Signs. Or Symbols. Or something.

Break. I need a break. Writing this summation of my “Rest and Relaxation” is taking it’s toll, I feel mentally winded. Rare is my pride but in this instance I want to put every important memory, every wonderful fact about my travels together into what I would like to believe to be one amazing story. Chances are it will sound like a rushed assault into madness, but it is what it is.

On the workfront (which spell check tells me isn’t a compound word) we’ve been busy preparing for…Well, nothing. But we have been busy. Mr. Pringles, in some strange and misguided attempt to justify his inability (i.e. lack of balls) to release us early each day, declared that we would be instructing one another in classes. My class took place today, and was based on a subject he decided upon. Signs. Or, Symbols. But not Symbology, which is not a word recognized by the English language dictionary, but is however a “science” the U.S. Army claims usage of. Symbology is having small, crazy looking symbols tossed onto a map to represent troop movement, both enemy and friendly. Color coded and everything.

But Mr. Pringles wanted me to brief everyone on Signs. After two days of clarification, it turns out when he said Signs what he meant was terrain features and the legend on the map. It took many conversations and varied approaches of questioning to extract that tidbit of info. And he’s the interrogator…

My class, tossed together at almost the last minute went well and I utilized a technique I had never really considered before: audience participation. I’ve included the audience when giving briefings before, if only to maintain their interest level. But this time I did it so that I wouldn’t have to do the work myself. And it was a success. A huge success. I don’t even know what I ended up speaking about, except that I forced those sitting around me to say it for me.

All in all, a success. Also it came out at work today that when the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) kicks in at the end of this month, we will pick up source operations rather than maintain a time sensitive targeting option [as the Iraqi’s will no longer authorize our presence inside of city boundaries]. So we will still have a role, although a completely different one, in the management of Mosul intelligence.