September 1st 2005, 0330B
I know that just this last post I said words to the effect that “the next time I can’t sleep…”, but I didn’t mean the next bloody morning, ok? It’s not as if I got to sleep early last night either, & I’ve had the grand total of 3 hours shut eye, so I’m not feeling so chirpy right now. This is faintly bloody ridiculous. And my plan of getting onto the net while everyone else is asleep fell flat because the bloody computer is password protected, which really isn’t helping my happy thoughts much. Where’s Kate Beckinsale when you need her? Having her handy right now would make being awake a far more entertaining prospect I can tell you :P
Anyway, I’m not going to bitch further about being awake at this time of the morning. One highlight of the moment is that this is bloody nice coffee that I’m drinking right now. God only knows what it’s called as the label is in Arabic, but it tastes pretty damn good so I’ll have to see if I can’t appropriate a few jars. That’s another thing I can do while I’m in town, get my hands on some of the local coffee. The factory is right next door, so it’s not as if I have to go far either :P
Money is a bit of an issue though, as I’ve only got something like $35 left & I don’t know when next I’m getting any cash allowances, so I’d best hold off on that till I find out.
The local brew isn’t the best coffee I’ve ever had, & I prefer the House of Coffees stuff that I normally drink at home, but it’s plenty nice enough & also bloody cheap. Cheap is never to be sniffed at :P I’ll try to get my hands on a few kg’s of it which I’ll send home by post. The military postal service to the external ops is something to be grateful for, as it’s basically free. I don’t pay a cent to send stuff home from here, & if anyone sends me anything here they only pay postage as far as a post office in Jo’burg, & from there the army takes over. The guys who live in Pretoria & Cape Town really score though, as anyone who wants to send them a parcel just has to make a turn at either Waterkloof or Ysterplaat air force base & deliver the package by hand, so they get any post a lot quicker than someone like myself from Durbs. They can also collect anything that gets sent home from the mission area, whereas I still have to rely on the SA postal service for at least part of the process going in either direction unfortunately. I’ve had Rob do a little shopping for me, & it’s going to be interesting to see how long the parcel takes to get here, & how long it takes to actually get to me when it arrives here in Burundi – the system isn’t perfect or error free, so it can sometimes take quite awhile to get your mail. Tiaan had 2 or 3 parcels vanish without a trace last year in the Congo for instance, & one package took 5 months to get to him. It’s quite rare that it’s so bad though, & it’s quite possibly the post office that dropped the ball then, and not the military.
I managed without getting parcels from home while I was in the Congo last year, as we received enough money in the mission area that I could buy everything I needed right there & I didn’t need to hassle about having anything sent up from “the States”. This deployment is likely going to be different though, as we only receive a little more than half as much cash & the cost of living is pretty much the same – you end up buying most things you need at the army canteen, at inflated prices & a shit exchange rate. We get shafted for at least 50c on a dollar at the canteen here, which is seriously bloody offensive. And I may just end up coming to rely on parcels sent from home in the coming months.
This is something I’d actually not intended to tell people just yet, as it’s not confirmed & I’d rather not cause needless stress. But it’s looking increasingly likely, so it’s only right that I let people know what to expect. I mentioned a few entries ago that the new OC had a disturbing rumour to relate, & it’s time I let you know what it was.
You may have noticed that once or twice I’ve made reference to “at least the next 5 months” that I’m going to be in Burundi, which is just a little different to “I’ll be home in February”. The reason for this change is that we’re hearing increasingly believable information that this deployment is going to be extended. Possibly until June next year, though late May seems more likely.
That’s right, next fucking May or June, 8 months or more from now. If this actually happens then I’ll have been away from home for a minimum of ten continuous months. As I say, this isn’t confirmed so it may change, but we’re hearing from very senior people at the HQ in Pretoria that it’s going to happen. And the worst part is that their reasoning makes sense & I can’t fault it. The President has evidently decided that he wants to withdraw from the mission to Burundi, as the objectives have pretty much been met with the elections that took place recently, & in future wants to send troops to places like Ivory Cost & Sudan where they’re needed more. It’s too early to pull out of Burundi now, so the planning is for May – June next year, which would be 3 months or so into the next contingents’ deployment. Economically it doesn’t make sense to mobilise & deploy over 1000 troops & support personnel for such a short period, & it’ll be far more cost effective to extend this contingents deployment instead. We simply can’t afford the expense, & that’s a very sad thought.
I can’t actually decide how I feel about this. “Weary” is about the closest description I can come up with. I know I’m not ecstatic about the idea & I have an idea that December is not going to be a happy month, which is when we would have reached the halfway mark if we were still coming home in February. Right now though, the thought is not so bad as it’s likely to become, as at this point it’s hard to tell the difference between 5 months and 8 – they’re both a shit long time from now. When your destination is already over the horizon, you don’t really feel it when it suddenly gets further away. At this point I can look at it as an extra R36000 of allowances at least that I’ll be receiving as opposed to an additional 90 – 120 days away from home. Ask me again in December or January though & I’ll likely be saying something like “fuck the money, I want to go home!”
But the truth is that I could really use that money, especially if I’m going to be out of a job in September. And before I start jumping up & down, screaming like a banshee, I also have to consider that I volunteered for this. Not this deployment per se, but this job. I wear the uniform, & I take the money they pay me each month, and as a consequence the army has the right to utilise me as they see fit. The needs of the organisation come before the needs of the individual, & if I don’t like what is required of me I have the right to seek alternative employment.
But again, this isn’t confirmed as yet, and in fact I’ll believe it’s going to happen when I don’t get on a plane in February. I’ve been too long in this army, & seen too many “definite plans” change to bet the farm on this. However, the sensible thing for me to do is get my mind around the idea that I’ll only be coming home in May or so, or else this is going to be a very difficult situation to cope with if it does come to pass. One thing to be grateful for is that I heard about this early, & that I’ve got time to get used to the idea – I’d have gone off like a tactical bloody nuke if they’d dropped this little gem on us at the last minute.
The “funny” thing about this is that I first heard about this on 23rd August. The very day after I typed up a post in which I said that I was taking bets that I wouldn’t be coming home when I expected. I’m laughing so fucking hard I could just fucking burst. I’ll keep people informed as to what’s happening in this regard though, & I’ll pass along any info I get as soon as possible.
Anyway, that’s it for now – I’m going to go have a shower before the bathroom fills up, not that I’m looking forward to a cold shower much.
Till next time then.
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