Let's try some pictures!

See if you can spot the typo.  This was in Kuwait.


These are pictures of the tent we stayed in while in Kandahar.  Pretty crappy, really.


Welcome to Kandahar!



These are pictures of the C-17 ride we took from Kuwait->Kandahar.


Bathroom art in Kandahar.


A memorial at the Boardwalk in Kandahar.


In case you get lost!


C-130 ride from Kandahar->Herat->Kabul.



This was my room at the DVQ (Distinguished Visitor Quarters).  Not too shabby!


Shenanigans.



This is Pumpkin who hangs out near our office.  She'd like to come in!

Day 43

So today I found myself with a cat in my lap!  I was walking around and saw a cat nearby, and she was very vocal.  So I sat down on a concrete ledge, and she came over to rub against me.  After petting her for a while, she hopped up in my lap!  So she stood on my lap and I petted her for a while.  She had a flea collar on and her ear was tipped, so I felt pretty confident she'd been vaccinated and spayed.  In any case, it was easily the highlight of my day.

Other than that, I sent some pointed emails to people asking for information, and received none.  Pretty standard so far.  I have only a vague email about an upcoming visit, which is technically my first.  I'm not sure I want it, but maybe it will already be planned?  Hard to say at this point.

This evening we had to walk over to Eggers for some JVB training, followed by PME.  I'm slowly learning how terrible this PME thing is.  I believe it stands for Professional Military Education, but it's mostly a joke.  Many different bases and camps in Afghanistan connect for a big teleconference, where some poor fool has to give a PowerPoint presentation.  Hard to say what the topic even was tonight because we all just sort of chatted away.  We put our microphone on mute, and point the camera up towards the ceiling and then we just visit and chat.  Seems kind of pointless to have to walk over to Eggers for that.  While we work at ISAF HQ, we have a Protective Security Detachment that is part of JVB, but they're at Eggers.  This is why we go over there.  Well, another day down.  Hopefully tomorrow is a good day.

Day 42

Wow, 6 weeks today, huh? Feels like longer in some sense, and shorter
in others. Plebe summer was 6 weeks and I'm not sure which feels
longer...

Today was a sleeping in day, though I generally fail at that. I woke
up and chatted with Emili online, and then I read some Frankenstein on
the Kindle. It was a generally lazy morning. Around 10:30am, I took
over my ruck-sack, and two seabags, and left them in the hallway
outside the room. There isn't really room for them at the moment, and
it seems like every room has a big stack of crap outside the room.
That should give you some idea on how small the rooms are. They are
incredibly smaller than the rooms at the Naval Academy, if that gives
you any perspective. I met one roommate, Rich, who is an Army O-4. I
wasn't received warmly, so that was very cool. They evidently don't
want a third roommate. While I can't blame them, there's nothing I
can do about that, and there's no use being rude to me.

Then I lugged my body armor and helmet to work. There are just too
few places to keep this stuff, so everyone keeps it in the office. We
have a few stands for the armor, and I ordered 12 more the other day.
I didn't do too much today, except email out an itinerary to a few
people. The visit isn't for a while, so no one is rushing yet. I got
another computer/email account today, along with some logins to some
useful sites. So I'm slowly acquiring tools to do the job here.

I also stopped by a foreign exchange because I needed a bar of soap
today. Since I'm not into using a lufa at the moment, I only had two
choices: 2 pink varieties, and 1 called Imperial Leather. Needless to
say, I got the latter for 1.20 euros. Luckily I had 3 euro coins in
my pocket. I'm not even sure it's soap, but I'm going to try it. I
also noticed that when people don't speak english as their primary
language, they don't understand sarcasm and jokes. I can't remember
what I said at the cash register, but she gave me a very puzzled look.

So last night I was a little emotional and a little tired. What
better time to email the financial planner! I explained that money is
only money, but time you can never get back. Perhaps not as eloquent
as I wished, but he understood my meaning nonetheless. Basically, I'm
starting to plan a Caribbean vacation for next summer after I get
back. I'm excited, and so spent some of the morning researching ways
to do it for a reasonable (depends on who you ask, really) price. For
those of you who want to drool, check out St. Lucia. I think on that
note, I will head to bed to dream of being in a tropical paradise...

Day 41

Today is a tragic day. We lost at least 13 US military members today
to a suicide car bomb in Kabul. I can't go into details, but the
death toll makes me very sad to be here.

Today started out like any other work day. Saturdays aren't days off
here. So into work I went, where I created a couple draft itineraries
and whatnot. Not very exciting, nor useful, since I don't yet have
complete information. We got the cable hooked up to both TV's now, so
people are distracted and it takes them longer to do things I ask of
them. Fantastic. I mean, hasn't everyone already seen Alien vs.
Predator? I should have just told them how it ends to ruin the
experience.

One good thing I learned yesterday that I forgot to mention was the
cat program. So there are cats ALL OVER the place here. They are
mostly friendly, and I enjoy seeing them. Well I was shown an email
memo that was sent out that indicated that as part of an ongoing
process, the cats would be captured, neutered/spayed, dewormed, and
vaccinated. They will also each get a collar that has an official
ISAF HQ tag that has their name on the back, so people will know they
are OUR cats. So I thought that was pretty cool. I need to find the
time to investigate the veterinarian situation out here. It's just so
hard when it's dark and late by the time you're done with work. Sigh.

Well, today ends.

Day 40

Today was a nice leisurely morning. I woke up around 7am (which is
sleeping in!), and then I emailed a bit. I then grabbed my computer
and flopped down in bed and watched the movie Sucker Punch. You may
laugh, but I liked it. I would categorize it as a dark action movie,
maybe. Who knows, I wouldn't mind watching it again.

I went to the office around 11:30, and we went to lunch as a group. I
think I had something called German Meatloaf. I think this need to be
made clear: it was no form of meatloaf I've EVER had in my life.
Imagine a processed meat chunk that tastes like ham, but with the
consistency of baloney. Not so great. But I didn't go to breakfast,
so I couldn't afford to be too picky.

After lunch, we went back to the office and I helped Heather (I'm
taking over for her) fill in the point of contact information for an
upcoming DV visit. It's an interesting process, but can get tedious.
At least the itinerary we're working on is so long, we hit almost
every big player around here. So once I get good contacts from this
visit, it should help immensely in the future. It takes a while to
track down things, and there is a certain order in which you have to
alert the different entities, because some get priority over others.
For instance, an Ambassador would take priority over a 1 star general.

After that, my whole office hopped in an armored truck, and we drove
to Camp Eggers to join our PSD (Protective Security Detail, I think)
group for a going away awards presentation. Four people were
presented with the Joint Service Commendation Medal, along with some
others like the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, etc. It was nice to hear
stories of people excited to go home. It's hard for me to understand
their sadness to leave their friends out here, but I'll probably have
a mix of emotions when I'm coming home too. But don't get me wrong,
I'll be ready to come home!

Afterwards, a group of us went to the PX at Eggers, because we have no
US PX at our compound. I wandered around, didn't find quite the knife
I'm looking for, so just explored. The charm here is that they take
the Eagle Cash card. When we were at NMPS in Norfolk, and again in
Kuwait, we were encouraged to buy an Eagle Cash card, so we don't have
to actually carry any cash on our person. This is a great idea, and
it looked, on paper, like all the bases were covered. Unfortunately,
ISAF HQ is NATO, not US. So no Eagle Cash card use for us here.
Anyway, after that, a group of about 8 of us walked back to our
compound. It was about 8:15pm, and I didn't feel like any work was
going to happen, so I just went to my room. Besides, we have another
12+ hours of fun tomorrow. Time to read some more Frankenstein...

Day 39

So my crowning achievement for today was taking a couple pictures of a
cat. It wasn't necessarily the most friendly, but it didn't run away
right away. I'd call him the Afghan version of Harrison (with
different markings).

Other than that, I started bookmarking pages of interest to my job,
and reviewed in pretty good detail the draft itineraries for the
upcoming visits on my plate. Two XBox 360's were hooked up to the
TV's today, and lengths of ethernet cable were acquired as well. I
suspect they will be networked by morning!

Unfortunately, the nature of my work is all Secret, so I can't share
the details in advance. However, after a visit happens, I can usually
share some information. Often, a person who visits has coins made for
that position, or themselves. So seeing some of the coins people have
is pretty incredible. I don't put much stock in coins as the
tradition goes, but it's a neat little souvenir to indicate your hand
in the process. So we shall see!

Tomorrow is Friday, which is the Afghan holy day, as I understand it.
So I get to sleep in tomorrow, and show up to work at 11:30, so we can
go eat as a group. Basically, instead of having weekends off, we get
a morning off on Friday and Sunday, for a total of about 1 day off a
week. Not great, especially when each day is 12+ hours, but it's
something. So I'm off for a nice long nap...

Day 38

Today was a rather boring average day. I did, however, meet a
fantastic guy named Nate Powell. Many of you either know or have
heard about Alex Powell. Alex and I went to school together, fly the
same helicopter, etc. Nate is one of Alex's older brothers. He's a
Gunny in the Marine Corps, and was very helpful in setting up accounts
today. He seems like a great guy, and I wish him the best of luck in
getting home to see his family soon.

But nothing much happened today. I had pancakes, hashbrowns, and a
pineapple yogurt. I had something for lunch, I'm sure. Then we
installed 2 60" tv's in the office (because who doesn't need two 60"
tv's?) I believe the plan is to have one hooked up to cable and the
other hooked up to various console systems such as an XBox, a PS3, and
a Wii. So we'll see. I'm still working on getting my unclassified
email up and running. Sadly, not much to report!

Day 37

Today I got to pet a cat! I felt a little silly because I enjoyed it
so much, but hey, I am secure with my feelings! As it turns out, the
feral cats here aren't so feral. If you stop and pay them any
attention, they come over to get petted and rubbed. They're quite
friendly and also playful. When I was leaving the two I met this
morning, they decided to play a friendly game a tag with each other.
Quite cute. I'm told that the cats are now rabies vaccinated, and
some even have collars! It makes me wish I was here doing vet work
instead of being a travel agent.

Today was a typical day of me trying to get paperwork across people's
desks and then being told to come back tomorrow morning. So there
wasn't much productivity on that front. However, I did make it to the
gym for the first time. I felt very silly, but you have to carry your
running shoes in with you. I think they want to try to keep dirt out,
but it's a silly rule. So I walked to the gym in my shower shoes, and
changed into the running shoes there. It felt very silly, but no one
looked at me strangely or anything. But I ran 1.5 miles on a
treadmill, stretched, then did an ab workout, some handstands against
the wall, and then some handstand pushups. Not too bad for high
elevation! If I recall what I heard, we are at a higher elevation
than Denver.

Not much else to report. I will have lots of pictures to come when I
have better access to the blog website. Still transmitting in the
blind...

Day 36

So today was my first 8am-9pm day. Let me tell you, it's a bit
tiring. It's not straight work, because we eat lunch and dinner, and
people go off to the gym for a bit. I think the hours are more a
reflection of having nothing else to do, so they pace themselves
throughout the day. Strange, and not my way of working.

But I continued to follow the DV group around today, so I went to many
different places. In fact, I discovered a pool I can swim at! Who
would have thought there would be a pool in Kabul?! That is located
at the Embassy, which is where the DV group had a lengthy meeting
today with Ambassador Crocker. We weren't part of the meeting, but
had a chance to just relax outside while it was going on. In fact,
there is a little coffee shop outside that sells smoothies. So maybe
next time...

Another action officer took me on a tour today. So I discovered the
many different PX type shops of the foreign militaries, the places to
use free wifi or check out movies, and I discovered that the lovely
Eagle Cash card doesn't work here. Nor do credit cards. So cash is
the name of the game, and the prices are all in Euros. So any change
I get will be in euros. Fantastic. At least I still have a bunch of
euros under the bed at home. Now they might come in handy.

Other stuff happened, I'm sure, but I don't remember right now.
Eventually COL Fenton (our boss) took me (because I didn't know
better) over to Camp Eggers for PME (Professional Military Education).
As it turns out, it was GEN Rapp reading powerpoint slides via
teleconference sort of thing. It was so exciting in fact, that we
were playing poker (Texas Hold Em) while he was lecturing. The slides
were extremely boring and not new, and there were spelling and
grammatical errors included for free. Perfect, coming from a General.
Oh yes, and how could I forget the Clinton/Lewinsky joke he made. He
was explaining how he is an introvert, and recharges his batteries by
having alone time, which is fine. Then he said something about
Clinton recharging his batteries with interns. It wasn't professional
and doesn't seem like still caring about. But I don't know him, so no
skin off my nose.

So yes, long long day, and more tomorrow. I think there is a
preliminary plan to fly up to Bagram on Monday to get new uniforms.
Apparently, we're all supposed to be in this new camouflage uniform,
which is just great. Oh yes, and I have a mailing address! I'll try
to get it updated on the page, but here it is:

Daniel Finnegan (do not put any rank)
HQ ISAF - USFOR-A JVB
APO AE 09356

Do not put "Afghanistan" anywhere on the package, or it will be routed
through local Afghan channels. Probably wouldn't work out too well.
That's all for tonight!

Day 35

So today is my first whole day in Kabul. It was a pretty nice day.
On Sundays we start work at noon, but as the new guy's first day, I
was allowed to come in a little late. So I showed up around 1pm. I
started going through the check-in process, which included things like
being issued ammunition, patches, starting the paperwork to get IDs,
etc. It seems there are a few people in the office that like their
cats, but I'm the only guy. So I'll probably eventually be given a
hard time about that. But that's ok! Grandma would be proud! Ha!

Both going to breakfast, and coming back, I saw cats! They are just
wild/feral cats that were brought in to keep the rodent population in
check. However, they weren't spayed and neutered, so now there are
lots of cats. Seems kind of like the Old Woman Who Swallowed The Fly.
The ones I saw were young, because they were still playing tag with
each other and were pretty happy with themselves. I really wanted to
try petting them, but it wasn't the time or place.

Other than that, I'm sort of shadowing one of the other Action
Officers (that's my title) and going around on the various highlights
on the visit. I'm trying to acquaint myself with what needs to happen
so the process makes more sense in my mind. I think that will help me
remember things. But there is seriously a lot of planning that has to
take place! I'm a bit intimidated, but I'm sure it will come. I
can't do a darn thing until I get computer accounts.

Day 34

So today we left Kandahar. We had to show up to the airfield around
10:30am and then waited around for hours. The flight was in an
Italian C-130, and we were packed in there like sardines! And to make
it even better, we didn't have a direct flight. So we stopped at
Herat first, picked up a few people, and continued on to Kabul. Two
of us were going to ISAF HQ and they (I don't know who they is) sent a
couple people to pick us up. That was a godsend, because I wouldn't
have known what to do if they hadn't been there. So they were great.

Unfortunately, the pallet of seabags and rucksacks that we palletized
the day before never made it onto the plane. We're not sure where
they are right now, but I have 3 days worth of clothing in my carry-on
bag. So I'll have to cross my fingers. When I arrived, it was dark
and it was raining (I didn't know it rained here!). So I couldn't see
much, but we had about a 20 minute car ride to the compound. On the
way, I saw multiple feral dogs rooting around in people's trash. It
was kind of sad. But when we arrived, a guy named Bill met me and
took me to where I was staying, in what they call the DVQ. It's where
all the Distinguished Visitors stay, so it's very nice. It is only
temporary, but still very cool while I have it. I have the room to
myself, and my own shower and bathroom.

Then he took me to meet the people at JVB, and everyone seems pretty
nice. It looks like they have long work days, but it makes the time
go by faster. I'll find out more when I Can!

Test post

If this method of posting works, then I will work to catch up on the
days. I cannot access the blog site from the computer in my room, as
it is blocked for some reason. So I need to catch up! Please be
patient!

Day 33

This morning we arrived at Kadahar Airfield.  As it was described to us by a Navy Masterchief, "Kandahar is the armpit of Afghanistan, which is the asshole of the world."  Seems fitting so far.

This is a MUCH bigger base than the place in Kuwait.  This is home to about 33,000 people, which is kind of crazy.  We had a meeting with the NAVCENT AFG people here, and they are basically in administrative control of us while we're here.  They are the people to contact to get home eventually, so I'll keep their information close.

The air is very dusty here, and I'm pretty sure there is a burning pool of sewage nearby.  The buildings have not yet seemed appropriately air conditioned, except our sleeping tent.  I did manage to take a nice nap  between lunch and dinner, which should help me adjust a little.  I am planning to just shower and then sleep I think.

Also interesting, there is a place here called the Boardwalk, and it is actually a boardwalk that is a big square.  Around it are shops and food options.  So if I was staying here, I'd explore it a bit more.  For now I'll chalk it up to a novelty of this base.

Well, I *should* be catching a flight out of here tomorrow, and then finally arriving at my final destination.  This sure is quite a process!  I will try to write more tomorrow, if I can!

Day 32

Today wasn't too taxing.  We got up and had breakfast (real-ish french toast, not the sticks) which was good.  I also had some Arabic pineapple yogurt.  After that, Rob and I walked over to the embroidery shop, with the intention of acquiring a few extra nametags.  Unfortunately, we were about an hour early, so we HAD to go to the Starbucks.  I had a raspberry hot chocolate, and it tasted exactly the same as in the states.  Crazy.  I think the workers were more on my page though, because they understood perfectly what a "medium" was.

Once the embroidery shop opened, we placed our orders, which was going to take about half an hour.  Not bad, all things considered!  I got 1 x FINNEGAN, 1 x DANIMAL, 2 x US Navy, and a LT insignia with velcro.  So that should allow me to put a name tag on nearly everything that requires one.  After that, I went to the barber shop and got a haircut.  I made it very clear that I wasn't Army, and I wanted none of that shaving of the head routine.  It's shorter now, but in a good way.  I think it'll be fine.

After that, it was about lunch time.  We had a Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and I had a salad too.  It wasn't too bad.  Although, I didn't find any gravy, which I found to be odd.  After that, we went back to the tent and dismantled our body armor a bit.  We were told we could remove the side plates, the shoulder protectors, the butt cover and the groin protector.  All of that is designed to make the 3.5 flight a bit more comfortable.  So we'll see. 

I got to video skype with Emili and the kitties today next, which was fantastic.  The video worked for most of the time, and I think the cats were so happy to be picked up and held. (smile)  I'm crossing my fingers that my connection in Afghanistan is at least good enough for that.  I also hope for a room to myself, but that may not be possible. 

Now I'm all packed and ready to go.  The cargo truck should be here in about an hour, and we'll depart on a bus after that.  I am pretty sure that my day is far from over at this point.  I am almost positive we won't take off until the wee hours of tomorrow.  And the current rumor is that our flight to Kabul might be on Saturday.  So we'll see.  I suspect I'll be out of contact for a few days, but should be able to back fill this later.  Wish us luck!

Day 31

This morning I had french toast sticks, which really weren't as good as the real thing.  Nothing awful, but nothing special.  Then I came back, finished Destination Void by Frank Herbert, and took some clothes over to the laundry box.  The laundry is a box, similar to many of the vendor boxes, filled with washers on one side and dryers on the other.  It worked out pretty well.  After putting my clothes in the dryer, I went over to the Day Spa, and I had a 30 minute massage.

This was truly an interesting experience.  There was no table, so I knelt down on this chair thing, similar to the massages people get in malls.  I took my shirt off, but that was it.  So this big Filipino lady started the massage.  But it was kind of like a haircut too, because she wanted to make conversation, with her limited English vocabulary.  Needless to say, I was chastised for not having babies yet, and I should go home and get my wife pregnant.  Because what kind of relationship could I possibly have without baby?  She had baby when she was 18, and he 23 now.  After I stopped talking, things were more silent.  Strange experience.

But I folded my clothes, pulled out my green fleece (it's only a high of 61 in Kabul today), and then went to lunch.  I had a decent chicken fajita wrap concoction, so that was good.  Then we came back and just sort of sat around as a group and made fun of the Navy and bureaucracy.

At the transportation brief, I learned that I will be flying out of here tomorrow after dinner, to a place down south that begins with a K.  Once I've arrived and processed through there, they'll arrange my further transport to a place near Kabul (from what I understand).  Sounds like it will be another couple days of internet blackout, so we'll see.

After that, we went to the MWR building and watched Crazy, Stupid Love.  It was pretty cute, and I actually didn't see the ending coming.  After that we went to dinner, had some shrimp, potatoes, and a salad.  Then with little else to do, we went to the USO and convinced them to play Stripes on their movie screen.  It's always fun to make fun of the Army a little.

I came back, hopped in the shower, hoping to get most of the massage oil off my back.  Naturally the fire alarm goes off in the shower box while I was there.  So I hurried, got out, and went back to my room.  So tomorrow we have all day to kill before our LATE flight.  Oh yes, and we must wear body armor and helmets on this flight.  We're told that our flight will be about 3.5 hours long.  Not great, but could be much worse I'd imagine.  Plus, we can take some of the plates out of the vest for the flight.  Cross your fingers for me!

Day 30

Wow, today was a hot one.  I'm sure it's not much more than 100, and it's dry, but it sure feels hot.  This picture was from about 7am here.

Overall, today was low stress.  I had breakfast (good french toast), we had an admin brief, we had lunch, I read for a bit, went for a run, played games in the USO (Scrabble, Clue, and some Aussie game that didn't have any directions), had a rootbeer float at the USO and came back to the room again.

Probably the most useful piece of information I obtained today is that I will be working near Kabul, not at Bagram.  That was news to me, but I can't have much of an opinion yet.  I know more people going to a location near Kabul, so maybe we'll see each other at meals and whatnot.  Hopefully more details to come tomorrow.

I need to get into a workout routine, but I haven't had the energy.  But today I ran 2.2 miles on the treadmill, did some pull-ups and did some dips.  Not a bad workout for this heat!

After dinner Aaron, Rob, and I went over to the USO and played a game of Scrabble, a game of Clue, and then some game we didn't have directions for.  Scrabble was ok, but not nearly as good as when playing Emili.  If you take away the non-words from Aaron, I won.  Clue was interesting, and I believe it was actually my first time playing the game.  Call it an education.  I didn't win, but was entertained nonetheless.

Also, in the middle of our games, the USO people announced it was Dessert Night!  So I had a nice rootbeer float.  The USO has been very helpful, and it's a decent place to hang out in the evenings.  They also show movies, but we haven't tried that yet.  They have a man-cave style theater, which looks cool.

Other than that, you can just fill in the blanks with "Dan read the Kindle".  I'm almost done with my light reading book, so I'll have to decide what to do after that.  I also saw lots of bats tonight, which was cool.  There are lights all over the place, and I'm guessing they attract what few insects there are around here.  It was neat because the bats were making little cooing noises as they flew around.

So this bracelet was given to me at the send-off in SC.  I think some ladies just took it upon themselves to make them, but it's kind of neat.  I'd call it a survival bracelet, because it is just made up of parachute cord, and woven into a neat design.  If I ever run into a situation that I need some cord or line, I can just unravel it.  I think it's a practical sort of thing to have, so I took a picture!

I think that's about it for today.  Maybe tomorrow will bring more answers.

Day 29

It's become hard to say when today began.  Did it begin at midnight for me, or midnight on the East Coast?  Hard to say...

Needless to say, we boarded the flight out of Germany, they showed 2 movies in flight this time (same as the first two from the first flight), and then we landed in Kuwait around 2:30am local time.  It was dark and dry, but not too hot.  We got off the bus, they cut our zip ties in the guns (safety measure) and then we boarded buses.  When I stepped on the bus, a flood of memories came back from the UAE.  The same odor was hanging in the air.  I can't put my finger on it exactly, but I think it's a combination of incense and body odor.  Ahh, the Arab world.

After about a 2 hour bus ride, we arrived to Camp Virginia.  Virginia only in name, unfortunately.  It's really sand as far as you can see, with the exception of the sand colored buildings (all temporary).  But we were taken to the dining facility (DFAC) for breakfast before anything, which was nice.  The food seems to be pretty decent, and there are lots of options.

After that, we had a meeting where a Navy Commander told us the rules and the schedule.  We only have 1 meeting tomorrow, and 1 meeting on Wednesday.  Other than that, there's lots of time to sleep, work out, explore the camp in the 100 degree weather.

Many of us went exploring (in PT uniform).  Then we came back, showered, and went to bed.  I think 95% of us just slept through lunch, and woke up around 5pm for dinner.  Dinner wasn't spectacular, but I'm sure we needed to eat.  Then we went to the USO, where they gave us free blankets, which was nice.  Aaron, Rob, and I also played 2 games of Jenga and 1 game of Trivial Pursuit.  I was happy I got all my pie pieces, but I didn't win.  Then stopped by a shack and bought a username and password to use the WiFi for 1 day for $4.  It's not as bad as I had originally thought, but it's still not great.  But certainly better than nothing.

The showering box is not too bad, but the toilets are in their own boxes.  It's basically a porcelain toilet in a port-a-potty box, and has no power.  So that means no lights and no AC.  Interesting, right?  But now I'm spent.  Until tomorrow....

 

Day 28

Wow, what a couple days.  I'm writing this a day later because we've been in transit for so long!

So Saturday night we were escorted to the airport in SC by veterans on motorcycles, and we had local police escort us as well.  Needless to say, with flashing police lights allowing us to avoid stopping at lights and stop signs, we made it to the airport pretty quickly.  We arrived to quite the send-off!

Boy scouts, girl scouts, veteran groups, etc. had all gathered in a hanger to talk to us, feed us, and give us little gifts.  We each ended up with a bag of snacks and a full belly.  Of course, this was nearing midnight, so I didn't know how it was going to settle.

So then they called out different groups to board the plane.  First was O-5s and O-4s.  Ok, rank has its privileges.  Then they called Senior Chiefs.  Ok, most of them have had more time in the service than me, even though they're enlisted.  Not too much heartburn yet.  Then they called the E6 and below to head to the back of the plane.  Getting antsy.  Then the Chiefs were called.  I have a problem with this!  I have been in longer than many Chiefs, and I certainly outrank a Chief.  I was tired and cranky and wasn't a happy camper. The O-3's were the absolute last to board the plane.  And it was alphabetical to some degree.  I ended up boarding the plane 3rd to last.  Out of 120 passengers.  Luckily, the flight to Norfolk was just us, so I sat next to a window, and no one was next to me.  That was the peak of the trip.

We had to deplane in Norfolk for 3.5 hours.  There were chairs, but nothing other than the floor to stretch out on.  So I stretched out on the floor and fell asleep for a while.  Not comfortable, but I was tired.  Oh yes, and the Air Force people we had to pick up were waiting.  Except instead of the 20 people we were told to expect, it was at least 60.  Needless to say, I no longer had a free seat next to me.  No real complaints, because he wasn't overweight and he didn't snore.  But the Bose sound cancelling headphones were fantastic!

The flight to Germany took about 7.5 hours, and we were moving.  We were making about 615 mph over the ground, thanks to a 100 knot tailwind!  Not too bad.  During that time, Delta played 3 movies.  While I didn't plug into the audio jacks, I saw most of them, meaning I didn't sleep too well.  Sigh.  I listed to music on my phone and read some Frank Herbert.  But we landed in Frankfurt around 6pm local time, if I recall correctly. We were shuttled off to a special building just for us.  There were a few vendors in there, and I did have a beer.  It wasn't really as good as Resurrection, but I wanted to try it for the experience.  I think we'll have better luck (and beer) on the way home.

We left Germany and the sun had set.  So we were in for a 5.5 hour flight to Kuwait.  I actually watched and listened to the newest X-men movie, First Class, maybe?  It was ok.  I think the actor that played Charles Xavier was the Last King of Scotland.  Sigh.

 

Day 27

I woke up around 5:15am and got started.  I showered, because I won't get another for a couple days.  After I was dressed in my Army costume, I tossed the towel in the dryer, so I could pack it dry.  And we should all know the virtues of a traveler having a suitable towel (if not, ask Douglas Adams).

I went to breakfast, and it appeared that they had not expected us.  The waffles were the broken and leftover pieces, and the bacon was not so appealing.  But it was food.

After breakfast, we had to turn in our sheets.  No real loss there.  I've been sleeping on top of the sheets in my sweats for the last couple weeks.

The weather here is beautiful again.  Norfolk shouldn't be much warmer or cooler than here, but some of the other locations are going to be interesting.  Germany is around 45 degrees, and Kuwait is around 104.  Of course, Afghanistan is sitting around 72, which seems quite comfortable comparatively.  So hopefully I'll stay warm and cool enough in transit!

Lunch was uneventful and then back to the barracks we went.  After a while, we took all of our bags outside and put them on a couple military cargo trucks.  The trucks left for the airport, and hopefully the bags will make it on the correct plane.  I think when we get to Kuwait we have to move the bags ourselves, so it's nice that someone else is doing the loading for us.

After that, the new class started showing up in the barracks, making it a bit awkward for us.  But we chatted with them for a bit and shared how the training goes here.  Then a couple of us came over to an open classroom and used our computers for a while.  Aaron was watching tv or movies he had downloaded and I played Civilization 5 for a bit.  I'm playing as the Iroquois nation, and I think I'm doing alright.

Dinner was again uneventful.  I'm starting to get tired, and it's only 7:15pm!  I hope that this is a sign that I'll have no problems sleeping on the plane.  I have my nice sound-cancelling headphones, and they definitely work well.  I plan to sleep as much as I can.

So we'll be off to the airport around 9pm, and our flight takes off 10 minutes after midnight.  If all goes according to plan, I think we're supposed to arrive in Kuwait around 2am on Monday (Kuwait time).  It will be quite an exhausting trip, I have no doubt.  But at least it's not as long as a trip across the Atlantic a couple hundred years ago.

I will try to remember the next couple days, but I don't think I'll be able to write anything immediately upon arrival in Kuwait.  So hopefully I'll be able to catch up.  Wish me luck, and we'll try to be safe.

Day 26

Another lazy day, and it was fantastic.  I slept in until 7:30am, had some pop tarts for breakfast, and then I sat outside in the sun and read for a while.  It's an absolutely beautiful day here, completely sunny skies, a slight breeze, and about 65 degrees.  Perfect.

I packed a little more this morning, and I'm slowly working my way into the seabags.  It looks like I'll have the ruck sack, 2 seabags, my flight bag, and my backpack. I think that's 1 bag more than others, but I don't feel like throwing things away.  So we'll see.

I took the shuttle over to the PX and then walked to a military store.  I got an extra belt and a decent flashlight, but they didn't have any black Navy wings.  Go figure.

Then I walked back to the PX and got an international power adapter set.  I think most people yesterday bought the wrong product.  I think most people got a plug adapter.  So while their plugs will fit, the 240V will still blow out their electronics.  My product converts the voltage appropriately, which will be good.

So I overheard a conversation in the barracks today.  The SWO named Miguel Charles was telling someone else how he was going to get a dog.  The other guy pointed out that it's hard for single guys to have dogs, and what was he going to do when he had to deploy again?  Charles said he didn't know, probably put it up for adoption.  It was here that I had to step in.

He said he'd either put it up for adoption or put it down, so I told him that I would put him down if I ever heard of him doing this.  He just thinks it'd be fine to have a dog for a couple years and then take it to the shelter.  I was infuriated!!  I don't believe he was serious about euthanizing the dog, but I fear he might be serious about giving it up.  So let's all cross our fingers that he doesn't get a dog anytime soon.  Grrrrrrr.

Dinner was uneventful, but it was ended with a fire alarm.  It's so hard to eat with that noise!  But I went for a short walk after dinner and took a few pictures.

School bus Farm

Port-a-potty Farm

Pretty Treeline

Day 25

Today was a nice change of pace.  I still woke up early to eat breakfast, but then it was pretty leisurely after that.  We theoretically had someone that was going to inspect our barracks, and then we'd be free to leave on liberty, but I don't think anyone ever stopped by.

I spent the morning working on my MPH application questions and I filled out a great deal of the Army's Health Profession's Scholarship worksheet.  It seems to be very similar to an SF-86 for the security clearance, but this is specific to the Army Medical world.  I still need to look up old addresses, social security numbers, and addresses for references and whatnot.  But anything I do now should help the process later.

I caught the shuttle over to the PX (Post Exchange) around 11am.  It took about 30 minutes to get to the other side of the base, but I don't have much else to do!  I got a few odds and ends, like a set of locks, a set of sheets, a head light, etc.  These are all recommended things to have for arriving in Kuwait, mostly.  I'm not sure I mentioned this before, but there is no power or AC in the bathroom trailer.  Fun times.

But I got a couple pieces of pizza for lunch, which tasted pretty good.  Right after I had finished eating, I heard from Emili.  She had safely arrived in Minnesota for the conference.  But then I came back and packed up some more stuff.  It's hard to believe they've given us this much junk!

After an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, I went to dinner here.  Nothing very exciting: chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, broccoli with cheese, a salad, and some banana pudding.  While not remarkable, it was free.  So that's always a good thing.  After dinner I went for a walk around the paved track.  The lights do not work, so it was getting dark.  But I clearly saw a couple bats flying around which was neat.  Then, I almost stepped on a large frog hopping across the path.  I picked him up, checked him out, and then I let him go.  Hopefully he doesn't get stepped on!

Currently I'm checking out some powerpoint presentations on veterinary histology from Virginia Tech's vet program.  I came across it one day online, so I downloaded it all for later viewing.  Don't you just love wget?

In other news today, Dennis Ritchie died.  For those of you who don't know that name, he was the creator of the C programming language and an early, key contributor to the Unix operating system.  While you may not know how to program in C, chances are that much of the software on your computer was written in C.  I think it would be fantastic to make such a mark on the world...but instead, here's another picture of our frog buddy.

Day 24

I woke up this morning and had breakfast: a couple pancakes, a hashbrown thing, some yogurt, and a banana.  Then we showed up for our morning briefs.  However, we were surprised by having to get on a bus in order to travel the 1 mile to the brief location.  This was again puzzling because we traveled to the Marine Corps part of the base and were then briefed by Army personnel.  I sat there scratching my head...

The first brief was about personnel recovery, which is probably a good topic to cover.  However unlikely it would be, people occasionally get separated from their groups.  It's usually their fault for one reason or another, but it still happens.  There are just a few things to keep in mind, and some Do's and Don't for the recovery part.  For instance, don't come running toward the rescue helicopter waving frantically with a gun in your hands (Scott O'Grady).  I had heard it all before at SERE, which is generally hard to forget.

Then we had a lecture on the Law of War and the doctrines that guide our policies in foreign countries.  The JAG officer was extremely boring and dry, so the time dragged.  But he finished early so that was nice.

But then that left us more time to clean our weapons before lunch.  So we took the guns apart and continued to clean them to the best of our ability.  Of course, we don't have actual cleaning kits and we were all using rags and parts we found in a chest at the front of the classroom.

But lunch came and went, can't even remember what we ate.  Must not have been very memorable.  Sigh.  I miss Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.

We were instructed that weapon turn-in was to occur at 1300 at the armory.  So my table from lunch went directly to the armory and waited for the doors to open. I had to clean one part of the gun I had missed, but they guy let me use his tool.  It was a great tool!  It was long and had a sharp tip, so it was able to reach all the hard to reach bits.  Apparently, our drill sgt should have known where to get some for us.  Go figure.  But my M4 was successfully returned.  The funny part about this is that the rest of the group went to the classroom first and the drill sgt wouldn't let them depart for the armory until he'd inspected the weapons himself.  I know he was trying to save heartache at the armory, but it got to be a little ridiculous.

I helped other people clean guns after that, hopefully speeding up the process for some.  After that I came back to the room and started packing things up.  I now have a very densely packed ruck-sack.  It has my armor and my helmet in there, plus all the odds and ends I could fit.  The trivia question of the night:

How heavy is my ruck-sack?  Place your guesses in the comments!

At 5:30pm, 4 of us headed out to a Japanese restaurant and we had sushi for dinner.  There weren't any bad choices made, with the exception of one appetizer.  I do not want to ever eat fried tofu again.  I don't care about how special the sauce is.  Tofu is unnatural to start with, so deep frying it doesn't do much for me.  But we came back, and I continued to pack.  What fun I'm having....or as Borat would say, Not!

Day 23

Our day started at 4:30am again, because I don't know what we'd do without an hour of darkness before we can do anything.  Of course, it was a chilly morning, exacerbated by the constant rain.  I was to be a gunner, so I suspected I'd be soaked by the end of the day.

I wore my normal camouflage, but also wore an outer layer of waterproof camouflage too.  I was a little uncomfortable on the hour bus ride, but it was well worth it!

Picture, if you can, five vehicles in a row.  All sand colored and pretty high off the ground.  We had three Humvee's and two personnel transport vehicles, alternated.  Each Humvee had a gunner that sat up in the turret and manned the M240 machine gun.  Thankfully we only had blanks today, but that was my job!  So instead of sticking my head out of a limo driving down the street, I got to handle the machine gun sticking out of an all terrain vehicle bumping down a sand/dirt path through the woods.  Pretty crazy, if you think about it.  I got pretty good at swinging the turret around and manipulating my rifle at the same time as the machine gun.

The first exercises were strictly IED training.  While both exercises were scripted, we knew the plan for the first operation.  The second operation was more of a surprise.  We had a mission to head into a village and gather intelligence.  Unfortunately, when the locals started brandishing RPG's, we had to shoot them with the blanks!  It was pretty much chaos, but we didn't lose anybody in our convoy.  So that was definitely good news.

But we came back once all the groups had finished, and we cleaned guns for 4 hours.  We are turning in the loaner weapons tomorrow and they have to be clean.  So it took a while.  The M4 has some hard to reach nooks and crannies!  But then we had dinner and some downtime.

Tomorrow we should be done by early afternoon, which will be a nice change.  A group of us may head out for a sushi dinner.  On a completely side note, Verizon is hooking me up.  Since my number is the primary line on the account, while my service is suspended we'll only have to pay the secondary fee for Emili's line, $9.99. So that's quite nice.  But I think that's all for now!

Day 22

Today we started off in the classroom, which was nice because it was raining.  I got to try out my issued rain parks, which isn't too bad apart from being camouflaged.

The first lesson of the day was basic map reading.  They had definitions for things like hills, ridges, saddles, depressions, etc.  I had a good definition for depression, but I wasn't called on to answer.

Depression: Army training in the middle of a Navy career.

We then went to lunch: beef stew over rice.  Not the best, but it hasn't killed me yet.  Then we headed back to the classroom for some convoy operations stuff.  We ironed out the duties, and our convoy will be humvee, ILAV, humvee, ILAV, humvee.  I will be the gunner in the last humvee, covering the rear.  An ILAV seems to be a really well armored troop transport vehicle.  It seats 8 in the back, plus a driver and passenger up front.  Still not as many as my helicopter can seat though...

But we walked around outside, as a convoy without vehicles, for practice.  Tomorrow we get blanks, so it should be somewhat interesting.  I suppose we shall see.

We had our transportation brief this evening as well. Reality is starting to set in, which is scary. We're going to be leaving here on Saturday night. We'll fly out of Columbia airport, have a layover in Norfolk while we pick up people, a short layover in Germany, and then we'll arrive in Kuwait. It feels a little surreal and as if it should be someone else's reality.  In Kuwait we sleep in a big barn-like structure with lots of cots.  No lockers, so all our bags will have to sit there on the floor next to us.  And the toilet buildings don't even have power.  Kind of weird, if you ask me, because there is a McDonald's and many other chain restaurants.  I think I know where I'll be going to the bathroom!  The showers are in a separate building, but that is supposedly powered so there will be air conditioning.  It looks like we'll have anywhere between 3-5 days in Kuwait before we depart for our various locations.  So we'll see.  It's starting to feel real, which I don't like.

Day 21

Today was a nice leisurely day.  I slept in until about 7am, and then had a complementary breakfast.  Hampton Inns do a great job with breakfasts.  I had a nice fresh waffle, some peach yogurt, some fruit salad, and a pastry.  I also had two hot chocolates.  I was using the system to the maximum extent possible!

After breakfast, Jon and I walked around.  We went over to what looked like a statehouse and chatted about medical and environmental things.  I took the picture below while walking around.  It was quite disappointing to see the confederate flag.flying there, though.

We ended up eating lunch at a sports bar, which was fine.  However, we started watching the Steeler game, and didn't want to sit there for 3 hours.  So the group split up for a while.  Jon and I went to a different sports bar and probably annoyed the bartender by only ordering sodas and a batch of fries for the 2.5 hours we sat there.  But it was good Steeler football for the most part, which made us happy. 

Then we decided to go see a movie.  We decided on Moneyball and it was ok.  Not my favorite, but certainly not the worst.  Then I got Subway for dinner and brought it back to the base to eat it. 

We got our weapons back, then went to muster.  All in all, a pretty good day.

Day 20

Today didn't start out so hot.  We were told to eat in the dining facility at 7am, and then meet up for formation.  However, we ended up having to eat the powdered eggs and bread when we were sent away from the dining facility.  I'm guessing people didn't communicate the change of plans to the food people clearly, or at all.

Then we hopped on the bus, and our Drill Sargeant proceeded to get lost trying to get to our destination.  So what should have been about 20 minutes turned into an hour. But!!  We were treated to his demo cd on the way.  Let me clarify.

All of the Army people leading us seem to be South Carolina Army National Guard.  So these people are weekend warriors, and this is their required 2 weeks of service for the year.  They all have real jobs, and for some, it's hard to picture.  The majority seem to be policemen, either local or state troopers.  But we have a prison guard, two people who work at banks, a postal worker, and one who takes the cake.  Imagine the Drill Sargeant from Full Metal Jacket.  He's a crotchety old man who uses swear words as a completely reflexive part of his vernacular.  Add a deep southern accent which makes it nearly impossible to understand him.  Now, imagine this man selling real estate.  It boggles our minds!  I picture him at the rifle range the other day yelling out loud about how "he loves him some titties!" It's a truly hilarious image for me, anyway.  Long story short, our bus driver does a DJ job on the side.  His radio name?  The Sharminator.  Priceless.

The morning's training was all about IEDs and how to spot them.  I'm sure it was fine training, but if we find ourselves looking for IEDs, we have other problems going on.  In the afternoon, we learned how to barge into a room and clear it.  I disagree with the policies we have to use, in terms of the force required.  For instance, each family in Afghanistan is allowed to have one AK-47.  Any kind of RPGs are illegal, so if we see one, we are supposed to kill that person.  The scenario that bothers me is this:  if we enter a local's house at night and they come out with their AK-47 pointed at us, we are supposed to kill them.  I object to this policy, but I can't figure out a more appropriate tactic, other than not going in their house.  If someone was breaking into my house, I'd come down the stairs ready to shoot.  But we have apparently trained them to not react this way, which is sad to me.

But then we learned about how terrorists hate our working dogs, so they are a valuable asset to us.  Of course, I asked how many dogs a base might have to work with, and as for most everything we ask about, I was told it depends.  So helpful.

Then we played convoy.  I'm a gunner, but didn't make it into a humvee yesterday.  My team ended up riding in the super well armored personnel vehicle.  Not terribly exciting, but ehh.

We came back, turned our weapons in for the short weekend, then we hopped in Aaron's rental car and 4 of us headed to Columbia for an overnight.  Jon Berger and I got a room, and it is amazing.  The water is normal (not soft) so we can actually feel clean after a shower.  Oh yes, and in bed I can spread my limbs farther apart than 1 foot.  So it's pretty nice.

We showered and got dressed, and then went across the street for sushi and sake.  I realized, however, that sushi is fine but it is mostly just a vector for delivering soy sauce with wasabi.  But it was fine.  Then we wandered just 1 block to a place that sells alcoholic slurpees.  I had blue, which apparently had Everclear in it.  I didn't finish it, which I think I'm glad about.  Aaron finished his, and he didn't look so hot.  But then I came back to the hotel and talked to the most wonderful girl I know!  Emili had volunteered at the Baltimore TNR clinic all day so she had neat stories too. 

Tomorrow I will have a complimentary waffle and life will be good.  That's all for now folks!

Day 19

Today was the 4th day in a row to start at 4:30am in the morning. Except I woke up at 4am and couldn't fall asleep again. Sigh. Needless to say, I'm a bit tired now.

We arrived at a range in the complete darkness. In fact, we even got to sit on metal bleachers in the wind for an hour, waiting for the sun to come up. It was hard to contain my enthusiasm. But it was worth it, I would say. We were each given two chains of ammunition: 5.56mm and 7.62mm. Seeing the 7.62mm made me wish for my rifle out here.

We stood in line, and when it was our turn, we loaded the machine guns and then got to shoot the rounds at targets downrange. Following that, we got to walk over to the 50-cal machine gun, the M2. Quite an impressive gun. Not so much if you want to hit your target, but intimidate the crap out of your enemy. It had a very powerful repercussion, and had quite a good range. The targets we were hitting had to be about a quarter mile away. It was a neat demonstration.

From there, we were bused to another range, where we did reflexive fire drills. We'd crouch down a little bit, and swing the rifle up to our shoulder, switch off safe, fire two quick shots, put the rifle back on safe, and then lower the weapon. I wasn't great at the drill, but probably average. It was hard because we don't use the rear site for this, because that would take too long. We shot at 25 meters, 15 meters, 10 meters, and then at 5 meters. Of course, at 5 meters, it's just not sporting anymore. And thinking about it, I trust myself with the 9mm for close ranges much more, but I'm more accustomed to shooting the 9mm at these distances.

The last drill of the day was called Stress Firing. It was kind of an obstacle course. This is how it went:

1. Jump out of an armored vehicle and zig zag around some barriers to make your way to take shelter behind a Humvee. We were wearing the full body armor and carrying our M4 rifle, along with the 9mm in its holster on our leg.
2. Run to an upright barrier and take shelter. Insert a 10 round magazine and shoot 3 targets with controlled 2 round bursts.
3. Run to a wooden frame that simulates a window. From a somewhat crouched position, shoot 2 targets with the same style 2 round bursts. Then take a knee and change magazines.
4. Run to a lower barrier and kneel down. From there, we had to lean around the corner and shoot 3 targets with 2 round bursts.
5. Then run to a group of sandbags and assume the prone position. From there, we shoot 2 targets with 2 round bursts.
6. Run to the end of the field. Phew!

Needless to say, we were quite tired after that exercise. Plus, while it didn't bother me much, the Army guys were yelling and trying to induce stress. It was actually somewhat comical. But then we got to come back to the barracks and relax a bit.

And now, here's a picture from the outside of our barracks.

Day 17

Today we went to a different shooting range to practice for the qualification.  Of course, this is not required for a handful of us, so there is very little pressure. 

I started off having to load ammo.  I think we ended up loading somewhere near 16000 rounds of 5.56mm.  Needless to say, that took a couple hours.  But eventually, they called us up as the last group.

I ended up shooting 36/40 targets on my first round.  That was pretty good, and qualifies as Expert.  Of course, my subsequent rounds went downhill from there, unfortunately.  The way it works is that there are 2 targets at 50 meters, one left and one right, and targets at 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 meters.  The targets pop up (seeming to be random at first).  The hard part is that the 50m targets only pop up for 4 seconds, 5 seconds for 100m, 6 seconds for 150m, etc.  And sometimes two targets pop up at the same time.  So it's actually challenging.  I was getting hot and sweaty, and sweat was dripping into my eyes after the first round.  So hopefully tomorrow will be cool, weather wise.



We had MREs for lunch, which is always exciting.  Today I had Meatballs in Marinara Sauce.  Not great, but not terrible at all.  I even got a Cinnamon Scone as my dessert too!

After my group was done shooting, there was some down time.  The Army calls free time "white space." Regardless of what you call it, it allowed for a nap!  Tomorrow is our actual qualification shoot, so hopefully I control my nerves.  Now I think I will rest...

Day 16

Today was our first chance to shoot at targets that were at varied distances.  We met outside at 5:15am and then had breakfast in the classroom.  Powdered scrambled eggs, bacon, and a banana for me.  If you enjoy grits you'd be set too.  It.just brings back My Cousin Vinnie for me...

When we arrived at the range, it was still quite chilly and we had to wait half an hour before we even saw the sun.  Unfortunately, a handful of us got the short end of the stick today.  We were picked to run the computer program at each lane.  It is a neat program, actually.  The lcd display shows an outline of the target, and then it registers where you hit or miss the target.  It was pretty neat.  In any case, I managed to fix a few gun jamming issues and everyone was safe.

I shot pretty well, considering I didn't wear the corrective lens inserts.  I actually hit 5/5 targets at 300 meters.  While wearing full body armor.  Oh yes, in an unsupported position.  So I don't know if you are aware, but I'm kind of a big deal around here. Smile.

But in traditional Army fashion, it was a Charlie foxtrot.  The monitor operators were kept on a station until another 4-5 shooters had cycled through.  We didn't finish that until about 2:30 pm.  Which meant we continued to rotate to the other stations.

The one station was walking through trailers that had tv monitors inside.  They told a story, which was not terribly important.  And finally, our last station was a vehicle to practice roll-overs in.  Good training, but there is such a remote chance of ever having to use this. 

Well, thus concludes another day in Army clothing.  I'll keep you posted!

Day 15

Today was easily the most frustrating day to date.  Let's review the schedule:

• 0700 - Breakfast, no problems
• 0750 - Formation outside, chilly but otherwise ok
• 0800-1130 - IED brief.  Plain awful.  A former Marine would talk for 10 minutes from the Powerpoint slide and then put us on a 20 minute break.
• 1130-1210 - Brief on something.  I honestly don't remember.
• 1210-1245 - Lunch.  Needless to say, we're supposed to have an hour for lunch.  However, once you stand in line for 15 minutes, and you have to be outside with your body armor donned, you end up not getting to finish your lunch after all.  Oh yes, and then people yell and get bent out of shape when people show up late.
• 1300-1700 - Outdoor activities.  I need to address this more.

This afternoon we took a bus 0.5 miles away and each of the four platoons was assigned a different activity.  After about 45 minutes or an hour, we'd rotate.  We were to start on the convoy training station.  However, once we arrived, the Army changed its mind.  We moved to the simulator building first.  The first part of the simulation was neat.  We were shooting a 9mm (shoots digital bullets) at a screen in dusk conditions as a black target.  I actually hit the target 7 out of 7 times, but all 7 shots were in his right arm.  So he'd have no arm, but he might still be alive.  Oh well.  However, after that simulation we moved to the second, which used the M4 rifle.  In groups of 5, we were shown a situation video, and we had to shoot the threat when it presented itself.  However, the first scenario didn't require any shooting at all!  And then the instructor kept asking which of us was "commando", so I told him we were all Special Forces.  Then he asked again, "which of you are commando?"  So I replied, yes, I am not wearing underwear today.  I was really scratching my head, trying to figure out what he was talking about.  Eventually it came out that he believes "commando" means the same thing as "mando", as in mandatory.  A handful of us are required to qualify on the 9mm, and we are the group to which he was referring.  But then he got up on a soapbox about this training and how to load a weapon, etc.  We stopped short of pointing out that we'd already been to the range and shot these weapons.  But it gets better.

The convoy training was fine, if not simplistic.  That station was nice because the Drill Sergeant said we could take off the body armor if we wanted to, because this station was all lecture.  Great!  So I, along with about 4 other people took it off.  Ok.  I glanced over and we could see the next station from where we sat, and they were not wearing the body armor, so that was more good news.

So when it was time to rotate to the next station, I carried my body armor over, but didn't not put it on.  However, we were then fussed at to stand in tight formation, and wear the armor.  I objected, and pointed out that it would be pointless to put it on because we were about to take it off.  Didn't make any sense to me. I can't actually remember whether I put it on or not, because I was so frustrated.  So then everyone took off the armor and had to place everything very neatly and orderly on the ground.  This, before we crawled and rolled around the ground practicing low crawls and medium crawls.  Asinine.

The last of the four stations was the sleeping station.  We just sat there and did nothing.  In the end, we only needed the body armor for the one indoor simulation stations.  Ahhhh!

All in all, a good use of our time.  Please watch out for the sarcasm forming a puddle at my feet.

Day 14

Week 2 is complete now.  Today I slept in until about 8am, which was fantastic.  The weather was all sunshine with an appropriately chilly breeze.  It's starting to feel like fall!

I got to talk to Emili this morning, and I heard about taking Rhombus to the vets.  He is a cat who belongs to acquaintances in Baltimore, and the humans are heading to Ghana tomorrow.  Needless to say, Emili helped them out.

What else...hmmm.  I played some Civilization today, but that left me with a headache.  I need to find a routine, but I doubt I'll be able to do that while in SC.   Tonight we muster at 8:45pm and then check out our weapons again.  That will most likely take at least an hour.  Good times...

Day 13

Stone cold killer.  I got a 237/240 on one course for the M9, and a perfect score on the second portion.  Not too shabby.  The instructor helped me improve on the M4 too.

There was a ton of down time, but it was good to shoot.  As it turns out, I am only required to qualify on the pistol, which I did today.  So there is very little pressure on me now!  I'll do my best on the rifle, but it will be a new style of shooting for me.

I had a good time today chatting with various people.  It's fun to talk to disgruntled people from all different communities.  In way, it provides a unifying bond among us.  Very few of the officers volunteered for these jobs, and we all look forward to the end of this tour. 

Well for now, Good Night South Carolina!