Entry #15: November 8, 2005

Wackernheim, Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany (just west of Mainz and the Rhine River)

McCully Barracks

France is burning. No, it’s not the Deutschers this time, it’s their own people. It’s their tired, their poor, their huddled masses burning and destroying, fighting a system they view as unfair. Is it fair? To be honest, I don’t know, but the chief complaints seem to be “we’re poor, uneducated, and unemployed.” These problems seem to all go hand in hand, like wine, smelly cheese, and… um, socialism. It’s creating a war-like environment not dissimilar to the one they refused to participate in—Iraq. Is it the system? Is it the government leaders? This situation also parallels the civil rights riots of the 1960s here in the States. Is this what France can expect? Has a civil rights movement been born in Europe? I find this to be a situation that should be closely monitored by not just every single country in Europe, but also by those of us in the United States. How will this affect the euro and trade? Will the disenchanted in other European countries join le resistance in their own lands? I’d keep an eye on this if I were you. This has plausible effects on social change, economics, and even racism in Europe.

Well, I’ve spilled my socio-political economics ramble out there. Which means one thing, I don’t have crap to do but farewell ceremonies. Those are ridiculously boring and do little but to waste Soldier’s time. Sure tradition is a good thing, but the only tradition in these ceremonies is a brief recitation of the unit’s glorious past. The rest is some Colonel quoting Sun Tzu while we all stand at parade rest, trying not to lock our knees and pass out. For this next ceremony, the brigade deployment ceremony, we have a whole day of rehearsals (we’ve got to practice standing even though we started doing it around 10 months old). Sounds like a fun week.

One more thing, just for the record, I am the battalion “King of the Road” go kart champion. These were no, putt-putt bumper car go karts. These babies went 70 kilometers an hour (about 45 miles an hour). After all the trash-talking, the good ol’ Southern boy takes the prize, proving to everyone that yes, we talk slow, but it’s only cause our tongues have a hard time trying to keep up with how fast we drive.

D-Day (Deployment Day): Wednesday, November 16, 2005. And so the Soldier’s life continues…