There Is No Escape From The Red Tape

Trying to work through my turn-over with the out going opposite number. Things were progressing at a casual pace until they told me this morning that I had to go TAD to another country in the AOR. The local procedure for going TAD involves filling out an orders request form. That in itself is not difficult or even overly bureaucratic. So, I go over to the CJ-1 and pick up the form and they kindly tell me all the points I need to go for the proper Okie Dokie signatures. I take my form and begin the march. Here I am humping back and forth in the African heat (Note: I am firmly convinced that Africa is significantly closer to the sun than the rest of planet earth. In fact It may even be closer to the sun than Venus. I can't prove the physics of it, but I am sure it is true) getting the necessary signatures even though every stop is at an opposite end of the camp. I go to head shed to get the final signature from one of the lord high muckety mucks and here my problems started. You have to remember that the head shed is the mother fount of all bureaucracy. I march in present my form for inspection. The earth trembled, the clouds rolled in. Day became night and lightening split the sky!!! I had sinned against the great gods of red tape. My form was not in an official Manila folder and did not have the approved routing sheet on it. I had committed administrative sacrilege!!! The god's were angry and I must be smoten (smiten, smoten, smited....Does anyone out their know the proper conjugation of the verb "To Smite"?) I was sent marching back to my shop on the other side of the camp to download and fill out the proper form to cover the form I wanted signed. I make my blood sacrifice to appease the god's of red tape and march back to the head shed. They take my properly anointed form with Manila form and coversheet and tell me the will get to it. As of 1636, 6 hours later they finally just called. All things considered they moved pretty quickly with in the dogma of their administrative religion.

TO THE TYRANT NEVER YIELD