So here, on these pages, I will recount the adventures I had while in South Carolina, which may not be exciting to some, but for me, it was an experience of a lifetime. I went down in order to attend the Postal Operations course the Army gives for people in my job. Though as I had known before going, but more than likely you did not, it is an inter-service course, so Marines, Navy, and Air Force all attend the school. Fort Jackson, South Carolina is a hot, humid, and groggy place I have detested since I was here for AIT, thankfully in AIT I had friends to get through it. I had to make new friends this time, which was okay, besides, what could I of expected? Some of the old AIT folks attending the same school at the same time I did? No, though such a thing would be awesome, it was unlikely to occur.
So what did it feel like to be back in Fort Jackson? I am glad you asked, because I was just going to tell you how strange it was to see all the old haunts. There was a certain amount of nostalgia for the simpler days, when all I knew was school, and the eight other people I had to live with. Call me crazy, but it was not the place I was most nostalgic about, it was the people. All the intricacies, eccentrics, and conflicts had a place, and it made it fulfilling to go through school. Though it never felt that way when I was there, after it was over and I was gone and unlikely to see them again, I missed them. You never truly miss something until you no longer have it. That is so true, and I have experienced that in more than one way. Right, well, back more on to the point, the first week was fine, got to hang out with Christopher Dresnek, my previous supervisor as he was up there for his Advanced Leaders Course, and that was fun. However, it is taken up by in processing, and learning the ropes of military mail.
Second week stood out most when I broke out of my shell a little bit and actually started talking to people, that makes time pass easier, when you are not quiet and people seem to genuinely want to talk to you. Getting into conversations like, “I wonder if someone invented this,” to which my reply was, “They had to of, otherwise it wouldn’t be around.”
Hearing things like, “I feel poofy.” Makes waking up at five in the morning worthwhile. At Charlie Training Support Battalion, you will get a whole mix of people from all over, and it makes for some fun times.
The greatest of those first two weeks was a situation in which Staff Sergeant Hollingsworth and myself were completing an exercise and SSG Hollingsworth decided to show me how to endorse a package by using one of his stamps saying, “You endorse this package with this stamp, like this” while pressing the stamp onto the paper. When nothing was stamped, he stared in amazement that it did not work. Then, looking at the bottom of the stamp and saying, “But it doesn’t work unless you take the cover off,” classic SSG Hollingsworth. (Before you scream and yell about using real names, I got his permission before I even wrote down the quote. Just putting that out there, take it or leave it.)
Third week came upon us as first platoon and we were assigned duty platoon for the week. Not a bad gig just had to stand in front of the formation every morning with the guide on (company flag). All the other duties were usually the kind the Army has, like a police call (picking up garbage) and therefore unpleasant. The bonus that came with being in third week was that everyone was a lot more comfortable with each other, making class go by a lot easier.
When it came time to be in week four, I was feeling good, prepared to face whatever lay ahead. That is the funny thing about life, there is always a surprise waiting around the corner. Good, bad, ugly, and the indifferent, the important things are made with our bare hands, through work, hard work. The easy way through life is never the best, making lasting relationships takes effort. Wednesday night was incredibly chancy and anything could have gone wrong at any point. That was beside the point however, because I went looking to have fun, and I left having an experience that will stay with me for a long time coming. Who knew karaoke could forge such lasting bonds between friends? I did not until Wednesday at the local bar.
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