My 200th post! Collect them all!

They sent me here with a new team this time, only two with prior Afghanland experience, but everybody’s worked in this section of the world before. I’ve got an electrical, two architects, and three civils, including myself, which strikes me as one civil too many. In the contract, I’m actually a “military planner”, but I’m pretty sure that only means “skilled kibitzer”. Mostly, they’ve got me assigned as team leader on this one, not quite as glorious as project manager, but I don’t have to deal with the Company accountants.

Our project manager, safely ensconced in the home office, needed someone to watch over the production team in country – to make sure they get in and out of theatre, find their billets, show up for work, bathe regularly, and don’t make nuisances of themselves. I don’t really have much of a technical role, which leaves me obligated with the task of cat herding.

Seriously, all of my team are experienced and skilled professionals. They know what’s expected of them and take the necessary steps to accomplish their work. They are self sufficient, but perhaps to a fault, which is where the cat herder comes in, to ensure that they don’t go so far off of the reservation that they can’t be recalled if need be.

Unlike cats, though, these guys don’t sleep for twenty three hours a day. Tim and I are up at 0400 to hit the gyms before the crowds. Jim’s up soon thereafter to get on line. The others stagger up and out by breakfast at 0600. We’re set up in our construction trailer office by 0800 and hard at it well into the evening, with four or five coordination meetings and group interviews each day, analyses and inspections, hypothetical discussions, theoretical and hard design, and just plain old bullshitting.

As more detailed information is needed and time allows, ones or twos will break out and pursue base personnel, make some measurements on site, or pester the operators of the various physical plants. Armed with a schedule of the day’s events and a detailed scope of work, they’re off and doing their independent thing. Actually, they’re a relatively good group, and they don’t need much from me. Like any good cat herder, I know that they’ll be in for supper.