Jun 11 2008
Sick Call
Before joining the Army, I was never averse to going to a doctor. I recall having pneumonia at 14 and having to swallow penicillin in big giant horse pills. But when you join the Army you discover the great shame of going on sick call. My favorite sick call scene occurred at Airborne school. In the morning, everyone would be lined up in a giant formation and a Black Hat would stand out front and yell “Sick Call…Fall out to my right, your left…Sick Call…Fall out to my right, your left!…Go to the white house and have some milk and cookies…Sick Call…Fall out to my right, your left!” He would follow that up by: “Quitters…All Quitters…Fall out to my right, your left…Quitters…All Quitters…Fall out to my right, your left!” Even if you were dying, you wouldn’t dare walk out in front of formation and subject your self to the shame of going to the white house. If you were just a little sick, there was no point in going to sick call. The doctor would listen to your complaint, give you some motrin, and send you home. I would usually wait until I was certain bronchitis had set in before I would stumble to the doctor in a daze, because I’d been up 5 nights in a row coughing. Even years after getting out of the Army, I’m still adverse to Sick Call. However, I had hit my 5 nights in a row of coughing limit, so I went to the doctor this morning. She said I was just short of bronchitis, and gave me penicillin which is no longer in horse pill size. She also gave me the cough medicine with codeine in it which is handled now like a controlled substance. I had to sign a paper with my name, address, and phone number and was told repeatedly that I would get no more. I’ve always wondered about the white house with its milk and cookies. Does it really exist or is it just a figment of a Black Hat’s imagination?
Get well soon. Airborne School (at Ft. Benning, anyway) shares sick call and other support activities with Officer Candidate’s School next door. Elena and I attended Chapel services a few times with the mostly dazed Airborne and OCS students while @ Infantry OBC. Milk and cookies, however, a likely embellishment. Every few weeks I pass the Ft. Benning DZ (on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee), and remember that school.
Hi Mugs. Glad you went to the doc and now you will be on the mend. Let’s get together when you are feeling better. Meg
How much will you pay me to not publish the picture of you reading the paper?
What is the value of your weekly care package?
Touche!