En-Mic-Pees, Part II

I finally have demobilization orders. However unlike a majority of Navy reservists here, I had to actually had to argue to get them. As I originally feared, the fallout from the fact my originally designated relief, a navy lieutenant who shall remain nameless, was medically unqualified culminated in a bureaucratic SNAFU of large proportions.

When I originally got my relief’s name last June I didn’t get any kind of contact information which is very unusual. After some phone calls back to the States I found out he was assigned to Naval Operational Support Center (NOSC) Jacksonville, FL. After some more emails, I received confirmation in July that his mobilization orders had been cancelled because he was medically unqualified for mobilization. (This of course begs the question: what the hell is he still doing in the reserve component collecting a pay check every month.) I tried pinging the system, as it were, trying to raise awareness that my billet was now unfilled. Before leaving for TDY in Qatar, I got confirmation via email from the powers that be in the States were working on it.

Upon returning and finally being able to check my work email, I found notification that a volunteer had been found but that he had some civilian work commitments that precluded his getting to Iraq until 4 December. There was an email for me describing this that originated with the Navy and that had been passed and forwarded up through MNF-I’s personnel system. By the time it got to me it was phrased as a question: would I consider extending on station an extra fifty-nine days in order to minimize the gap in coverage?

To say my head exploded would be an understatement.

I took a deep breath and crafted an email saying, no, I would not consider staying here two extra months in order to accommodate another reservist’s schedule. The problem now was that I had less than sixty days left on my Boots on Ground (BOG) clock and that is the minimum number of days required to notify a reservist that they have orders.

Aside from getting killed, this sort of SNAFU is everyone’s worst fear here: that because a faceless system doesn’t work, you, the guy or gal in country, have to pay the price and extend in order to cover for some bureaucrat’s failure back in the states of not properly finding your relief.

To make a long story short, I received some top cover from our directorate’s deputy who made some phone calls and pointed out asking me to stay two months extra was the not the best solution. Eventually, the navy found another replacement for me who will arrive here 14 November, roughly a month gap from when I am supposed to leave. The colonel who runs my shop said I should leave on time and that he was willing to accept the month’s gap. Not an optimal solution for my shop but there it is.

After this was sorted out, I called NAVCENT DET Iraq, the activity here who tracks Navy billets, and explained what was going on. They finally issued me demobilization orders which, for reservists, is the Golden Ticket for getting out of here.

When I got within forty-five days of leaving, I put in the appropriate requests for scheduling my rotator flight and transition program in Kuwait. As I write this, I should be set for an on time departure from Iraq in early October. Ultimately, the journey home will include stops in Kuwait, San Diego, and Alameda but I’ll write about that as it happens.