...all I got was this lousy cold! That's right: not even a t-shirt. Just a runny nose, a congested head and an achy body. But, for my trouble, I learned some pretty fascinating things in class! I was there specifially for that reason: to take a class...what kind probably isn't really important, but let's just say that I wound up talking about tank accidents for a solid week...
in a class full of tankers. That's right: I was surrounded mostly by people belonging to tank crews. Now, tanking being one of the very few jobs that
isn't open to women in the military, this made for a very interesting week. I was one of only 3 women in the class, and the other two weren't very friendly, so that meant that once I showed a little interest in actually understanding what in the world they were talking about, I had no shortage of guys willing to explain to me the nuances of tank munitions, SOPs, policies and procedures...you name it. Now, why was this relevant? Well, the better part of the week was spent reviewing Army "lessons learned" which are basically analyses of accidents and recommendations for avoiding further casualties as a result of accidents. Not just tank accidents: we talked about fires, engineering accidents, car accidents and water accidents, like drownings for example. But, as it turns out, tank crews have
lots of accidents. Accidents of all kinds: big ones, little ones. Usually big: obviously, they're huge machines. You can roll 'em if you're going too fast and they have a whole lot of firepower, and all of that contributes to the potential for disaster. So I learned a good bit about what to do (stay clear of a flying aftcap after you fire: it's hot! Watch your bushing: if it's worn, you're gonna throw track!) and what not to do (don't load your Howitzer backward, and by golly if you do, for Pete's sake, don't open the breech!) And if you don't think that sitting there saying things like, "Uh, negative" instead of a simple no, and talking about 50 caliber machine guns all week didn't make me laugh, you'd be wrong: it did. I laughed a lot. And people laughed with me, and at me, and at how clearly out of place I was! But, at the end of the week, I wound up in charge of a lieutenant, five enlisted soldiers and a random civilian as the leader of one of the groups tasked with giving briefings at the conclusion of the class. By the end of the class, I was even saying junk like, "Roger that," and even as it came out of my mouth I could barely keep a straight face. I think the guys there appreciated that I tried...it's just 90% hilarious, I think. And really, when my friends in Texas used to make fun of me and give me a hard time, joking about how I was probably going to be the first
airborne orthodontist in the Army, I think that what would have
really cracked them up is seeing me act like I was going to be the first on a
tank crew! Nah, not really. So, I'm sure all of this begs the question: was it really relevant, all this stuff? Yes and no. Some of it was, but I wouldn't bore you with that! And the stuff that wasn't? Hey, it was still interesting...I got to be out of my little department within the Army to see what everyone else does. And so, for just general military knowledge, it was pretty interesting. I just can't believe (still) that I'm on the inside...it's a pretty fascinating perspective, and I'm definitely seeing things that I never thought I would. And that's why it's still an adventure....
