VA Meeting
Nov. 7th, 2014 08:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
notapilotJessica, one of Sam's longest attendees, was just raising her hand to speak when Sam noticed Steve at the doorway at the side of the hall. He kept his focus on Jessica but gave a little head nod so Steve would know he'd been seen. Steve didn't seem to want to make a fuss, so Sam kept quiet about it. Plus, this was the veterans time, not his.
"The thing is," Jessica said, bringing Sam's full attention back to her, "I think it's getting worse. A cop pulled me over last week, he thought I was drunk. I swerved to miss a plastic bag. I thought it was an IED."
Sam could hear the worry in her voice and see it reflected in the eyes of many of the other veterans present. "Some stuff you leave there," he replied, "other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out how we'll carry it. Is it gonna be a big steamer trunk or an overnight bag? Hard to say. But I can tell you one thing, we've all been trained in how to not only carry our kit, but to pack it as well. We can carry the extra stuff when we need to, but we also know how to repack it don't we? So we all need to take a good, honest look at what we are carrying and decide how best to pack it."
Several heads nodded in understanding and Sam spared himself a small smile. "Looks like that's it for time. As always, if anyone wants to talk with me one-on-one, I'm available any time."
"The thing is," Jessica said, bringing Sam's full attention back to her, "I think it's getting worse. A cop pulled me over last week, he thought I was drunk. I swerved to miss a plastic bag. I thought it was an IED."
Sam could hear the worry in her voice and see it reflected in the eyes of many of the other veterans present. "Some stuff you leave there," he replied, "other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out how we'll carry it. Is it gonna be a big steamer trunk or an overnight bag? Hard to say. But I can tell you one thing, we've all been trained in how to not only carry our kit, but to pack it as well. We can carry the extra stuff when we need to, but we also know how to repack it don't we? So we all need to take a good, honest look at what we are carrying and decide how best to pack it."
Several heads nodded in understanding and Sam spared himself a small smile. "Looks like that's it for time. As always, if anyone wants to talk with me one-on-one, I'm available any time."
