These Boots Are Made For Walking

So part of my job while deployed is to plan medical operations.  Not like the buzzing, battery operated board game by Milton Bradley/Hasbro, but instead it involves figuring out where to put the pieces of medical equipment on a battlefield to help save soldiers' lives. 

Piece of cake right?  They teach that during second year of medical school.  Maybe there is a merit badge for that.

Oh wait.

I have never done this sort of work before, and every time I accomplish something or figure something out, I learn just how much I don't know and how much more work I have to do.

Factor in that the people who have been doing this job the last few years speak French as their primary language, and the learning curve has been steep and communications have been pretty difficult. 

The worst part has been walking all over on a wild goose chase to track down maps, medical supplies, battle group and task force contacts.  I have averaged a longer commute on foot here at KAF than my worst day of Washington DC traffic.  Now the Army gave me two very nice, very expensive mountain hiking boots right before coming to Afghanistan that were lovely to use in Alaska.  They are probably great for the rocky, mountain terrain where I will be when I leave this lovely air base, but for just putting miles under your feet, they have proved to be awful. 

Enter the fobit boot.  A Fobit is someone who never leaves the comfort of the base area or FOB(Forward Operations Base).  Another term for them is POG - people other than grunt.  Right now I definitely fall into both of these categories and so I purchased a pair of boots that are more basketball shoe than combat boot.  They are completely unauthorized for regular uniform wear, and have a zipper on the side for quick entry and exit.   I am sure that they were manufactured in a sweat shop that is probably not that far from here and they even have a Converse brand label on them  I am going to let you all in on a secret though - they are fantastic.  They have changed my entire perspective on KAF.  I now have a spring in my step. So even though it makes me look less infantry (which is an uphill battle as the nerdiest member of the infantry battalion staff), I am celebrating my fobit boots as I walk to my next stop on the scavenger hunt of planning medical ops.

This picture sums up the difference between the Fobit and the 11Bravo - the military specialty for infantryman.

Cheers for now