Chris' Deployment Journal

The next day began the stupid, poorly organized, frustrating process known as SRP (Soldier Readiness Package) which is the heart of de-mobilizing. We spent many an hour in this old theater, sitting around en mass, listening to briefings from finance, legal, the chaplain, etc.

Some of the first of the stupidity was when we had to take the time to sort all 300+ of our group alphabetically to help 'speed the process' along, yet the paperwork we were to sign wasn't alphabetical, so, in the end, it actually took more time.

The guy in charge, 'Les,' was a total, and self-admitted, ass. He spent more time telling us how long the process would take and how frustrated that we would get during the process, that he actually made the process much longer and got us all frustrated. Go figure.

On a separate note, at this point guys ironically started to complain about dehydration. Because there weren't pallets filled with water bottles all around us, as we'd become accustomed to in Iraq, we weren't drinking enough water. I had to be reminded that now we could actually drink water from the tap. I'd completely forgotten we could do that.