All about the new job

To say I have entered a new stage in my life is an understatement. Last month I bought my first car, it's a 2012 MINI Cooper S. The S stands for turbo. It's Eclipse gray with all black in interior. In short she's a lovely machine, and I have been gradually expanding my perimeter around the province. I do not have anything to compare the liberating feeling of jumping in my ride and driving wherever I want to go.

And then there's the job. This is my third week at the new job and it has been pretty darn awesome. I have made a concerted effort to decorate my lovely little office. I put up paintings of pink flowers on the wall and a delicious deep, rose pink carpet on the floor. I have two pictures of Ryan and me near my desk. I keep the ceiling fan on low and the lights dim. It is very peaceful. I like it in there a lot.

As for the job itself, it gets more interesting everyday. I became the Installation Health Promotion officer almost by accident three weeks ago. Since I arrived in Italy I received a thorough education in Federal Government hiring practices. There are preferential treatments for everyone except the well-educated, career-minded woman married to a civilian. Ryan receives a plethora of perks, and many of them are extended to me as his spouse, but finding my own way has been difficult until now.

My primary responsibility at my new job is help Army Commanders prepare for the transition to peace time after more than ten years of war. The Army has built an incredible force of warriors. As the war winds down Commanders are faced with the prospect of having highly trained Soldiers with no wars to fight. Trainings and small-scale missions will be part of the new reality, but some Soldiers will transition back to the civilian world. Many will stay in the military. This transition has happened before but, not since WWII has our country dealt with the prospect of an all volunteer force returning home in numbers with a host of physical and emotional problems.

My job is to identify the resources available to Soldiers and their families; promote those resources especially to our high risk populations and help leaders evaluate the effects on the Army bases in Italy. I have my work cut out for me.