Today was a much better day for me.  I woke up early and did a 6-mile run with the pharmacist.  My days are always so much better when they start off with a good run.

More MANDATORY FUN.  There is a Mental Health Team here, supposedly from the Surgeon General's Office.  I was told that I was required to attend a meeting with them so that they could conduct a survey on mental health and morale issues in theater.  I thought this could be interesting; maybe a theater where we could voice some of our concerns and have someone listen to us.  I cannot believe I did not see what was coming...

What we were called on to do was complete a 13 PAGE questionnaire for someone's research project!  The first thing we did was sign a consent form to agree to participate in this research project.  Then we filled out 13 bubble-sheet pages of questions regarding morale, days deployed, and mental health issues.  We were being used as guinea pigs for someone's research project.  Honestly, I do not really have a problem with that.  I am currently working on some medical research ideas myself, and I like seeing interesting research projects, especially when they involve the deployed soldier.  The thing that really bothered me about this project was that it was coming from someone back in the states; someone who was living and working in complete comfort over the last 8 months while we have been deployed, separated from our families, mortared on a regular basis, and working all kinds of crazy hours (and crazy details).  So our responses will be used so someone can write a paper to get published in some medical journal.  And will any changes come from this information?  I highly doubt it.  Someone is going to write a paper on the effects of long deployments on morale and mental health.  Someone who probably won't even spend 30 days in the combat zone - WHAT A JOKE.