New Job!

I just completed my first week back at work! New job, new base, new people, new AOC (aka MOS aka my job title), New everything!

For those that might not know me as well I have been a member of the US Army for ten years now. They helped pay for Veterinary school, when I got out I owed them four years. I knew it vet school that I did NOT want to do clinical practice at all. The Army has a path where you can become a DVM/PhD and I saw that as a golden light leading me to never practice again!

In other words, I quickly decided that the Army would be a career for me. So I completed my array of duty stations, went back to school and earned my PhD. Now I owe them more time for completing that school but at least now I’m a DVM/PhD and I no longer have to be at a vet clinic which is a good thing for me!

Research and Development World

Instead I’m working at one of the Army’s research facilities. In this building there are many labs working on various research projects and of course research support staff. My new job is as a member of that support staff. I am the deputy chief aka the right hand man to the person in charge of all the veterinary staff (Plus a few other people) in the building. Pathologists, lab animal vets, etc all fall under this department. My boss is in charge of this department, and I’m essentially her assistant.

From what I know of it so far it sounds perfect for me. I’ll get more leadership experience, I’ll get equipment management experience, ordering experience and still get to dip my toes into some lab work from time to time. In fact, in meeting with one of my higher ups, I was informed that I can absolutely join a lab and spend some time there. I’m SUPER excited for that and I think it will add some variety to my day and remind me where my skillsets lie outside of admin work.

Not that I dislike admin work. Actually quite the opposite. I am fantastic at managing large projects with multiple pressing deadlines from multiple sources. Any chance to do that gets my brain churning and me all excited. It sounds weird but I was never meant to be in practice and always meant to be the brains behind an operation.

Plus I’m at a point in my career where I need to be thinking about the other side. The civilian side. What happens after the Army. I’m way behind on hands on experience so instead I need to gather all this management type experience and hope it transitions well to a higher managing type position on the other side.

In-processing

So what do I actually do? That remains to be seen! The first week in the Army is always the same: Inprocessing. Basically when you inprocess you get a checklist, a map, and a list of clues. You then are released on a giant scavenger hunt all over base to gather signatures on your check list within the required amount of time.

The same thing happens with you unit although luckily for me, the unit checklist is all in one building. They call this “in processing”. You do it every time you get to a new base and honestly the Army has that down pat. It seems ridiculous every time I do it but its to make sure you are 1. Familiar with the base and the resources available and 2. That important things are happening. You settle your move, you get paid for your move, you start getting paid for your area, your medical records transfer, your dental records transfer. Basically everything that has to happen when you change locations is on that list. It only seems funny because some places just stamp it and nothing else happens and you aren’t sure why you went there in the first place.

Outprocessing or leaving a base is always more amusing because you’ll get sent to places you have never been in the THREE years you were there just so they stamp your paper. Oh and the “list of clues” is actually office numbers and the time that they are actually in said office which can be tricky to time so you get the most bang for your buck and visit the most places in a day.

Turning Red

Okay once you completed your scavenger hunt then comes TRAINING. Every new job has all sorts of new training and the Army is no different. Except we get the joys of regular Army training (which is honestly a ridiculous amount) AND new training for your new job. And every piece of your job.

And I’ve been in the civilian world for four years. Which means I’m “red” or behind on ALL of my training. So my training list is….. a LOT. I need to do literally ALL of my regular Army training, training to work in a lab, training to work in this building, training to work with every animal species in this building, training to supervise, training to purchase, training to hold my travel card, training to go away on a trip if I need to. I just did a training on ladder safety. I’m talking EVERYTHING. I’m buried in it. And I’m not coming out for a long time.

I am also RED on anything you can pictures. Dental exam, dental cleaning, physical exam, bloodwork, hearing, vision. You name it. I’m red. I was keeping up while I was in school on my medical stuff but I happened to do it in the fall which means… I’m now red. So that is also in my near future.

More School!

As if I wasn’t spending enough time at my desk and my computer…. I also have to complete Army school. So to make it through different ranks in the Army you have to go to different military schools. You do one in Basic, you do one between Captain and Major and now I need to do one before the next rank. I was going to do it in person but I’m running out of time to get it done before I’m up for promotion and I figure the fastest way to knock it out is to do it online. ALL online.

It is supposed to be about 8 hours a week for the next FIFTY-FIVE WEEKS. I don’t have that kind of time (week wise) so I’m going to need to cut it down to about forty weeks. Anyways this means I have to cut out time every week to SIT AT MY COMPUTER. Yup. It’s all online so I watch videos, do readings and take quizzes online. At this point I’m actually looking forward to the papers.

One Week Down

So to those of you wondering about my new job… don’t ask. At least not right now. It’s training, school, training, appointments, training, training and then finally, a little bit more training. I work in a BEAUTIFUL building with beautiful views and every person I have met inside said building has been extremely friendly and helpful.

From discussions about what I might do some day when I’m done training, I feel like I will have a busy job which I absolutely love. There is nothing I hate more than putting my babies into a daycare and then having any sort of downtime at work. I am one of the few officers that loved the insane pace of the grunt branch chief position at a vet clinic. The more I have on my to do list, the more directions I’m pulled at work the happier I am. To me – it is the only thing that makes it worth the sadness I feel every morning when I hug my babies goodbye.

Anyways that is how my first week has gone! I’m looking forward to seeing where this job takes me.