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Episode 27: August of 2005 - Week 2
August 19, 2005 5:30 a.m. (Baghdad Time)
Al Asad, Iraq
By LCpl Sincioco
Revised on August 20, 2005
"The only possible conclusion the social sciences can draw is: some do, some don’t."
—Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)
Corporal Weller and Sergeant William’s interim replacements arrived: LCpl Bearden and LCpl Sawyer
LCpl Sawyer
LCpl Sawyer is well spoken and well mannered. He reminds me of someone I used to know when I was a consultant for Lante (another programmer). He’s fairly easy to get along with and funny in his own way.
“I have autophobia,” he told me.
“What’s that? Is that a word?” I asked naively.
“Yes, it means you’re afraid of being alone.”
“Auto-phobia, that sounds like automatic fear.”
He laughed.
“I get attached to people easily, and I have a hard time letting go.”
“Well, that makes the two of us,” I said.
“For instance, I used to see my wife every weekend. And every Sunday night when we parted, I would cry.”
“Wow, you must be a really passionate guy.”
Now, I said that last sentence with a bit of excitement because I found a commonality between LCpl Sawyer and myself. When I was a kid back in the Philippines my sister used to visit us every weekend from Manila, the capitol of the Philippines, where she went to college. I lived in Bulacan which was about 2 hours away. Every Sunday, every time she gets on that tri-cycle to go back to Manila, I used to cry. My sister never brought us up to be cry babies, so I cried only after she left—so she wouldn’t see me.
“Have you seen the movie Titanic?” I asked.
“Yes, I love that movie, there is so much passion in that movie,” he said fervently.
“Oh I know, tell me about it, I saw it 7 times in the theater.”
“I’ve probably seen it that many times, but on DVD.”
“When I was home last time, during the holidays, I watched Pearl Harbor. Have you seen that movie?”
“Yes, I love that movie too. And…in fact, I watched it last time I was home too!” he said with excitement.
“This is crazy,” I replied.
The truth of the matter is, I haven’t actually met anyone who likes both Titanic and Pearl Harbor—Sawyer is the first.
PFC Healey
If you want to know the truth—assuming you can handle the truth—just ask PFC Healey.
“The Marine Corps is fucking stupid,” he said.
“On which part?” I asked.
“Why do Data Marines get evaluated the same way as grunts?”
“You mean the pros and cons and rifle range?”
“Yes!”
“You know, I was just thinking of the same thing a few days ago.”
Then, there came the room issue. Bravo Company’s main body has arrived, so they kicked everyone out of the Tin Cans who are not staying for the next rotation. Yep, that means Cpl Weller and Sgt Williams are now miserably living in tents.
“That just doesn’t making any fucking sense, Sin. Why would they move you considering you’ve been here in this Tin Can since forever,” he asked frustrated.
“I don’t know,” I replied.
“Some people are just so retarded,” he vented off.
The Room Fiasco
Bravo Co. decided to re-shuffle everyone’s room, even those staying for the next rotation. There was a designated Tin Can, or two, for all 8th Comm Marines to move into; myself including.
I wanted to stay in my present room, where I have been since February, but I knew no one in the new Data Platoon. I asked MSgt Dubay, the old Data Platoon OIC, but he said he was powerless concerning the new room situation. As the old cliché goes, “Good thing comes to those who wait.”
So, I waited…
An Opportunity Knocks
On the day of the move, I still haven’t come up with a plan to try to convince Data Platoon to let me stay in my room, until Sgt Amos came in.
“Hey Sin, can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure.”
Sgt Amos is from Data, Alpha Co (Schuster’s old Platoon); he is rolling over for the next rotation to Bravo Co.
“GySgt Mangan wants you to develop an application similar to what you did for 1stSgt Holt,” he told me.
“That should be no problem, what did she want exactly?” I asked.
“Well, I got the requirements; I’ll email it to you.”
Sgt Williams over-heard the conversation and was not pleased that Bravo Co. is already asking me for a programming favor. He told them that I’m going to be busy for a little while as we train our interim DSID operators. But, what Sgt Amos presented was just the right opportunity.
The Art of Diplomacy
About an hour later, I saw GySgt Mangan on the hallway. I laid down my Lance Corporal Chevrons, put on my corporate diplomatic hat, and casually approached her.
“Hey Gunnery Sergeant, how is it going?” I greeted.
“Hi, Sin,” she replied.
“I heard from Sgt Amos that you want some sort of platoon database created?” I asked casually.
“Yes, 1stSgt Holt was so impressed with the database you created for him that he was speaking highly of you and recommended that I speak to you,” she told me.
“Another satisfied customer,” I thought.
“Well, you just let me know what you need Gunnery Sergeant. Anything is possible given enough time. And time we have plenty of, 7 months to be exact,” I said enthusiastically.
She laughed.
“I’ll let you know shortly exactly what I want. It should be very similar to what you did for 1stSgt Holt. In fact, we might be able to use that as a starting point.”
“I’ll email you what I did for 1stSgt Holt, so you can see exactly what I did for him.”
“That sounds good, Sin.”
“Well, I’ll talk to you later Gunnery Sergeant.”
Sometimes all that diplomacy calls for is a little encounter in the hallway. GySgt Mangan and I had never talked to each other until then. Talking to her in person sorts of puts a face to who LCpl Sin is. Now that I have verified that she needed something from me, it was time to let her know I needed something as well.
Hook Me Up!
GySgt Mangan was busy overseeing the movement of furniture in the Data Shop. I walked in there to see what Healey and Kleman was up to. I waited for a little while until I saw an opportunity where GySgt Mangan was not as busy.
“Can I talk to you Gunnery Sergeant?” I asked.
“Sure, Sin.”
We walked in the hallway.
“I realize that you are all trying to put the 8th Comm folks in one Tin Can, but I was hoping I could stay in my present Can. I’ve been in the same Tin Can since February,” I pleaded.
“Oh, I didn’t know they were moving you, Sin. I’ll go speak to the Staff Sergeant in the Company Office and have that taken care of. You should be able to stay in your Tin Can. It’ll be no problem at all.”
“Thank you, Gunnery Sergeant.”
Healey, Kleman and Flaherty all got to stay in the same Tin Can too. Healey was supposed to move also, but he was resourceful enough to find a way to convince GySgt Mangan to let him stay—by emailing her and pleading his case. A PFC writing a Gunnery Sergeant an email. You got to love Healey! So, none of us had to move. Two new people moved in to our Tin Can, LCpl Baldwin and LCpl Williams. I actually like these new roommates of mine; they are more mature, polite, courteous and not to mention more organized!
Game On. Game On!
After many months of talking about it, I finally did it. I bought a desktop and a 17” LCD monitor and had it shipped here to Iraq. It will probably take a month for the desktop to get here, but it’ll be worth the wait. I’m slowly trying to turn my tactical work environment to a more commercialized one, complete with a table, reading lamp and a desktop computer. I’m only as productive as my computer, and I’ve always found laptops very limiting especially in the area of gaming. Just because I’m in Iraq doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the latest games. With my new computer, playing games will be utter joy.
Let the games begin!
—LCpl Sincioco
United States Marine Corps,
8th Comm BN, Support Co., Data Platoon
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."
—Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
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