NMPS, San Diego

On 8 OCT I flew from the Bay Area to San Diego to report to Navy Mobilization Processing Site (NMPS) San Diego, located at Naval Base San Diego. The government flew me from Oakland, CA to Los Angeles and then to San Diego. Not the most direct route.

On 9 OCT I reported to NMPS and began a week's worth of more briefings, more filling out forms, got measured for the Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCU), which all Navy personnel wear in theater lest we be confused as Army, and lots of time in Medical. I got a battery of immunizations (Anthrax, Smallpox, Meningococcal, and Tetanus). Our group included about a hundred Navy personnel from all communities (air, surface, subsurface) and disciplines (medical service corps, judge advocate general, supply, intelligence, etc.). Our respective destinations ranged from Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and Guantanamo, Cuba.

The whole process involved a lot of hurry up and wait evolutions, especially with medical. At week's end, we were (mostly) fully immunized and were issued an entire seabag of new DCUs and boots.

On 14 OCT we boarded a brand new Navy C-40A (Boeing 737) and flew direct to Columbia, SC.