Time Out...

I'm taking a day or two off from diving the Great Barrier Reef. In the meantime, I had a chance to check my work e-mail and noticed that it's that time of the deployment...the time to pick your next duty assignment. Looking down the list of choices from the human resources department, it looks like the options aren't that great. Some of the choices are actually quite funny, though. A brief rundown:

1.) Probably #1 on the list is a stint in Colombia, which might be interesting, I must admit. However, when the tour is up and the Army looks at your file, they'll think that you haven't deployed for a few years, since you've been in Colombia and not in Iraq or Afghanistan. That means that you'll be first in line to deploy again when your tour is up. The truth of the matter, of course, is that Colombia might be just as, if not more dangerous as being in a massive base in the middle of Iraq or Afghanistan--there's no big guns to save you if you get picked up by the FARC.

2.) I could just bite the bullet and deploy right back to Iraq or Afghanistan again, only this time I'd be flying a UAV around. Believe it or not, this is actually preferrable when you consider many of the other options. (Bonus: I get to keep my dignity and won't have to wear the Army Service Uniform for another year!)

3.) The most laughable option is...wait for it...being an instructor at the Aviation Captains' Career Course. Yeah, that course. I wonder if the rest of the instructors there read Small Wars Journal...if they do, I might have an interesting reception. I don't know what to think of this option--I'd either be the best thing for the class and reform it, or I'd wind up getting fired within the first week. ("Here is the Soviet BMP-2. You need to know this for the test, but after that, just forget it, you'll never really need this again...")

4.) And finally, my least favorite choice--Recruiting Command. After asking around, I've come to the conclusion that most of the stories I've heard about recruiting are actually true. If this comes my way, just send me on the next plane for Iraq or Afghanistan...