Being the new kid on the block wasn't always easy (ie, the Alert prank) but making new friends wasn't that difficult to do. One Friday evening I was invited up to the second floor to a party of sorts --just hanging out. Since there was absolutely nothing else to do, I decided to go.
Take a step back. Nothing else to do really meant --nothing else to do! TV? Not really --just one station AFN (Air Force Network) that ran reruns and STUPID AFN commercials! Radio? Not really --just one station that played different genre of music, depending on the time of day. Internet? None. Shopping? VERY limited. Gaming systems. Not really. Videos? VHS --and A LOT of bootleg copies (no video rentals). Movie theater? One but you had to take a bus and no new releases --basically your dollar theater. Restaurants? A few downtown but on base just the NCO club *gag* with a limited menu selection. Reading? I tore through what books I had and with no library or bookstore in sight, that wasn't an option. Entertainment wise, not a whole lot of choices.
I went up to the room and there were quite a few people from our company there --I knew some of their names, others I struggled with since they were out of uniform and they didn't have a name tag on! I stood back a little, kind of shy when suddenly my sight and sense of smell both detected --at the same time ---
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? POT? MARIJUANA? IN THE FLIPPING ARMY BARRACKS? THEY PUT SOLDIERS TO JAIL FOR LESS THAN THIS!!!
No sooner than my senses became aware of what was going on, a certain something was passed and offered to me. Uh, no thanks! I couldn't get to the door fast enough in fact, I must have been running. Please don't let the MP's be waiting out here for me. Oh please let me out of here. I don't want to go to jail! I'm innocent. Will they believe me? Get out of here! GET OUT FAST!!!!
As I was making my way down the stairs in a running for my life fashion, a soldier came out from the room and stopped me, "Hey, where are you going? You don't party?" No, I assured him I DID NOT party --then he asked, "Are you going to tell? You gonna get us busted?" ME? GET YOU BUSTED? Uh, I think you're gonna get YOURSELF busted!!! I said to him, "I don't know what I'm going to do but I do know I don't want to be anywhere near you guys. Don't they ever send the dogs in here? Don't you know they run random urinalysis tests in the Army? Don't you know if you come up hot . ." He cut me off, "Man! That ain't nothing. We won't get caught. Come on back . ." Now I cut him off simply by walking away.
I went back to my room and I wasn't sure what I should do. Here I am in a foreign country and basically, I don't know a soul. I need friends to survive here. I had no idea who I could trust. That night I did nothing. I just stayed in the solace of my room however I did decide this was information I wouldn't keep to myself.
Eventually, at least two soldiers that were in that room that night ended up in jail on drug related charges. Others came up hot on a urinalysis (some mulitiple times) and got an Article 15 or other form of military punishment. It didn't matter if I told or not because the Army has its own way of weeding these people out. Random drug testing and barracks searches (drug dogs) always sift out the ranks. I might have always been in trouble for stupid things like walking down range during live fire or being outside in uniform without any headgear on but break the law? I don't think so --not military or civilian law. I lived in a healthy fear of the Army.
After that, I didn't go upstairs very often --maybe 2 or 3 more times (even then only for a specific reason and when I was with another soldier) or whenver it was required of me while pulling CQ duty. I was learning my way around the Army, my company, the barracks -- and I was also learning that unspoken language of the soldier. More on that tomorrow.
Take a step back. Nothing else to do really meant --nothing else to do! TV? Not really --just one station AFN (Air Force Network) that ran reruns and STUPID AFN commercials! Radio? Not really --just one station that played different genre of music, depending on the time of day. Internet? None. Shopping? VERY limited. Gaming systems. Not really. Videos? VHS --and A LOT of bootleg copies (no video rentals). Movie theater? One but you had to take a bus and no new releases --basically your dollar theater. Restaurants? A few downtown but on base just the NCO club *gag* with a limited menu selection. Reading? I tore through what books I had and with no library or bookstore in sight, that wasn't an option. Entertainment wise, not a whole lot of choices.
I went up to the room and there were quite a few people from our company there --I knew some of their names, others I struggled with since they were out of uniform and they didn't have a name tag on! I stood back a little, kind of shy when suddenly my sight and sense of smell both detected --at the same time ---
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? POT? MARIJUANA? IN THE FLIPPING ARMY BARRACKS? THEY PUT SOLDIERS TO JAIL FOR LESS THAN THIS!!!
No sooner than my senses became aware of what was going on, a certain something was passed and offered to me. Uh, no thanks! I couldn't get to the door fast enough in fact, I must have been running. Please don't let the MP's be waiting out here for me. Oh please let me out of here. I don't want to go to jail! I'm innocent. Will they believe me? Get out of here! GET OUT FAST!!!!
As I was making my way down the stairs in a running for my life fashion, a soldier came out from the room and stopped me, "Hey, where are you going? You don't party?" No, I assured him I DID NOT party --then he asked, "Are you going to tell? You gonna get us busted?" ME? GET YOU BUSTED? Uh, I think you're gonna get YOURSELF busted!!! I said to him, "I don't know what I'm going to do but I do know I don't want to be anywhere near you guys. Don't they ever send the dogs in here? Don't you know they run random urinalysis tests in the Army? Don't you know if you come up hot . ." He cut me off, "Man! That ain't nothing. We won't get caught. Come on back . ." Now I cut him off simply by walking away.
I went back to my room and I wasn't sure what I should do. Here I am in a foreign country and basically, I don't know a soul. I need friends to survive here. I had no idea who I could trust. That night I did nothing. I just stayed in the solace of my room however I did decide this was information I wouldn't keep to myself.
Eventually, at least two soldiers that were in that room that night ended up in jail on drug related charges. Others came up hot on a urinalysis (some mulitiple times) and got an Article 15 or other form of military punishment. It didn't matter if I told or not because the Army has its own way of weeding these people out. Random drug testing and barracks searches (drug dogs) always sift out the ranks. I might have always been in trouble for stupid things like walking down range during live fire or being outside in uniform without any headgear on but break the law? I don't think so --not military or civilian law. I lived in a healthy fear of the Army.
After that, I didn't go upstairs very often --maybe 2 or 3 more times (even then only for a specific reason and when I was with another soldier) or whenver it was required of me while pulling CQ duty. I was learning my way around the Army, my company, the barracks -- and I was also learning that unspoken language of the soldier. More on that tomorrow.
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