July 26th, 2015
Fort Bragg, NC

Well, after a 2400 mile trip across the country, I arrived at Fort Bragg on Friday at about 1400.  My orders said to report first to Lubbock, TX, but I had been advised to ignore that and report to Fort Bragg.  The orders then said to report to building 3-2525.  I checked with some impossibly young privates manning the gate who gave me a general direction, but not with much confidence.

So, after a stop at the PX barbershop for a good sheering, I started what became a 90 minute quest to find the building.  This involved much stopping to ask directions and was complicated by the fact that all buildings here have two building numbers and are not necessarily numbered consecutively.  This is also a big post.  I finally found the building, but it had a sign out front saying it was “DivArty” or Division Artillery.  Not a good sign.  But a helpful SFC in the S-2 shop had a phone number to call (I was, apparently, not the first reservist to show up there upon being mobilized) and I finally found the correct building.

So I reported in about 1600 and managed to get a small amount of paperwork done and at least get a schedule for in-processing starting Monday.  It looks like there isn’t really a lot to do and I may be complete after peeing in a cup on Wednesday morning (so the Army can be assured I’m not a crackhead.)

I was hoping for a “Statement of Nonavailability” for housing so I could stay in a motel, but no such luck.  I was assigned a room in the Reserve transient barracks.  The room itself isn’t bad, but the buildings and grounds are poorly maintained.  A private furnished room in a 3-bedroom suite with a shared kitchen (sans stove) and bathroom.  Each floor of the building has four such suites and this area has about 60 of these buildings, plus a few laundry buildings.  Units mobilizing for deployment can sometimes spend a couple of months at mob station, so this area might at times be quite full.  The whole area could easily house a battalion, though there are probably only about 30-40 others here.  I have my building to myself.

Reserve Transient Housing Area

My Humble Room

Decorated in Early Quartermaster

The laundry building has signs inside that say “Clean up your mess.  And that applies to Psyops and JFKSWCS people, too.”  While proffering no opinion myself on this matter, it would appear that someone is saying the Psyops and Special Operations folks (housed nearby) think their shit doesn’t stink.  Or at least that their messes don’t count.  Again, not me sayin’, but someone…

So, instead of hanging around here all weekend, where I know no one and have no fellow unit members to hang out with, I drove up in western North Carolina Saturday and spent the night in the pleasant little town of Franklin. Kind of a long trip for just one night, but it beats hanging out alone at Fort Bragg.

I’ll almost certainly be back in these same barracks for a few days a year from now when I demob.

If I can clear here by noon on Wednesday, I’ll try to make it as far north as Gaithersburg, MD, that night.  Then on to Fort Drum, NY, on Thursday.  I have a deposit down on a 2-bedroom furnished apartment in Watertown, but don’t think I can move in there until the following week.

Addendum

One thing I forgot to mention: These barracks have no WiFi. In fact, they have no Internet at all. I hesitate to share such troubling news with the public at large, but think it is important for my loyal readers to understand the harsh conditions we mobilized Soldiers are forced to endure. Private room, hot showers, A/C, sure…but no Internet.