The Email Game

So I get this email yesterday:

"Hi SN Jack, this is PO So-and-S0, and if you could, please send me a copy of your filled out paperwork, I'll be happy to process your separation from the Inactive Ready Reserve as soon as possible!"

At the time I was at REI, about as far away as possible from my computer but I was overjoyed as it seemed I had found a competent person to FINALLY handle this annoying bit of after-thought paperwork for me.

But then it struck me: this wasn't the same petty officer I had originally sent the form to in the first place.

What the hell?

Then I recalled that I had left about a dozen voicemails to ambiguous-at-best mailboxes, pleading my case to automatons that may or may not serve the desired person. This guy, days way after the fact (long enough at least for me to forget about it, sorta) WAS JUST getting back to me now.

I cursed under my breath.

Standing in the middle of a parking lot, with a new pair of running shoes in my hand, I started thumbing through my phone looking for the original email I had sent off to the OTHER guy who said he'd be handling my case. I final find it, after going back a week, and send off a quick email from the phone:

"PO So-and-So, I believe I sent that completed documentation to PO What's-His-Name, please check with him that he still has it, if not, I'll be happy to send you the documentation as soon as I get home,"

About twenty minutes later I get a little chirp from my phone, a new email has arrived. I check and see that this second petty officer has now CCd me in a forward of the same message I just sent him, re: the ORIGINAL petty officer.

If this is confusing you, welcome to my world.

I take it that instead of just typing out a new, two line email, this second petty officer simply forwarded our conversation to the original petty officer to see what he had to say on the subject. Given that it seems to take these guys a week to check their fucking email, as soon as I got home, I send out another email.

"PO So-and-So,

In the spirit of expediency, here's the requested documentation, along with my USAREC recruiter's email [he was CCd as well] if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us,"

In the end, what we have here is overlapping paperwork and two petty officers who may or may not be working on the same thing and not even know it. I have this dense, lead-like feeling in the pit of my stomach that these two have no idea what's going on and will likely delay things further.

It's a classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, almost. In my mind's eye I can see these two actually sharing office space, hating each others guts, and some sort of personal feud causing my paperwork to get stuffed behind a copier due to lack of communication.

I give it til Thursday before I start making calls.