Preparing to Go Nowhere

Hallie pulled into the clinic parking lot much like any other duty day: not-so-bright-eyed, not-so-bushy-tailed and a half-drank iced coffee. Breakfast might come later in the form of a granola bar or two, depending on how much cash she had in her pocket. She had gone out the night before, so it was likely just coffee today and she rolled her eyes at herself when realizing this.

She walked into the clinic and greeted several patients in the waiting area with a half-nod and a smile, but she wasn't perky enough yet to put thought into spoken words to wish anyone any kind of pleasantries.

Hallie walked into the cubicle area behind clinic reception and to her desk where she put her things down on top of her side filing cabinet. Flopping in her chair, she already knew she had at least 40 records waiting to be scanned back in and filed away from yesterday’s appointments and she was definitely not looking forward to the five inches of medical record paperwork that needed to be filed.

Hallie put the thought of records and paperwork in the back of her mind as she pulled out her ID card to sign into her computer. She was still getting used to this new dual-ID card-login card the Federal Government rolled out earlier that year. She plugged her passcode into her phone so she was available for any phone calls that came in while at her desk. Once she was logged into her computer, she opened up the medical systems she needed to get into for the day and then clicked on the Outlook icon: 47 unread emails, all new since she last checked it before leaving work for the day yesterday afternoon. Fortunately, a good portion of those were base-wide emails indicating the weather was dangerously hot for the day and for everyone to hydrate and take care of themselves accordingly. Hallie scrolled through, read, and deleted emails as necessary and fell into a rather dazed pattern of scroll, read, delete…scroll, read, delete. So far nothing needing immediate response or action and Hallie welcomed that for her morning.

Scrolling, reading, deleting and almost done without really any email of note and then there it was: an email from the Personnel Squadron. Hallie opened the email wondering what Personnel could possibly need from her. The email requested for Hallie to report to the Assignments Office. Could she possibly be getting orders out of San Antonio? Several of her friends had already received orders to other bases and she was excited for them, but was starting to give up hope on herself getting orders.

A whirlwind of emotion hit Hallie. Her time at Lackland Air Force Base was unkind at times. She was ready to go and start fresh somewhere else, especially since Texas was not a location she gave thought to three years ago when she was in basic training, day-dreaming about what her very first permanent duty station would be. Sure, she made the best of it but longed for a change of scenery in the form of a whole different state, maybe even country!

Hallie gained some composure, forwarded the email to her direct supervisor, logged out of the medical systems she wouldn’t be using this morning after all and locked her computer. She grabbed her car keys, cell phone, and hat…and coffee-she stopped herself short and turned back around to get her morning happiness. She wasn’t nearly done enjoying that coffee, and with exciting news in the air, she wanted to have that special sip of something decadent and different to tie the moment together. She took a sip as she walked over to Staff Sergeant Gomez’s office to let her know that she’d been asked to report to the personnel office across the base. Sergeant Gomez expressed her excitement for Hallie and gave the go-ahead to report to the Personnel Squadron.

When Hallie got to her car, she got in and took off her hat as she started the engine. Hallie was so excited she called her grandmother.

“Grandma, I think I got orders!”

“Oh, honey, that's great,” Grandma Lenore said. “Where are they sending you?”

“I don't know! I'm about to head across base now to Personnel to sign for the paperwork!” Hallie got out as fast as she could.

“You don't even know where you're going yet?!’ Grandma laughed. “You called me to tell me you were getting stationed somewhere new but don’t even know where yet? Funny girl, you go and then call me back as soon as you find out!” Grandma said.

Hallie laughed at herself, too, promising she would call back and hung up the phone, so she could drive from the hospital to the personnel building. She pulled into the parking lot, fussing to herself about how poorly designed it was, put the car in park, turned it off and put her hat on. Of all the things she clumsily forgot on a daily basis, her hat would never be one because she was not trying to hear some higher-ranking person (three quarters of the people on base) yell at her for a complete accident of forgetting her hat somewhere. She also wouldn’t be caught holding her hands over her head simulating a hat, running to and from her car and the inside of a building. That was the customary fix for when a servicemember was without their hat and Hallie thought it was the silliest-looking sight. No, she was paranoid about her hat. She secured her hat, making sure her bun was not compromised, got out of the car and began to walk to the entrance as calmly and reserved as she could.

Hallie saluted a Lieutenant and picked up her pace as she got closer to the front door. She reached the Assignments Office and signed in on their sign-in clipboard. Waiting her turn, she realized she needed to text her boyfriend, Evan. He had orders as well- to Germany- and so part of her wished Germany was where she was being sent. Then she asked herself if it was silly to hope for her next career move to be based on a guy she hadn’t even been dating a full year yet. She continued to type her message and hit “send.” This definitely added to the uncertainty of Hallie and Evan’s relationship.

Her number was called and Hallie stood up and walked toward the Airman First Class who called it. They exchanged greetings and Hallie explained why she was there. He brought her back to his desk, they both sat down and Hallie handed the gentleman her ID card. He looked up her information in his computer system and printed off Hallie’s orders. He put it in a folder along with some other paperwork and congratulated Hallie on her orders to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

South Carolina. South Carolina could be exciting. “I’m leaving Lackland and I’m leaving Texas and I’ll be closer to my family,” she said to herself. Hallie had work to do. Her date to be at her new base was February 5th, so that only gave her six months to make plans. Hallie called her grandma Lenore as promised, then her mom and grandma and grandpa. Over the coming days, she had informed everyone who needed or whom she wanted to know.

With the end of August being just far enough out from her report date, she was in a holding pattern: it was too soon for many of the tasks she needed to accomplish but she was remaining grateful because life was about to get so much more hectic for Hallie, and that didn’t include the Holidays.

Hallie was three months to her departure from Lackland. She was following all of the checklists she could to ensure she stayed organized throughout the process of moving. At times it was exhausting. Nonetheless by now Hallie had married herself to the immediate future and found herself often imagining what life was going to be like at Shaw. Who would she make friends with? Would the one apartment complex she really liked have an opening when the time came? How were her and Evan going to proceed? What college would she enroll in once she got settled?

Hallie was checking her emails one particularly uncomfortably warm November morning before getting started on her tasks at work. There was an email from the Personnel Office. Hallie opened it.

“Your orders to the 4th Medical Support Squadron, Shaw Air Force Base with a report no later than date of 5 February 2005 have been cancelled. Please disregard previous orders.”