NMPS - Day 1

Rather than spend the night in Baltimore, I was able to correct SATO ineptness and secure a flight all the way to San Diego via a stop in Salt Lake City. It didn't help that I was freely hallucinating from jet lag but I wanted to see if I could get to San Diego for demob processing sooner than later.

I arrived in San Diego around 2100 on 15 Oct after a trip of some thirty hours. I checked into the BOQ at 32nd Street Navy Base and had no trouble falling asleep.

The next day, I reported to the Navy Mobilization Processing Site (NMPS), the same building I went to last year to start my mobilization journey. As I walked to the building I saw an enormous line of people in varying types of Navy uniforms (officers in Khaki, aviators in flight suits, enlisted sporting the new khaki and black uniforms) all waiting to get mobilized. Poor bastards. I tried not have an overt smirk on my face as I walked by in my well worn Desert Camoflauge Uniforms. I got a few appraising glances as I walked by -- a senior officer returning from overseas. Yeah, been there, got the tee shirt.

Fortunately, the demobilization process didn't have so many people. I saw a Navy chief petty officer I knew who had gone over with me, plus two other petty officers I recognized from the rotator flight from Kuwait.

On this first day, we filled out forms, and ran a gamut of medical and dental processing. Blood was drawn for our annual HIV test, vital signs taken, a dentist looked at my teeth. At the end of the day, we had a legal brief. It was better than average progress and I was glad for it; I wanted to finish by tomorrow to avoid having to spend the weekend here doing nothing.

That night, I had dinner with my Navy friend Dave who I served with in a helicopter squadron years ago. He and the squadron had gone to Iraq on several detachments at the beginning of the war but I was unable to join them at that time. It was good to see him. We had an excellent Italian dinner where I spoke broken Arabic with the head waiter who was Palestinian. I enjoyed my first glass of Chianti since last May. It was good although it made me sleepy.