Another sign
A new sign that the Army has decided that peace has broken out around here; they won't fix my tooth.
I have a crown that is loose and needs to be reglued so I can eat the Good-n-Plenty candy my brother sent me. If it comes off I won't be able to eat anything. I went to the dental clinic on base and they looked at my letter of authorization (LOA) which says dental services in emergency only, which they interpret to mean life, limb or loss of eyesight. A loose crown doesn't make the grade. I asked the dentist/Captain if they could help me if it came off. He said maybe, maybe not.
That means when it comes off, which it will, I may have to make my way to the very rich country to the south to have it put back on. This will take between a week and ten days during which time I won't be here to fly missions, which may mean canceled missions, which means maybe some soldiers won't be helped that we could have helped, which will bug me. We're not the most important part in the machine but we occasionally do our bit; only if we fly however.
So all this time may be wasted, money spent and missions maybe not flown because somebody on the end of the phone line won't let the dentist/Captain glue my crown on. Why? I can only guess. The new flight doc at our unit doesn't want to take care of us at all because he says we are trying to freeload off the Army to make more money. Right Doc, the Army ain't the only place on the base, we would normally hop into the car and go to the health care campus down there by the ancient river but we want to squeeze that dime.
That Doc irked me. Our greatest thrill is when we can really honest to goodness help the troops and my biggest disappointment is that we can't do it more often so he can...he can...he is not a person I deeply admire.
I have a crown that is loose and needs to be reglued so I can eat the Good-n-Plenty candy my brother sent me. If it comes off I won't be able to eat anything. I went to the dental clinic on base and they looked at my letter of authorization (LOA) which says dental services in emergency only, which they interpret to mean life, limb or loss of eyesight. A loose crown doesn't make the grade. I asked the dentist/Captain if they could help me if it came off. He said maybe, maybe not.
That means when it comes off, which it will, I may have to make my way to the very rich country to the south to have it put back on. This will take between a week and ten days during which time I won't be here to fly missions, which may mean canceled missions, which means maybe some soldiers won't be helped that we could have helped, which will bug me. We're not the most important part in the machine but we occasionally do our bit; only if we fly however.
So all this time may be wasted, money spent and missions maybe not flown because somebody on the end of the phone line won't let the dentist/Captain glue my crown on. Why? I can only guess. The new flight doc at our unit doesn't want to take care of us at all because he says we are trying to freeload off the Army to make more money. Right Doc, the Army ain't the only place on the base, we would normally hop into the car and go to the health care campus down there by the ancient river but we want to squeeze that dime.
That Doc irked me. Our greatest thrill is when we can really honest to goodness help the troops and my biggest disappointment is that we can't do it more often so he can...he can...he is not a person I deeply admire.
posted by Carl at 7:43 PM
5 Comments:
When my temporary came loose and the new one was not going to be ready for a month (the lab shut down for Christmas break), the dentist told me I could stick it temporarily using toothpaste. The toothpaste woke up my nerves but apparently the flouride was keeping the roots safe.
good thinking. i will do that.
And here I was thinking that the Army was a good, solid career choice for those who want to make an honest dollar, but can't find a job elsewhere.
Apparently this doctor forgets that you are a little older than some of the peach-fuzz newbies, and as you get older your body starts showing signs of wear.
Ouch!
the Army is a great organization, filled with extremely capable, brave and imaginative people who could easily find a job elsewhere making more money but who chose not to in order to serve the greater good or because there are fun things you can do in the service you just can't do in the civilian world, like being part of history instead of just reading about it.
the COL is just what he is. you find those everywhere.
Post a Comment
<< Home