"What do you do for a living?"

When I was younger, it was a lot easier to explain what I did for a living.

"I work in retail."
"I'm a waiter."
"I fix computer problems."
"I teach English in Korea."

When I was in the Army, it was more complicated, but most people are OK with the flat explanation, "I'm in the Army."

Nowadays I work *for* the Army, but I'm no longer *in* it. I'm a civilian. And to understand what I do, it helps to understand what the U.S. Army does.
In place of the Iraq and Afghanistan deployments, the Army looks for multinational exercises to keep its skills current and foster international relationships. Anyone can say their vehicles are well-maintained if they never go anywhere, but the real test is sending your stuff overseas for a highly public military exercise.

That's where I come in. I plan the logistics for some of the exercises we do in Europe. For example, drinking water. We have a couple options: 1.) we can bring it all from the U.S., or 2.) we can buy it from the country we're in. Given the cost of shipping, it makes a lot more sense to go with #2.

And that's what I arrange -- not just water, but also food, bed spaces, shower facilities, latrines, fuel, and so on.

How many people can the dining hall seat? Can they do three hot meals a day or only two? Do the facilities comply with U.S. standards? And how much is this going to cost, given X number of soldiers for Y number of days?

Answering those questions, making the arrangements, and following through with payment once everything's finished -- that's my job.