The last month or so has been quite a whirlwind- and yes, that's my excuse for being so tardy with my posts! Not long after my ride south, a group of us flew out to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA for a week of meetings. It was an exhausting week of program discussions and of saying good-bye to a truly amazing group of professionals. Those program discussions and farewells would become the theme of my days for the better part of October.
The cycle of military transfers is a unique evolution. Known as a PCS (Permanent Change of Station), receiving orders to a new duty station starts a cascade of events and emotions. There's the excitement of moving on to a new challenge and meeting new people, but that's usually tempered by the feeling that there's so much more left to do at the current assignment and having to leave good friends. For those of you who have never experienced PCSing personally, it's hard to articulate how all-encompassing the process is. Every project you've worked on must be either finalized or readied for your replacement. As is often the case, not only will your replacement likely not arrive until well after your departure, but sometimes your replacement may not even be identified before your departure. So take a moment to reflect on how you would ready every thing you do at your job for an unknown person coming in after an unidentified gap of coverage. Even with the benefit of communicating with your replacement, it's hard to download all the history, contacts and documents necessary to provide them with context needed to help them succeed. Beyond the actual workload, when you PCS, you are leaving behind all your co-workers, friends and routines. It's not like they all fall off the face of the earth, but the dynamics as you know it ceases to exist once you process out of your job and locale. Most of us that have been around the block a few times understand that although you can always go back to a place, you can never go back to that place in time that it once was to you. I speak from experience- this is my 12th move in the last 23 years- 2 of which were overseas relocations. I have to say though, having professional movers do the packing and loading and being able to purge my household every couple of years makes the physical move much easier!
So with this context and a bit of melancholy, I will share a few of the events from the last two weeks.
On my last day of work, our office had an historical field trip known in the Army as a "staff ride."
Fort Bragg and the surrounding areas are full of civil war sites. When I'm out riding my bike, I usually stop to read historical site markers and have visited some of the buildings and cemeteries described on them, but none of them were civil war sites actually on Fort Bragg. With a few cups of coffee in us and enough snivel gear to guard against the chilly day, we gathered for a brief on the Civil War Battle at Monroe's Crossroads from an archaeologist and cultural advisor at Fort Bragg. He set the stage for what we were about to see out in the field by putting the battle in context in regards to the phase of the Civil War in which it occurred, the mindset of the local population, local economy, weather conditions, background and personalities of each of the leaders involved.
It's one thing to read about a battle that happened nearly 150 years ago, but it's another to stand on the actual battleground with an expert helping you to visualize how it unfolded. Armed with the nuances of the event from the morning brief, I was able to really put myself into the boots of the Civil War Soldiers who fought in the battle. Well, I put myself into their heavy, uncomfortable uniforms and situation as much I could as I stood on a peaceful piece of land in ACUs swaddled in snivel gear and cushioned combat boots!
At the conclusion of the staff ride, everyone rallied up at a local Thai restaurant for my farewell luncheon. I LOVE Thai food and Fayetteville has no shortage of excellent Asian eating establishments. Truth be told, my last week in Fayetteville included three lunches of Thai cuisine!
The final farewell was held at the home of my friends Jess and Dano. If you follow this blog, you are already aware of their culinary prowess from my
post on camping with them a while back.
Although I'm no longer in the Navy, my current work environment is similar to that of a pirate ship, and as such, is often referred to as the
Black Pearl! Our office is one-deep each of subject matter experts (SMEs) in about a dozen disciplines. Representing our individual expertise beyond the capabilities of one-person usually requires us to resort to any means necessary to get the mission accomplished. Although we don't plunder or pillage (for the most part), we're not above going above, around or, quite frankly through, anyone who stands between us and mission success. Since skulls and crossed bows or knives are already prevalent throughout the SOF community, it was inevitable that the pirate skull and crossbones became the symbol of our efforts. Dano did the reference proud with these pirate chocolate cupcakes made from scratch (including the icing) for my party!!! Christi, Jess, Dano, Rob, Barb and I ate, drank and laughed until our sides hurt. It was an unforgettable evening with great friends that I already miss.
My last day in Fayetteville offered me one final visit to the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. This was the third year I went there to honor Veterans Day; this was the third year that the weather was absolutely gorgeous and offered a crisp, cloudless backdrop for the flags posted everywhere.
With so many celebrations commemorating my time at Fort Bragg and quality time with good friends and exceptional co-workers, I was able to leave feeling satisfied that my tour here was productive and that I am ready for the next assignment. I drove the 14 hours between NC and LA straight through and am now hanging out at my parents' house for a few weeks before reporting into Fort Sam Houston. I'm sure I'll have some food pics to post before leaving for Texas as I spend some time at home with my family...
Although our Thanksgiving meal does include the uniquely Cajun dish of oyster dressing, the majority of what she prepares on Thanksgiving is pretty much the same as the rest of America. The turkey is traditionally baked, not deep fried and the sweet potatoes are cooked with brown sugar and topped with marshmellows. It's not the uniqueness nor the complexity of the dishes that make the meal so delicious, it's the environment in which it's prepared and served. My parents, brother and sister, niece and nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles all enjoy each others' company and value the time we spend together as a family. It's within the context of breaking bread with those we hold dear that the foods we share bring about a visceral feeling of home, of family and fond memories of those no longer with us. It takes a great cook to get all that onto a table!! And speaking of tables, I'm still at the kids' table! That's me with Philip and Gavin at the folding table!
The temperature was in the mid-70s and the sky clear and windless. After eating, we all hung out outside under the carport and played games. The board games change throughout the years, depending on the ages of the "kids" and what's available, but trivia games are always a hoot. My nephew Andy brought over his washer game. For some reason, beanbags seem a little too Yankee, so they are substituted with metal washers down here- yes, the kind you use with nuts and bolts. I don't know the history of using washers in the cornhole toss game, so if any of my Southern readers care to comment, please enlighten me!
As usual, the day ended with everyone lying around the TV watching either football or a movie. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving day surrounded by all you are thankful for! 
