the jerk

somebody screwed up. i’m not sure if it was someone at the national guard bureau, CENTAF, AMC, or a combination (i’ve actually heard one person’s name repeated a few times from AMC, but i won’t type it here), but we have several problems with the next rotation’s manning here. i’ve already written about the 3-week hole that had to get fixed via extending one crew and having another come early (see “splitting the baby”). now i’m having to tell two of our doctors that they will have to stay 1-2 weeks longer than anticipated or scheduled. guess how well-received that news is? we also may have to extend one of our AEOT personnel. all of the persons who have been extended are active duty, which is easier to do than is extending a guard/reserves person, since if the latter’s orders end, he/she could become a civilian in a war zone, which ain’t legal. in technical military jargon, this is referred to as “turning into a pumpkin.” i’m told a replacement dr is coming early to fly with the other two members of the CCATT whose doc left early when her mother died; she’s supposed to be here today or tomorrow. i’m not the most popular flight commander in iraq right now.