Cleanup, Day 1

So far, so good- we got about five blocks cleared today, driving around in an undersized vehicle with much less trailer space than we needed. My own thoughts- why are we driving around in Hummers/HMMVs with a dinky little trailer when we have a whole post to clean? Wouldn't it make more sense to break out the motor pool's heavy artillery and bust out there with a larger flatbed truck and trailer? Oh well, must be why I don't make the big decisions.
On a positive note, one of our officers impressed me very much by being out there with us- comissioned officers tend to hug the desk, but not our good Lieutenant. He was out there hucking branches with the rest of us. Detail today was to go out and clear the residential areas of tree-related debris, as the civilians the post had hired were out there sawing up the larger branches (well, at least some of them) and pulling down the hanging branches we as soldiers would have been liable for. (Well, at least one). So it was that we went out in the mud and dirt and wet and got the mission done. I also got to see the post dump, an incredible wasteland where there are lots of brush piles and a big sign that says no scavenging. What you would scavenge from the various projects that go on around post is a mystery to me, although the imagination runs wild- remember Return of The Living Dead? A chemical agent (similar to Agent Orange in some regards) called Trioxin 245 was accidentally released into the environment, resulting in mass chaos as it causes the dead to reanimate. But no, if there was such a thing, it would probably be a couple miles up the road from us. So no breaking in and scavenging military surplus off of the dump! Actually, all we were doing was dumping branches that had fallen from the trees, but still, imagination is so much more interesting than real life in most respects. No doubt your average military post could fend off a zombie attack quite well, at least those people close to the armory could. Again, for safety reasons ammo and weapons are stored separately. However, the butt end of a rifle can be an extremely effective weapon, as can a bayonet, although it seems tragically the Army is phasing out this fun little item. Nonetheless, I'd like to think it's us, the drivers and mechanics, who would have the best resources. A horde of zombies is no match for a good old M88 or an Abrams tank.
See what I mean about imagination being so much more preferable to reality? Well, at any rate, cleanup went well, if more than a little muddy. We continue to survive in our quaint little corner of life/unlife, and things will no doubt get more interesting as time goes on. All the best, dear readers, as we approach the 100- post mark!!