Here are: 2011! It’s gonna be a year of changes for the Army. The biggest change, of course, being that DADT was repealed. We will also be getting a new Sergeant Major of the Army sometime in the next six months. I’m gonna miss SMA Kenneth O. Preston. He was a good leader and someone I highly admired. While I don’t agree with all his decisions (Class A uniform design and ACU, to name two), he was a great mentor and leader to the troops. I always felt like he cares about the troops. His NCO professional development was focused and timely.

I’m looking forward to 2011. The last two have absolutely sucked for me personally. The suckiness was mostly internal and mental, but there were also things that could have been avoided. Like even thinking that I could enjoy going on leave.

Last summer, when I went to go pick up Emily from Montana, I had to take my laptop and CAC reader (an encryption device that allowed me to use my common access card to access military sites) with me everywhere because we had not yet completed Brigade training on the Defense Travel Service (DTS) and I was a single point of failure in approving orders and vouchers for military travelers. Not a day went by that I didn’t have to put out some fire, answer some question, or ensure that someone was able to travel. It was extremely annoying and completely ruined my leave, which was supposed to be fun having been reunited with my family after a 7 month absence. I missed some of the best experiences at Yellowstone due to work – like being able to watch a grizzly and her two cubs near the road in Yellowstone.

I vowed that, during my Christmas leave, it wasn’t going to happen again. Thankfully, I was able to get about 35 other Soldiers trained on DTS to where every company in the Brigade had a representative that could perform travel functions. I also had three competent DTS reps at the Battalion level and another DTS rep at the Brigade level to help me.

In November, I sent out an email to the Brigade that I would be taking leave in December and to submit their travel requests through mid-January prior to that leave. I worked my ass off the week prior ensuring that orders were approved and that everything was finalized. I was happy that I was actually approving orders for travel that wasn’t supposed to occur within the week! I was actually working orders that weren’t supposed to begin for almost a month. I had finally completed the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for DTS and had it staffed and approved by the Brigade Commander. Things were coming together and it looked like I was going to actually going to be able to enjoy some time with JUST my family. How could I be so naive?!

My leave effectively started on the 18th of December since it was the weekend prior to the 20th when it officially started. The 20th also marked the first day of calls for DTS issues. I made it a point that I was NOT going to answer my phone. If was important, callers would leave me a message and I would listen to decide if it was really important or just the result of someone not doing proper planning and expecting me to jump through hoops for them. I drew a line. I got called EVERY DAY that week! Amazingly, when the Christmas 4-day hit, I was given a reprieve for a few days while everyone else enjoy Christmas. You see, they won’t call me when it’s not convenient for them. To hell with what is convenient for me. After all, we only paid to have our parents flown in from Montana! It’s like we were really going to DO anything.

I like to think I’m a good NCO. I truly care about my troops and because of that I ended up doing a lot of work during my leave. I WANTED to tell everyone to pound sand, but my work ethic wouldn’t let me – much to the disappointment of my family. They were frustrated and deserved to be. My dedication to the job was literally ruining my vacation, which put me in a bad mood. Then, during my leave, I stayed up until 3am to complete orders for about 15 people that NEEDED to travel. I woke up early because Soldiers HAD to have their voucher approved. Others NEEDED to have their orders approved. One NEEDED to be released so another unit could create orders. Of course, all this NEEDED to be done WHILE I was on leave and simply couldn’t be done beforehand or even wait until after!

Other than today and the four days during Christmas weekend, I got at least one call EVERY SINGLE DAY. Those that left messages apologized for bothering me and promised they wouldn’t bother me again. Some simply didn’t care. The fact I was on leave just doesn’t rank high enough for people to concern themselves with. I mean, it’s not like I had Soldiers in jail, having marital issues, injured or dying. These people HAVE TO TRAVEL. And, of course, why plan when I can be forced to work issues whenever they come up without consequence? Planning is for losers! We’re an Army at war and need to be able to respond to last-minute contingencies as they happen. There is no time for thinking or coordination. After all, I was the one going on leave, not the travelers! They had plenty of time to handle last minute travel. It’s actually kinda funny looking back on it. All these people that want me to know that they “wouldn’t call me unless they absolutely had to.” Translated: “someone (or I) didn’t do their job when they should have, so now you need to bail us out.”

So, I’m looking forward to 2011. I’m hoping that I’ll be deployed this year and I won’t have to fiddle with simple things like taking leave. I’m hoping that I don’t get any time to relax and just enjoy a week away from my job. I really want to be a Soldier 24 hours a day and have it mean something – not just be a saying. I don’t want my family to get pissed because I have to work while we’re trying to get to a movie, a lunch with family, on the road between visits, or any type of relaxing event we had SCHEDULED during leave. That stuff isn’t important. What’s important is the mission! I’m an NCO an my basic responsibilities will always remain uppermost in my mind: the welfare of my Soldiers and the accomplishment of my mission. There’s a reason the creed doesn’t mention personal time or leave! Hell, I didn’t even have any time to compile my end of year ASP review.

I love my job. Really I do. I don’t say that in the same tongue in cheek fashion I’ve written the rest of this post. I love my unit, I love the Soldiers and the leadership. For the most part, I love almost everything about the Army. It’s time to move on. My leave (or whatever it was called) is over and I have a lot of IOUs to cash in! But, being the kind of NCO I am, I probably never will use them. Better get to bed. It’s an early morning!