Well,FINALLY,things are starting to get wrapped up for me out here at Fort Lewis.......I've got the results back from my medical board,and,yup,they'll be retiring me-AGAIN.....guess sometimes you gotta do something TWICE,to get it done right.Not sure how much longer I'll be out here-I'm optimistically hoping to be home in time for Memorial Day,but not sure if that will happen or not.The army,being a bureacracy like any other,runs on lots of mindless red tape,which most definitely moves at the proverbial snails's pace,so I'll have to be patient.BUT-I don't do the patience thing well-never have.All of us here in the wounded warrior battallion are about ready to go out of our gourds with the waiting game,and all of us simply want to move on with things-either being medically discharged,retired,or returned to duty,depending on the nature of ouyr individual cases.I had requested COAD(continuation of active duty),but the board ruled that I was medically unfit to continue serving.Oh well-I've got 27 years under my belt,between active duty,national guard and army reserve.(actually,in my 201 file I have an award dated December of the year 1900,so I must REALLY have 108 years of service.I'd kinda like to see the paycheck for all of THAT back pay.....)Anyway,I've spent more than half of my life as a soldier,in one capacity or t'other,and its time to hang it up.All is not lost though.......I'm looking at getting a job with ROTC,as an instructor-44 states have a program where they're picking up retirees,in the rank of staff sergeant and above,to mold the minds of young cadets......boy,can I traumatize THEM..........I don't plan to try to get in to that for at least another year or so though-got plenty of issues to work on other fronts when I first get back,and I'll be drawing both my army pension,and supposedly a pretty fair check from the VA as well,so keeping the wolf from the door won't be TOO bad for awhile,anyway.Plus I want to get caught up with stuff on the house,and just take it easy for awhile,if I can.Yeah right-the wife says I'll be going out of my gourd if I'm not working at something,and methinks she's right on that one......but we'll see what happens.In the meantime,just waiting to get out of here-trying to keep occupied the best I can,watching lots of movies,and hanging out in the kitchen of the barracks a lot,and occasionally going out with the boys and singing REALLY bad karaoke.Theres a group of us here,four of us,who the others haved dubbed "the four horsemen of the apocalypse",and we REALLY give karaoke a bad name......but it passses the time.just picture myself,a guy named Tony the crazy wop,a black dude from south Alabama,and a dude from the backwoods of Oregon,all TOTALLY butchering some Jimmy Buffet......just glad the crowd did'nt throw stuff at us.

Anyway,just waiting to get up on out of here,and get my happy ass home