Anyone else stuck indefinitely?

[AregularGuy]

Here we are with the end of our tour coming up. Just waiting for our counterparts to make their way to and through Ft. Hood. Bam! Coronavirus hits and now we can count on at least an extra month on the tour due to 14 day quarantine coming into country then 14 day quarantine returning to US.

Oh, but wait, our host country has closed their borders so now no one coming in. Last I heard was Hood might also close or delay our back fill because they haven't started movement there yet. So now we are delayed indefinitely. And locked down on post. It may be many months before I even get to go home even when back in the States since I am headed to WTU for surgery. I am still mission capable so I insisted and they kept me around. A hell of a way to finish my first deployment. All in all we'll have some stories. Charlie Mike.

[stormvet]

Darn man I’m sorry to hear that, brings new meaning to ‘hurry up and wait’. As much as it may suck stay positive and do something constructive (study, train, workout) and goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway...thank you.

[AregularGuy]

Hey I appreciate it, thank you! I am just keeping in the rhythm of the daily routine. We're not suffering and certainly there are worse places. Although the only place to eat now is the DFAC since any other on-post shops are closed.

Even though the Post is locked down and no one has been sick, we now have to maintain 6-feet "social distancing" at all times, walking around, in line at the DFAC, etc. So that means the line for the hand wash sinks and CAC-in at the DFAC was out the door tonight. But, we can still work face to face with patients in the CSH, lol.

All local civilians are under a national curfew and they run some of the MWR places on Post. As of tomorrow the gym is closed until further notice. I got the bright idea to try my hand in the stock market. I realized within 2 days why I am not rich. I will find another hobby until I get home. Thanks again!

[AregularGuy]

The worst part about all of this really is that I cannot be at home to take care of the loved ones. I see and hear updates from leadership, information is changing hourly it seems. While the news from CA, whole State on a shelter in place order?, gets worse daily. Usually you hear about your family members worrying about the Soldier. I think this is one time when things are actually better/safer in the deployed area than at home.

[AurorA56$$]

Wow, that sucks ***

[tomk556]

That sucks, hope the family back at home isnt too upset. That’s honestly my worst nightmare: being thrown into the situation where there’s no clear end in sight and no mission to perform.

[Snoopy47]

How bad would it suck to be in Basic in the middle of all this?

[GeeBee49]

That's a tough break for sure. Hang in there.

[GeeBee49]

How bad would it suck to be in Basic in the middle of all this?

When I went through basic training last century Ft. Ord was under meningitis control. They were especially cautious about new trainees arriving on base.
When we lined up for anything we maintained three foot intervals. In our barracks we hung our shelter halves on one side of our bunks as a sneeze barrier. Trainees were restricted to the company area during off hours. We had white tags sewn on our fatigue shirts above our name so we could be easily spotted if we were somewhere we shouldn't be.
Today's situation is much worse so I can't imagine how they're dealing with it.

[sonofeugene]

I arrived at Fort Ord in June of '71. Same thing.

[GeeBee49]

I arrived in August '69.

[AregularGuy]

Well, new 60-day Stop Movement Order this week. Two weeks after the last one. No cases here yet but our hospital is bracing for CoV-19. I'm still working with patients until they tell me not to. Leadership is in a constant state of Powerpoint preparation. I found that working out with pull up, dip bars, and various rocks amassed in the PT area is pretty tough! Oh, I made back the money I initially lost my first 2 days playing the stock market. Was up $2k after that! but now back to even after yesterday. Oh well. For giggles I've been giving haircuts (Free of course), doing my part to maintain the standard! I'd say I'm a 6 out of 10. Barber shops on Post are closed. I've done 4 so far.

Stay safe an healthy everyone!

[skosh69]

Well that sucks Sir. Hey, I'm from Concord!!!

A friends son just graduated from Ft. Benning and they're not getting shipped out to their first duty stations.

[JR18]

How bad would it suck to be in Basic in the middle of all this?

[AregularGuy]

Well that sucks Sir. Hey, I'm from Concord!!!

A friends son just graduated from Ft. Benning and they're not getting shipped out to their first duty stations.

I don't doubt it. We had an exception to policy memo signed so we were still scheduled for movement back to the States. Being a medical unit we were considered mission essential. Not so with the new stop movement order. It seems no one is going anywhere.

I would be happy to buy you a cup of coffee when I get back and when things get back to some sort of normal.


Yes, I got the message that all ceremonies and gatherings are cancelled. Everything is shut down. Funny that the Soldiers seem to be nonchalant. The higher command is deadly serious. Our Post commander chewed some asses the other night in the DFAC. He walked up on a group that was sitting too close at the table. He had them call their Company commander and tell him to get down there immediately. Most of us left before the show started.

You are correct, everything is constantly changing. Try not to get frustrated with differing and opposing instructions and guidance. That's the norm on a good day, it's just happening much more than usual now, lol. Eventually we will settle in to some regular routine and things will get back to normal. Keep an eye out for your buddies and fellow Soldiers alike, and also look after yourself; physically, mentally and spiritually.