Workin' on a Building...

So what is my purpose thus far? On the surface my duty title is the Deputy Brigade S4. In short, Logistics: Supply & Services, Transportation, Property, Accountability, Food Service, Budget, Ground Maintenance. I oversee 15 Soldiers to ensure that our units have the beans and bullets they need to fight this war. Believe it or not, every dollar is vetted through multiple levels of authority and every single piece of Army property that is lost or damaged demands a full investigation (which can result in losing a month's paycheck!) To give you an idea of what I deal with on a daily basis here are a couple quotes/comments recently overheard in our section. 
-From a First Sergeant: "Sir, my company needs ice cream and cupcakes to fly our missions." Really? I didn't know the Chinook came standard with a freezer and mini-bar.
-From our Colonel: "I want a life-size statue of Rocky" (the bulldog, our 3rd Infantry Division mascot designed by Walt Disney.) 'Sir, perhaps they have that on Amazon.com' is not the correct response. 

The above all occurs within the confines of a cushy chair. However, it is my goal to spend at least 1/2 of every day outside of the office, and my 2nd job allows me the flexibility and authority to do just that. I've also been tasked as the 'Facilities Manager' in charge of coordinating a massive movement of our operations to the other side of the base. Bagram is an Air Force base, thus the Army is normally treated like a 2nd class citizen even though we outnumber them and, arguably, our helicopters have a much greater combat impact than their jets and cargo planes. My job is to coordinate all these projects with the Air Force powers that be, Architects, US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Army itself. This involves almost daily meetings to discuss floor plans, electrical requirements, land approval, and safety requirements. In the past month I've learned the following:

• that hiring 15 local nationals for a week to dig a 3' trench is cheaper, if not faster, than renting a backhoe.
• the suitability of pre-cast concrete for construction in a seismic environment (two 5.0+ earthquakes so far)
• the noise produced by an F-15C at 95% after-burner on takeoff from 200m away (149dB)
• how to respectfully tell a room full of senior Air Force officers that it is idiotic to build a housing area for Army Aviators right next to the runway. (see stat above. Key words were "why don't you or your jet pilots live there?") I won that argument.
• that the HESCO barriers meant to protect us may in fact be full of mines and need to be moved (oops)
• if a building requires 4 months to build in America, take 2.5x that for a realistic estimate. 
• I've forgotten most of my West Point Systems Engineering knowledge but finally use it to my advantage.

So, this is my 'special' job in a nutshell. The command either trusts me or thinks I will do more good in this role than in a Blackhawk! Certainly not as exciting but fulfilling in a different way, especially if I can manage to get some of these projects completed in my tenure here. Praise God for keeping me occupied and safe so far.

That's all for now.