The plan

I just started work on my professional goal for the deployment. The plan is that I will leave Kosovo with an Associate's degree through the help of active duty tuition assistance. I'm working through University of Maryland University College - Europe. I know. It's a mouthful. With only five classes in addition to the credits I earned at Concordia, I can receive a degree.
Now why would I do that? Well, it's a long story, but the key point is it's a lot easier to move about in the professional world with a degree in hand. You never know. I could land a perfect summer internship with an Associate's. And why not? The military is paying for it, with the exception of books. I need something to keep me occupied in my free time, and I want to stay active in academics until I return to Concordia.
But there's another reason. At times I feel unintelligent because I am a driver. The job requires more skill than intelligence, and it's left for E-4s and E-5s who don't qualify for anything else. Unfortunately my training as a military musician didn't qualify me for anything else on the deployment. Don't get me wrong. I value the work we do as the joint visitors bureau. If it were not for us, general officers would run unescorted across Camp Bondsteel without any sort of agenda. Poor Soldiers wouldn't know anything about protocol and would fail to call buildings to attention and salute the general's vehicle without our guidance. Our commanding general wouldn't know anything about his visitors, and the task force as a whole would be unprepared. A lot of work goes into what we do, but in the end, people can't get past my job title: Driver.
My college attendance gives me a little more dignity. I'm taking physical anthropology, a course I feel is perfect considering the cultural diversity present in both our task force and Kosovo as a whole. The content corresponds with the objective of my global studies major: to learn about the diverse cultures of this world and define the common thread that makes us all human.