Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Poke me!!!

Yup Immunizations and blood draw day!
It started off with a chilly morning and we had formation outside the TMC (troop medical clinic) at 0545. Only to find out the clinic doesn't open until 0630. So after a chilly wait we all filed in to determine who needed what shots and blood draws. Even though I had brought my records and titers with me I still needed to get the Hep A vaccine (which Hurt!) plus Tetanus and Polio vaccine (who knew adults got polio???) and I had to have my blood drawn to verify my blood type. Some people had many more shots and blood draws and those lucky enough to be going to Korea had to get Anthrax. This whole process of course took a long time and I finally made it to class around 1000.
We spent the rest of the morning listening to briefs had some chow and then we were supposed to do our presentations. But instead we learned about Op Orders for 2 hours. Now, I spent an entire year learning how to write, give, and execute an Op Order. My direct commissionee classmates had to learn all of this in less than 2 hours. Let me tell you there was a lot of confused people. Plus our HW which is due Friday includes writing a complete Platoon level Op order from general information-not from a Company Op Order. Class finished at 1600 so I was able to go for a run before chow and now I have to do lots of HW, study for my Mid-term on Friday and finish preparing for my brief tomorrow. sigh.

Things I learned:
-They do not look at immunization records that took place before the age of 13
-You need a current PPD.
-The Hep A shot hurts and I apprently am one of the few gentically gifted people that can taste it. Yup it tasted like metal.
-It is very simple to get a mailbox here. Just go to the basement of the AMEDD building and they have a mailroom where you can sign up for a box. All you need is an ID and an address for them to forward mail to you when you leave.
-You get your letters and flat packages while you are in the field. Big packages you can pick up when you return Friday evenings.
-There are no running trails on post. Its either the track or the road.
-Rumor is that our tents out in the field are heated!

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