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Deployment Downtime Hits Different
Posted by OP_Deploy · 3d ago · ▲ 891
People always ask what deployment is like and they expect war stories. The reality is 90% boredom, 8% maintenance, and 2% action. The boredom is what gets you.
Downtime between missions. Shade was a luxury.
When you're stuck on a FOB in the middle of nowhere with the same 30 guys for months, you invent ways to stay sane. Here's what our unit did:
The Plank Wars. Started as PT motivation. Ended as the most competitive event on base. Our record holder hit 8 minutes 45 seconds. We made a championship bracket. The CO found out and was annoyed — then joined and lost in round one.
Spades Tournaments. We ran these like the World Series. Brackets, seedings, trash talk that would make a drill sergeant proud. Losing team had to do the other team's laundry. The intensity was genuinely insane for a card game.
The Workout Bets. "I bet you can't do 100 pull-ups in a day." "I bet you can't run 5 miles in under 35 minutes." "I bet you can't eat 6 MREs in one sitting." (That last one was a mistake. Private Torres learned something about himself that day and it wasn't positive.)
Just Sitting. Honestly sometimes the best moments were just sitting around in the heat, not talking about anything important, sharing whatever snacks came in care packages. The simplest thing in the world but when you're that far from home it's everything.
I've been out for two years now and I still miss those guys every day. Civilian friendships are fine but there's nothing like the bond you build when you're bored out of your mind in 120°F heat with nothing but time and each other.
Comments
SgtMiller
veteran
3d ago
▲ 456
The spades tournaments are universal. Every single unit in every branch. It's the one thing that connects all of us. My unit played for push-up reps instead of laundry — losers owed 50 push-ups per hand lost. Some guys owed hundreds by the end of deployment.
still_serving
active duty
3d ago
▲ 389
The CO joining the plank competition and losing immediately is the most officer thing I've ever heard. Ours tried to join our volleyball games and pulled a hamstring on day one. Went to the medic and everything.
OP_Deploy
2d ago
▲ 234
Our CO was actually pretty fit, he just had no plank endurance. All bench press, zero core. We didn't let him forget it.
army_wife_here
family
2d ago
▲ 312
My husband never talks about the hard parts of deployment. But he talks about the card games and the workout bets constantly. Like those are his favorite memories. I think the boredom bonding was the point.
OP_Deploy
2d ago
▲ 289
Your husband is right. The boring parts ARE the good parts. That's the thing nobody tells you.
Pvt_Torres
the MRE guy
2d ago
▲ 567
I have been summoned. Yes I ate 6 MREs. Yes I regretted it. No I will not elaborate further. Just know that the human body was not designed for that much sodium in one sitting.
SgtMiller
2d ago
▲ 345
The legend himself. How long were you in the porta-john after?
Pvt_Torres
2d ago
▲ 412
I said I will not elaborate further.
marine_0311
veteran
1d ago
▲ 198
The "just sitting" part hit me hard. I have photos from deployment that are just us sitting on cots or leaning against HESCOs doing absolutely nothing, and those are the ones I look at the most.