Stryker Brigade News

(Insert sound of hands clapping to get people to move more quickly about here)

He is looking better today since he's been on antibiotics. It was also cooler today, so we're not sure if the thermostat was actually repaired this morning or if the A/C didn't need to work so hard. We're still having some "issues" with equipment (the 300 pound gorilla thing), but being a polite 300 pound gorilla who knows how to make friends is having a good effect as well. I really don't like to shake tree limbs and act like a primate (although I know it would be very cathartic under the circumstances). I'm deliberately not going into too much detail here because: a) I want to give the good people a chance to defeat the evil (read: lazy) people and b) I'm making private bets with myself as to how long it takes to get the problem fixed and which "horse" will come in first as being able to get the job done and c) It's become a dark comedy. One day I'll share, I promise.

We got through Animal House today and I avoided making a "double secret probation" joke as a d) choice, above.

We had an official visitor today. A Lt.Col. came in the room and asked if Scott was up for a visit. I was awaiting a friend's call for a visit and I figured this officer was checking to see if a visit was appropriate before letting him in. We all looked around and figured a visit would be nice, so he went out and came back in with a Navy Captain and Mr. Bradley M. Berkson who was introduced as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics and Materiel Readiness). He was a nice enough guy. I gave them the standard briefing on Scott: What he was doing when he was wounded, what his tasks were in Iraq, what his unit was doing and where, how much ass they kicked and how many names were taken. I also pointed out by name his physical therapist at Bethesda and the MEDFAC staff at Walter Reed who had been so good to us. I was a good boy and did not mention the physical plant problems and added him and the two officers to the list of persons who have not noticed the obvious. He gave Scott and his mother each a coin from his department. The coin is pretty nice as these things go. I was also polite and did not quote Napoleon in their presence ("It is with baubles that men are led.") For more information this gentleman, check out http://jax.acqconf.com/2004/Speakers.htm for his speech bio.

After the visit, Scott spontaneously began to speak of the ambush. He related the incident fairly well, but background noise and failing batteries (damned hearing aids) hampered my understanding. Not so much charades playing this time around. I initially thought he said he recognized one of the men in the car, but this was not the case. It seemed to me that he said the car went by with one man and then came by a second time with the shooters inside, so heads up over there, guys! We are avoiding the subject of SGT Demand until Scott can express himself well enough to deal with that. We're pretty sure he knows someone died and that he watched him do so, but did not know him well. He did say that you never know who is your friend and who is your enemy and when an attack might occur. Sounds as ugly as I feared it was.

A speech therapist came after Scott told us about the ambush. (She just missed his talking fairly clearly for ten minutes or so.) She gave Scott an aphasia screening test. Scott is able to cover for his losses by acting irritated with the level of the questions of the test (as if "point to the bed" insulted his intelligence). The therapist said she wanted to see him again tomorrow and praised what we had been doing to that point. We discussed the VA brain rehabilitation centers and learned that Walter Reed really wants to get soldiers out to these centers quickly to get the rehab going. The delays are often caused for medical reasons as many soldiers have significant wounds to heal besides the ones to their brains.

Again, we're trying to be patient with our current problems and not act like parents whose child didn't get to play until the 4th Quarter. It can be frustrating, but we're hanging in there and discussing the issues amongst ourselves to make sure we're being even-handed and accurate. There is a chain of command here and I know how to yank it and how to move up it. I would rather do neither.

ST