When the Smoke Clears

Under pale neon lights people seek out the presence of other people. It’s a sadly quiet Saturday night at the on-post bar in Louisiana. A cajun bartender with frizzy red air watches over the place, a few tables with one or two patrons sitting in isolation spread across the large floor.

Behind me sits a slightly overweight soldier, hunkered tightly in front of his screen speaking into his headset as he participates in an online adventure with others across the world. The bartender asks in her gravelly, accented voice, “Any a y’all wantin a bit a pizza mebee? We can orders it up.”

This creates a small sense of camaraderie. We start to talk to each other a little, watching the same televisions.

Sports are on several screen. Another glow comes from the laptop screens around as this is the only place with Internet access. The quarters here are… lacking. Even as an officer, I do not mind sharing and I like that I am experiencing the same thing as my men. Our rooms only add to the melancholy of the place, where a mostly empty bar of quiet patrons is the happier spot.

In our rooms the showers could be thought of as “festive” in some cultures. A plain, dirty hole serves as drainage in the corner of a cement floor separated from the rest of the bathroom by a low row of bricks shows the mildew of past decades. Each of the many layers of paint reveal someone’s idea of making the space brighter, at least for that particular era’s fad in home design. From institutional mint green to turquoise to light brown to grey, each sheet flakes off in zones.

There is no phone. There is no heat. There is an air-conditioning unit in the ceiling with a sticker that warns: Danger: Contains Asbestos Fibers. Avoid Creating Dust. Cancer and Lung Disease Hazard. Seriously.

But I am here as part of a leadership team. I am learning suddenly and rapidly of my role in this unit, of all the things I need to be able to do quickly and efficiently. Actually I am having to function well above my pay grade as my immediate supervisors are all at other schools, leaving me in charge. It is a crash course for which I am ill-prepared. My commander has confidence in me, more than I have in myself.

For the time being, as I wait for documents to download, I will take a few minutes to post. It is easy to concentrate. There is very little noise other than my thoughts. And so it’s time to study.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS