March 21, 2020
“Ignorance is Bliss” is a series detailing conditions and developments from inside an isolation site at Fort Bliss, Texas, housing US Soldiers returning from overseas deployments.
As promised, we started today with breakfast provided by a contractor, consisting of (drumroll please)…exactly the same UGR rations. Same food, just cooked by contractors instead of Army cooks. Rehydrated eggs, a chicken and waffle sandwich, bacon, and some snacks. (At least the bacon was finally cooked all the way. Not today, ISIS trichinosis!
They did bring us coffee this time, which is (sort of) an improvement. Not good coffee, but it’s the thought that counts. Fortunately, I’ve got the AeroPress, one of my neighbors in anoter building has an electric kettle, and I’ve got one on the way. Which leads me to today’s next misadventure…
Mail. The unit supporting us here may not going to deliver our mail out here, because of the “risk of cross-contamination.” I’m not going to say that’s illegal, because I’m (thankfully) not a lawyer, but 18 U.S. Code § 1701 leads me to believe that’s a little outside their lane.
More so, given that they gave us an address to ship to on Day Zero. So the five lb bag of Black Rifle coffee and the electric kettle I ordered? Going to be delayed. This may lead to a riot. The in-brief said “this is the address to get packages shipped,” not “don’t order anything.” In any case, they say they’re working on it, and I’m sure they’ll come through eventually. If I were any more crass, I would consider swearing here.
(A wise UPS pilot once told me that “profanity is a refuge oft taken by inarticulate fuckers.” Write that one down.)Dinner tonight was a nice change — burgers and hotdogs were a big improvement over some of the things they’ve been feeding us. They came with name-brand soda, which I really wish I didn’t like — I would be skinnier if I didn’t like Coke. (They didn’t have any of the right additives, though…)Today’s weather was more of the same, but with less of a breeze. Pleasantly warm, not miserably hot. I didn’t work out today, because I was a little weakling sore, so I’ll have to double down tomorrow. The deconfliction with the other quarantine cohorts for the run route has got a little ridiculous, so I’m going to stick with running inside the perimeter of our area the rest of the time. Gotta keep the cardio/conditioning up, with all this gourmet food we’re getting.
Disclaimer: I’m an Amazon associate, and some of my posts contain affiliate links. If you visit Amazon via my link and purchase anything (not just the linked product), I may get a small commission, which helps offset the cost of hosting this site.
Another disclaimer: I don’t represent the Department of Defense, the United States Army, or any other government agency. I don’t represent anyone but myself. Opinions expressed here are mine, and mine alone, primarily because I don’t care what anyone else thinks.
CFRs, totally a thing. Who knew? Drop the hammer! Give me a command address. I’ll send a glitter bomb.
Not engaging to read, but hard to misinterpret.
Cleared for fires.