New Moon, New Day, Same mess

Well nothing is new in the wonderful world of BIAP. Actually pretty much staying in line with the norm you know making mistakes, firing people, putting out fires, creating a few more, having no regard for human life. The security guys here do a rotation so that there are always 8 people on break for one month. Just as soon as the last few people got back they were back on the job the very next day. No rest from the jetlag no time to zero their weapons (making sure their sights are aiming properly) just back at it. The same thing happened today with our new Mechanic that just got here today or so that’s what I beloved manager said. Not even 24 hours after he gets here he is on his way to a job that’s 2-3 hours away. Not to mention the fact that the security team worked in the field all day and wasn't told about the job till the evening before. This has to be the most poorly managed operation I have ever seen. I look back at the other managers I have had in my life and wonder if they were all that bad. Not only that, but they have no respect for their workers, but expect us to respect them, ya right when cows fly over the moon.

See we have Local Nationals living here with us as I have previously stated. The only thing is they do not have access to the chow halls like we do. So either we bring them food or they don't eat. The thing is us bringing them food is stealing from the American people. Now I know some may think that’s a bit extreme, but if you knew how much it cost per meal here you wouldn't think twice about it. Well not everyone likes the idea of bringing them food and so sometimes no one does and it really doesn't have anything to do with what was stated above. It's the simple fact that when a person works all day the last thing they want to worry about is someone else. I can't say I blame them, but I don't get to eat at the chow hall too much either so it really doesn't apply to me. Anyway Ray has complained and cried about it over and over again about us bringing them food back from the chow hall when we go. Now this raises a few problems as well even when food is brought back for them to eat. One they are a society deeply rooted in the Muslim religion there are lots of things they don't eat it’s a culture thing. Now I could eat my moms smothered pork chops till the cows come home, but they just well not even look in the direction of a pig. A lot of times food gets wasted and has to be thrown out. So after months of his complaints he has decided to build a chicken and hire a cook for them. The question comes to my mind is why hasn’t he done that sooner and not for them, but for our benefit. I am in passive mode so I just keep it to myself and let everyone else complain about it.

Now yesterday I got an email from Ray in regards to the food YET AGAIN and I will quote:

" The LNs here hope everyone enjoyed their dinner tonight, because they went to bed hungry."

Now this is from the man in charge of the camp. Now mind you he has barked and barked, and every time he starts off I think to myself here he goes again, then I look at him and it reminds me of a little Chew-wa-wa barking it little head off and I smile to myself and listen intently (not really I day dream). The thing that gets me the most is HE NEVER GETS THEM FOOD.....!! Just like a flippin bad manager to complain to everyone else and do nothing himself. I have a motto a good leader leads by example not by his mouth. That’s all he does is bark orders and do this and do that. I seriously think he is the wife in his relationship and he takes it out on us, but that’s just my personal opinion and nothing more. That’s funny I just came up with a nickname for him, SUNSHINE... Not because he is a Ray of Sunshine, but more like the girls name lol... Anyway back to the story. Well I told Mrs. Dubs about it and I wanted to say something considering the fact that I work 12 hours a day on the night shift and I hardly ever get to eat either. My Mrs. convinced me to leave it alone, besides I’m the only black sheep here at the moment so I have a tendency to stand out (no I mean literally I’m the only black guy here the only other one left is on break right now). So surprisingly his email got a response and it goes as such:

"Ray I consider email a tool , So I ask everyone not to send me stupid jokes and letters , or forwards from anyone . This letter falls under that catagory . Please refrain from including me when you get the desire to send out snide or tacky comments , but I do have a solution if this was a plea for help. suggestion #1 fix the problem instead of treating the symptoms suggestion #2 teach them 3 letters " MRE ", there is 20 cases of them in the proposed "kitchen area " , I ate MREs 2 meals a day for 7 1/2 months during Desert Storm , and I sincerly hope your not gonna tell me that the " LNs" are better then our own soldiers this would upset me to the point were " I " might send out a Tacky email . Oh by the way I dont eat in the Dfacs myself I eat In the comfort of my room so I dont have too stand in line , Or sit in a crowded room with a hundred other people , I have a micro wave similair to the one on the shelf in the day room , I wish you luck with your problem sir ! ! !

Neal C."

I laughed my butt off when I read this and just said kudos to you Neal. Not long after that Ray emailed back with an apology I wont bother posting it not really worth the email it was sent on let alone my blog, but before anyone read the response there were 2 more emails from the guys at the other camp. So then the other manager responded and this is what he said.

"Guys I have seen several comments and would like to stop it, because your comments are not appropriate, and please keep your advices for yourself. If you are not eating at the Defac, then the email from Ray was not addressed to you. MCI operations will continue to build a strong team and will act as a big family, anyone don't want to be part of this team, then I think he is at the wrong place.

Dhiae"
Now why is it we haven't heard from our fearless leader, why is it he couldn't respond himself. Well Neal took it upon himself to reply once more.

"DHIAE YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT A TEAM , YET YESTERDAY WHILE IN THE RED ZONE DOING A PM ON A SITE ...I WAS TOLD BY YOUR BUDDY MAURICE THAT HE WASNT HERE TO WORK HE WAS HERE TO WATCH US WORK, I REALLY NEEDED HIS ASSISTANCE AND ASKED FOR IT TWICE , THIS IS NOT A TEAM THIS IS BS , IF YOU DONT WANT MY ADVICE ON PROBLEMS THAT YOU CANT POSSIBLY FIX ,OR AT LEAST HAVENT FIXED IN 18 MONTHS THAT IS FINE WITH ME , BUT DONT TALK ABOUT TEAM , A TEAM IS ONLY AS GOOD AS ITS WEAKEST LINK .... AND THIS IS NOT THE PEOPLE WORKING IN THE FEILD ALL DAY .... Neal C."

Well you can guess what happened next, rumor has it he was fired, then I heard that he quit, but changed his mind after a couple of the guys talked to him, but I have since heard that he has quit again, or got fired one of the 2. Well whatever it may be I hold on till I have heard from him directly so as far as I know it is business as usual...

A BIG MESS (as stated in the title)

One

K3