I got to do both the Airport and Air Sampling. Oh, and I got to PMCS (primary maintenence checks and services) a vehicle TWICE because I supposedly forgot to do something in my hurry to get out to the Air Sampling to get that done. And you know what? The thing I 'forgot' to do was an after action that is usually mistaken as a 'before' action by most reservists, and it was an item I checked After instead of Before. So I worked all day. Again. My fellow soldiers both worked half days. Now, there is a moral to this story, besides the fact that yes indeed this is a rant. It is a fact of the army that most people work about 5 days a week. Hours are very flexible, and sometimes, in a deployment situation, you have to work more then your five days. I understand that. That's part of the job, you work until you get the job done. I am deployed. As I see it, I am working seven days a week with an occaisional day off now and again. If I get the day off, then I'm lucky. If not, then oh well. Now what I need to get through my NCOIC's head is that he should discontinue promising me days off. Because as illustrated, if you promise me a day off, it won't happen. And I wouldn't have been as upset if I hadn't counted on having this day off. See, I was going to use the day to do some research for a talk I'm giving in church tomorrow. I would have used the entire week to prepare it, except for the small fact that I was in a Hearing Conservation Class all week and have been busy with that. Then on Friday, I found out about my Air Sampling Task, and 5 minutes before going to the airport I found out I was going. Yeah, that's right, it was a last minute thing. I guess I could have started on my talk yesterday, except for that MASCAL excercise that took two hours of my evening. And so, the lesson is learned. I can't count on having a day off. I'm deployed, and I shouldn't expect it. Supposedly, I'm supposed to now take Sunday and Monday off. I think I'll just take Sunday. Because if I count on Monday, I'll find myself in the office anyway. When I'm sure he's done and has no further use for me, then I'll retire to my room early. At least, that's what would make sense, don't you think?
Posted by Erickson on 8:34 AM : (((
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