It was a storm...

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I usually don’t sleep well back home so I find that here at Camp Atterbury it has only gotten worse. It is compounded by numerous events that seem to occur when the civilians in the area are fast asleep in their beds of comfort. Usually it is the cadences of the deep voiced men as they run in formations down the roads of the military post. Then the sound of diesel trucks idling high at the stop signs, occasionally revering their engines as they grind the gears of the big beasts, and finally the scuffing of the boots in the gravel as the soldiers march to the messhall for their breakfast of biscuits and gravy, fruit and eggs cooked to order.

This is normal, and the slogan, “The Army does more before 6:00 than most people do all day” becomes a reality. Now don’t believe for a moment that I am bragging about my early morning ambition. For goodness sakes, while all this energetic soldiering is going on I am desperately trying to ignore the interruptions and catch my last few winks of beauty sleep.

Today started out perfectly normal. In my sleepy state I could hear the soldiers singing cadences while I lay there restless and patiently waiting for the minutes to tick by until my alarm clock buzzed.

FLASH… CRACK…BOOM! BOOM! Flash! Flash! BOOM!
My natural instincts took over and without even opening my eyes I propelled out of bed and onto the floor, finding myself out of breathe with my heart pounding so hard it nearly hurt. It took me a few seconds to gather my wits and come to the quick realization that I was not getting mortared in Iraq. Nor had there been any stray rounds from the night fire range a few miles away that have been terrorizing me the past few nights.

Before anybody could bare witness to my silly duck and cover tactics, I was up and out the door to see what the early morning ruckas was all about. It was both mesmerizing and yet intimidating to witness the spectacular showing of lightning bolts and flashes from all directions against the black morning sky. I wanted to go inside but instead I found myself standing outside taking pictures and filming the incredible light show.

It was still and heavy with the feel of excitement running through the air and for a split second I wondered if this was the sign of a tornado. But like any good storm chaser, there I stood outside on the grass filming lightning bolts in my pajamas!

Soldiers who had been singing light- running cadences earlier were now sprinting along the streets, trying desperately to reach cover before the skies above opened up. Most, if not all, found this task impossible and became drenched casualties of the powerful Indiana rains.

Since the weather forcast for the day only spoke of scattered thunder showers, I was completely confident in my decision to walk to work as soon as the rain let up. Fianlly, after an hour and a half of down pour, enough time for me to grab a shower and prep for the day, it had let up to a light sprinkle. I had made it half way between work and the place I call home, and boom, I was surprisingly caught off guard as the torrential downpour started again. I was now sprinting (which is pretty much like watching the old gray mare running in last place at the county fair) the final approach to my work building. I could hear my co-workers cheering me on as I took the long ramp up to the back door, sliding into the entryway with a fanfare. Needless to say my uniform was completely drenched and the water poured off the brim of my hat as I entered my office.

For hours the lightning jetted across the angry sky, shooting ferocious bolts of fire at random targets. Transformers, open fields and the large elm trees were being shot down by the merciless energy flying down from the clouds. The dark sky created a phenonomin that seemed like the sun had not risen at all during the day.

None of this could detract any of our soldiers from their daily missions. It would be a race to the vehicles, and then a sprint into the building where you would shake off like a puppy fresh out of the bath tub, leaving a spray of moisture in your path.

We were drained after seven hours of this never ending storm. The unnerving booms and cracks had shattered our energy, as some of us were tired of physically jumping and mentally dodging the echos of the sounds of the past. All said and done, the storm dropped many inches of rain which caused the interstate to close for hours, the local rivers to overflow their shores and eventually the water just ran out of places to go. Camp Atterbury flooded in many places causing detours, warehouse flooding, power outages were widespread and it wasn’t long before you could hear the murmering of soldiers everywhere.

“Why in the world didn’t I wear that rain jacket the Army issued me 20 years ago!”

…Welcome to Camp Atterbury!

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