Making sidewalks
This is what my platoon sergeant had us do today. He had us build a sidewalk.
We were given the following items:
1 wooden shipping pallet
1 wheelbarrow
1 circular saw
630 lbs of repair cement, designed to fill cracks and not to actually make pavement
2 hammers
1 axe
We were NOT given:
Extension cords
Running water
Boards
Nails
Bubble level
So we took apart the wooden pallet as carefully as possible, preserving the rusty nails to the best of our ability. We cut the wooden portions to size using the circular saw inside the office amongst computers and stuff, spraying sawdust all over desks and phones and keyboards. Then we laid out the frame of this sides using the boards from the pallet and the rusty nails. Most nails disintegrated under the strain of reuse. After this, we emptied 2 containers of cement into the wheelbarrow. Then we went and filled the 5 gallon buckets that the cement came in with standing algae-breeding cloudy water from a ditch. Then we measured the water using 1L drinking bottles, and mixed the cement with boards. Finally, we poured the cement. And repeated the process until we ran out of cement. After it dried we broke away the wooden portions and filled in the edges with gravel. The same gravel we had to dig up to make room for the concrete in the first place.
Let me remind you that my platoon runs a 24 hour mission over here, and that we each work 90 hours per week (except my PSG who works about 50 hours per week). This was valuable time taken away from busy soldiers.
And all this time, my PSG knew that contractors were going to build sidewalks in that area next month. He just didn't want to wait a full 30 days to walk on solid concrete. So next month when we take the pickaxe to the concrete to make way for the actual professionals to lay down sidewalks, I will toil away and continue to wonder what kind of person chooses to reenlist.
We were given the following items:
1 wooden shipping pallet
1 wheelbarrow
1 circular saw
630 lbs of repair cement, designed to fill cracks and not to actually make pavement
2 hammers
1 axe
We were NOT given:
Extension cords
Running water
Boards
Nails
Bubble level
So we took apart the wooden pallet as carefully as possible, preserving the rusty nails to the best of our ability. We cut the wooden portions to size using the circular saw inside the office amongst computers and stuff, spraying sawdust all over desks and phones and keyboards. Then we laid out the frame of this sides using the boards from the pallet and the rusty nails. Most nails disintegrated under the strain of reuse. After this, we emptied 2 containers of cement into the wheelbarrow. Then we went and filled the 5 gallon buckets that the cement came in with standing algae-breeding cloudy water from a ditch. Then we measured the water using 1L drinking bottles, and mixed the cement with boards. Finally, we poured the cement. And repeated the process until we ran out of cement. After it dried we broke away the wooden portions and filled in the edges with gravel. The same gravel we had to dig up to make room for the concrete in the first place.
Let me remind you that my platoon runs a 24 hour mission over here, and that we each work 90 hours per week (except my PSG who works about 50 hours per week). This was valuable time taken away from busy soldiers.
And all this time, my PSG knew that contractors were going to build sidewalks in that area next month. He just didn't want to wait a full 30 days to walk on solid concrete. So next month when we take the pickaxe to the concrete to make way for the actual professionals to lay down sidewalks, I will toil away and continue to wonder what kind of person chooses to reenlist.
A-frikkin-men, my brother. Way to go on the resourcefulness getting the water out of the ditch, by the way. I don't know how many floors I mopped with bottled water on the course of my (short) deployment.
Good to see my tax dollars at work.
Posted by
Evan |
December 6, 2008 5:51 PM
Yeah, we were specifically prohibited from using drinking water.
Seriously, one day I will look back at my notes of my time here in Iraq and refuse to believe the surreality of what surrounds me here.
Posted by
Joe Dirtbag |
December 7, 2008 9:43 PM