Thursday, August 29, 2019

The call comes in

"Ok, the moment you have been waiting for has arrived!" was the introduction to a phone call from [Workforce Manager].  The Red Cross was deploying to Hurricane Dorian and I had been selected to be deployed to Orlando Florida in preparation for it.

I had not yet left the parking lot from my previous shift, so I walked back into work and spoke to [My Skip] (my boss's boss).  "Remember what I said about there being a hurricane heading for Florida?  Guess who just got deployed"  I said with a grin.  [My Skip] pulled the schedule for the next two weeks, and checked that none of my co-workers had requested a day off.  He then approved my departure and wished me luck.

I immediately called [Workforce Manager] back who walked me through the next few steps.  I had 24 hours to obtain a flight reservation for departure the next day through the Red Cross system.  I then needed to get packing.  [Workforce Manager] emailed me the Assignment Record, which contained the details for my deployment.

The Red Cross has step-by-step processes for nearly everything.  Many of these steps I had already completed due to the likelihood of being deployed during hurricane season.  I cancelled my various commitments during the deployment, contacted my family and friends, and emailed the Assignment Record to my boss.  The deployment process also includes a packing list which covers nearly everything.  I checked off the things I already had.

Since it was nearly 4 hours after bedtime, and I still had a full overnight shift before my flight, I got a few hours nap in.

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