ku wait

I've been in Kuwait for about a week now and it's been a busy one. I've had to run a bunch of machines through a baselining process inorder to ready them for some training.

No sweat right? Well. It's all cool until 15 machines come up missing. I didn't sign for them (owner-reliability type stuff) so supply begins it's quest to hunt them down. After about 4 challenging hours, the supply officer (who is busy getting other business taken care of) asks me to help is troubled team out.

Thus begins my quest to complete my primary mission by doing someone else's primary mission.

I found out that computers weren't accounted for prior to shipment here (well they were but it was pencil whipped) and, long story short, I manage to find some 35 of them by walking obscene distances in the heat out here while, the supply staff basically dumps the job on me.

Lame huh?

Well. Now I've pretty much let those last 2 "go" it's really some one else's job and I'm not quite feeling the team spirit anymore.

I'm also going through the process of making myself less accessible through invisibility. Which means, I tend not to eat with my fellow staff, hang out with them, or basically do a whole lot of anything near them.

They tend to confuse favors for responsibilities and they also tend not to understand what my job really entails.

Less pain for me and my peace in my mind.

I managed to get all the machines through the mill and this afternoon I plan complete my personal check on all the serial numbers and whatnot ensuring what I checked in has successfully made it back to my unit from the IT department.

There was a lot of other drama regarding an access roster. 20 of the 25 machines I've been pushing through are for a training event. Those 20 took priority over the 5 I put in when we first got to the camp and so we've only had 1 computer to work off of in our TOC (tactical operating center).

It was registered under my name and I allowed free use of it to other staff peoples and their subordinates provided they maintain an access roster.

I bought a book of paper and explained to everyone how this was going to work and what would happen to me (I could get in big trouble, b/c of the circumstances, the roster covers my booty). So for 1 day it worked out great. Then people stopped maintaining the roster. Then the roster disappeared. Then I told a corporal on duty to secure the laptop for me, guard it, and tell anyone who asks about the computer why it is no longer useable by staff and who told him to do it.

Suffice it to say, he reveled in this task. I also swipped my plugadapters from the TOC b/c for 4 days supply has failed to resource me with 220 plugadapters for our laptops (we can't plug the laptops into the wall sockets without them).

Let's not forget this isn't much of an issue b/c the installation has more than 40 computers freely accessible in the library (where I am currently) and a computer lab.

I think staff wants this machine for shamming (army term for slacking off) purposes. It makes them look busy, they can contact home, all without having to be around other people and, good Lord forbid, having to wait for access.

In any case, I'll be out of here soon. Gmail is having issues for me here and I'll respond to emails soon.

I'll repost when I get settled in my next locale. Thanks for reading - oh and I finished "Gates of Fire" it was a fun, entertaining, and amazing read. I highly recommend it.

ct