Day 222

For those of you who do not know, my trip to Germany in March produced a MRI which showed that I need to have surgery on my knee. Due to certain restrictions during the recovery and rehab process, it is deployment ending surgery. The doc told me that since I've messed up my knee as much as possible, I can wait until my tour is compete and have the surgery upon my return to the United States. For those of you who provided me with your advice, thank you. I really want two things; to get out of here and to get on with my life. I need to be on orders for a year and a day to qualify for 60% of the new GI Bill, so I need to wait until my tour comes to its natural completion. If I leave too early, and get less than a year and a day, I'll receive 50% of the new GI bill, and that extra 10% will make a big difference over 4 years. So, here I sit, waiting for another 128 days so I can leave. I've decided to have the Army do the surgery and keep me on orders until I am medically cleared. I was a bit concerned over this option. My room mate's brother was here on an earlier tour and needed surgery upon his return. It's been a year since his surgery and he is still on a medical hold. We have a soldier who left here in February for surgery on his arm, and he is still waiting for the surgery to take place. Upon further questioning of my room mate, I've learned that his brother was shipped home for both the surgery and the recovery. At my screening at demob station, it is my intention to beg, plead and, yes, even cry if necessary, to have the surgery done in Minot at the Air Base and also do the rehab there. Even if I can't get in my car and drive all over the U.S. when I get back, at least the Army can pay to fix my knee and keep me on Army orders, and Army pay, until I'm cleared. And even if I am on orders and can't start school full time in January as I had originally planned, it gives me an excuse to spend the spring and entire summer pulling my camper all over the States. I'll have an extra month, or several months, or several extra months of pay to spend, so why not enjoy it? Baseball in outdoor stadiums; jazz festivals; Disneyworld; Disneyland; camping the Florida Keys; deep dish pizza in Chicago; a philly steak sandwich in Philadelphia; being a dead-head and follow Jimmy Buffet around the country for a month; spending four weeks touring the entire Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.; camping in every national park in the lower 48 states; having an ice cold beer on Bourbon Street in New Orleans; maybe even fly to Europe and spend time as a tourist. I'm already old as hell, and starting my life over again is a bit silly now, so what's another few months, if need be? And if I have complications and I'm on orders an additional 4-1/2 months, with my acculimated leave, I'd hit the 18 month mark, which means I'd qualify for 70% of the GI Bill. But with my luck, I'll be on orders an additional 28 days or something like that, and come home about Halloween. It is what it is, and in this case, it is what it will be. In case you're wondering how it is, the eight of us in the HHC section are all ready to go home, now. The fun of this deployment has run out. I am the only one in HHC not of the Kansas Guard. To my knowledge, there is not ONE of us who will remain in this unit upon our return. I know I've whined in past posts, but it's beyond that now. We're at the point where we expect to be treated like dirt by everybody else. If I didn't need that GI Bill money, my knee would have a sudden and painful flare-up tomorrow morning. Oh well, it is what it is, and whining won't fix stupid. At least, it hasn't yet. :)