(25OCT2008)
It’s not very often that you see a 4-star General, let alone spend any time with him. The CG of AMC, GEN Griffin, visited Afghanistan last week and though his visit was short, some of us had an opportunity to have dinner with him – an intimate affair with 40 of his closest colleagues.
There was a private room in the DFAC, though my hopes for better food are dashed. It’s the same chow I always eat. His schedule is tight, so there’s a quick once-around the room when we say who we are and who we work for. He asks each of us where we call ‘home’ in the States, and to a few people he asks further quick questions.
When it’s my turn he asks me how long I’ve been here (“Two months, sir”) and how long my tour is (“16 months, sir”). My latter answer raises eyebrows throughout the room, as most tours are 4-6 months for civilians. I think it’s buys me some credibility with some folks I’m still getting to know professionally.
The GEN oversees the awarding of two bronze stars to redeploying soldiers I work with, and gives coins to several others. Every commanding officer has a coin – an oversized metal coin with his/her unit’s insignia and/or other fancy imagery and slogans. They’re used as commendations, and most people who’ve been around the Army have at least a few. I have 3 or 4, though I can’t remember where I’ve left them…
We spend no more than an hour with the GEN before he’s whisked off to high-level meetings with the folks running the war in Afghanistan. He’s in country only for a few days, something of a farewell tour before his retirement next month.
CG = Commanding General
AMC = Army Materiel Command
‘Materiel’ is defined as ‘equipment and supplies of a military force.’ A friend of mine used this word in her résumé when she left her job with the Army and to all of our frustration she was told twice by potential employers that she had made a typo.
DFAC = Dining FACility
‘Redeploying’ is defined as ‘leaving theater’ or ‘going home’. It of course sounds like you’re ‘deploying again’. I have suggested we use the term ‘undeploying’ but it hasn’t stuck yet. I’m still trying.
