Why I have been out of the Field

[Evicious]

Some of you may remember that I am in the military, and had previously declared in my thread about quitting smoking that I would be gone from the forums for a few weeks due to being sent out to the field. Some of you may also have noticed that, not too long after that declaration, I was once again posting on NF. This is the story WHY:

 

 

So, in the wee early hours o' the mornin', the dark o' night still cloakin' me car and no light t'speak o' in me trunk, I managed to misplace a piece of equipment that I needed for the field. However, I failed to discover that I had done this prior to our departure and it was only once we were gearing up that I realized my mistake. I was sent back to retrieve it the next morning, myself TCing and a specialist to drive us; we were both pretty stoked to be missing the hot hours of the day, and definitely excited about the prospect of showering (yeah, yeah, it was just 24 hrs since our previous showers - if you'd just spent that amount of time wriggling around in the dirt and humidity, you'd want a shower again too!) So we get back and do our thing (I grab my missing piece of equipment), and I decided to stop at the Shoppette for a cup of coffee and a bag of beef jerky to take back out to the box. I made my purchases and was driving back to the motorpool when an MP decided to pull me over for "not coming to a complete stop at the stop sign".

 

Alright, let me make this very clear: I am as anal about abiding by all the rules of the road as I am about all the other rules that govern my life - my whole career literally depends on me NOT fucking up. So when I come across red hexagons demanding I cease all forward motion, I obey. The problem with Ft Polk's stop signs is that the vast majority are set up anywhere between 10-15ft before the intersection they're meant to guard, which makes it near-impossible to see oncoming traffic from their location. Hence, you must stop and then creep forward until you have a clear view of the road. So YES, the MP did not see me stop at the appropriate location - because I was completely out of his line of sight until I was past it!  

 

Oh, don't bother holding your breath: my story gets even better from here!

 

So he runs my information through the system, and I'm growling to myself about how stupid he is and checking my watch because my window of departure back to my place of duty is swiftly shrinking, when he suddenly reappears at my window and demands I step out of my vehicle. I comply (because once again, my entire career hinges on my ability to adhere to civil laws) and he takes me to his car and has me assume The Position. Once my hands are firmly melted onto the hot hood of his cruiser, he radios for back-up and deigns to inform me that the reason he has me straddling his headlight like a camouflaged hooker is because my license is suspended.

 

                            

 

Long story short(ened), I end up searched, cuffed, and transported to the PMO for processing. Let me tell you, if you've never been handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser, you don't want to be! Uncomfy as hell. The whole time this is going on, I am straining to remember the last time I even got a ticket. How the hell could my license be suspended?! I mean, there was that one ticket I got right before I shipped out to Korea... but I paid that.... and... oh.... wait a second... I paid it but it wasn't until I was on mid-tour leave during my time in AFG that I found out I had to pay some kind of processing fee for the ticket.... they suspended my license then because I hadn't paid that fee... but I turned around and paid for that and the reinstatement fee, soooo.... why the hell would it be suspended AGAIN? I hadn't gotten a single ticket since - and that was almost 3 years ago!

 

Confused yet? Yeah, so was I.

 

I was officially charged with driving on a suspended license and all my driving privileges on Ft Polk were removed. I had to call my boyfriend to come in and move my vehicle from the side of the road, call my E-7 to come pick me up from the station, and THEN drive back out to the box, clutching my paperwork miserably the whole time and silently vowing to kick that MP's ass if I ever had the luck to catch him alone in a dark alley. I spent the remainder of the night half-heartedly firing blanks at G-man and wracking my brain for any possible reason my license would have been suspended.

 

The next morning it was decided that I should return to main base and begin sorting shit out (I'd have stayed in the box to do it, but there is ZERO cell phone service out there). Took me an hour and a half to get my state DMV on the line, whereupon it was discovered that a clerical error had been made in the database.

 

You heard me.

 

THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY LICENSE.

 

The squirrely-sounding man on the phone informed me that my driver's license status would be changed immediately, and he apologized profusely for the inconvenience. I admit, if he'd been standing in the same room as me, I probably would've dragged him on his knees - by the hair - to explain his information to my chain of command. As it was, I thanked him and hung up. LOADS of paperwork and 2 whole days later, it was determined that the entire situation was a complete cock-up and that I was free to return to duty in the field.

 

Which is where I am off to tomorrow morning, and where I shall reside until next Saturday. Hooray.

 

 

 

Still haven't smoked again, bee-tee-dub. It's the little victories that keep the world alive during my existence, I swear.

 

[JonDixonYT]

All this bullshit and stress and you didn't smoke?  Way to go!  That's awesome!

[illc]

If you can not smoke during this ordeal I think you've got this beat.

[Guest Dirty Deads]

It sucks that "sorry" fixes their mistakes huh? WTG on the not smoking even when steaming!

[Evicious]

Thanks all, and I think you may be right, illc - and that's what I'm shooting for.

 

See you guys next week! Out I go again! >_<