Just Row

I’m getting to the gym on most days; it is a welcome break in the middle of the afternoon. But with more visits comes the need to change up the routine. I usually mix 30 minutes on the elliptical with weights. But in the last few days, I’ve discovered the rowing machine. Lately, I’ve taken to rowing 5000 meters which takes around 25 minutes and is more strenuous than the elliptical machine.

Rowing also has a metaphorical meaning out here which is best articulated by a quote, posted in our office space, from the movie, Ben Hur: “Now listen to me, all of you. You are all condemned men. We keep you alive to serve this ship. So row well, and live.” So says Quintus Arrius. In many ways, the headquarters staff is the ship and we, the staff officers, keep it moving inexorably forward. From our narrow view, we can neither see the ultimate destination nor get a sense of the ship’s course. We can, however, hear the drum and see some of the water rushing by in between strokes.

With the holidays upon us, five of my co-workers are taking their mid-tour rest and recuperation leave and will be gone for at least three weeks, when travel to and from the US is taken into account. Two of my co-workers will first take their leave and then perform a three-week assignment on the east coast. In short, there are fewer rowers. The acting chief of our planning shop, the same Navy captain who greeted me in the transient tent on my first day, advised those of remaining that we’ll have to “row faster.”