Hello Lieutenant Dan, Goodbye Major Dave

I seriously never thought this day would come, but I am about to re-deploy! In honor of that fact the USO brought Gary Sinise out to say goodbye. Well, OK maybe they brought him here to see the troops and my departure is mere coincidence.

Either way I got to meet the famous "LT Dan" of Forest Gump fame. I should note here that Mr. Sinise is a tremendous supporter of the US military. He has worked hard to start a project that would create a memorial to wounded military personnel and he started a fund that helps Iraqi children. He has many other accomplishments to his name, but even he admits he is most recognized as "Lieutenant Dan".

So this is how I spent one of my last few days here. I should be home and drinking beer again by the beginning of August. It has been a tremendously long year. In ways that are difficult to articulate it has been rewarding, but all in all I could have done with out it. Its war and I had it really, really easy. I have such great respect for those folks up "in the shit" at places like Tallil, Camp Delta, FOB War Horse and basically anywhere in Afghanistan.

Kuwait is not war. By definition if you are not getting shot at or at least under threat of being shot at you really can't call it "war". That’s not to say it doesn’t suck or that it isn't hard. It was hard and it did suck, but it wasn't as bad as those up north have it. But the powers that be call it a war zone, so it is. I came here because this is where they told me my fight was, and so here I fought.

Thanks to all of you that supported me with cards, emails, prayers, boxes, cookies, letters and thoughts of good will. Your many kindnesses and generosity will not be forgotten. Thanks also to my brothers and sisters in arms, wherever you are. No matter your station, that you stand your watch is amazing testament to you as a person. These are hard times and they have continued far beyond what most expected, but yet you stand your watch. To our Coalition Partners, especially Australia and Great Brittan thank you for standing shoulder to shoulder with us and bearing much of the weight of this load. Should you need me, your fight is my fight whenever you should call.

I leave you with a video put together by the Public Affairs Office. It is a pretty cool video to watch that paints the contrast between the Army of WWII and today while highlighting some of our capabilities and accomplishments.

buisness trip

A week ago I had another opportunity to go to Iraq. For operational reasons I don't post these things for a few days after I get back.

This trip was to Umm Qasr, near the town of Basra. I wanted to post a few pics of our helicopter ride up and a few other you might find interesting. Can't really talk much about what we did or saw, but it was a good trip. No I did not get shoot at, as that seems to be a popular question every time I go to Iraq.

One of the things we did while up there was check out some equipment that is going to Iraq. This is one of my responsibilities. This pic is of Ford F350 trucks for Iraq government. These trucks are bought by Iraq as opposed to being provided to them. I know there is a lot of talk back home about the cost of this war. These trucks represent Iraqi money being spent on American products. This is not a political pitch, just a picture of some trucks.

Of course not post about adventures in a foreign country is complete without a funny sign. I leave you with this sign I found in the dinning facility. If you have ever traveled to a foreign country you will chuckle at yet another example of things you would just never see in America. Enjoy!

They became citizens today.

I had a rare opportunity today to witness a naturalization ceremony. 62 men and women from 25 different countries all either Soldiers, Airmen, Marines or Sailors earned their citizenship. It was a mandatory function which I initially balked at, but in retrospect am very glad I attended. A little background for those that may not know:

• A person does not have to be a citizen of the United States to serve in the Armed Forces as an enlisted person. I believe you must be a citizen to be a commissioned officer, but there may be waivers for that.
• Since 9/11 40,000 service members have earned their citizenship.
• 109 of those 40,000 were awarded citizenship posthumously for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the face of an armed enemy of the United States.
• .6% that's right barely 1/2 of one percent of the American population has served in uniform. .6%

Fairly astounding statistics I thought. I must tell you that this was in all respects a very moving ceremony. I read through the list of 62 names. They were from places that barely understand the concept of freedom. This was not a group of people that eked past a border and are now claiming that they deserve citizenship because they have been here for so long. These people came to America, some of them from very bad places. They enlisted in the Armed Forces and were now deployed in the great struggle that our nation is now involved in.

Amazing! It truly was. I sat and watched and thought about all the things some of these people weren't born into. They weren't born into the most powerful nation on earth. They weren't born into a place that not only provided, but mandated education through high school. Some of them came from nothing, literally. Yet here they are, able to rise above it and have a career, a life, provide for themselves and their families. They are not even citizens! I was amazed and angered. Its election time, and we hear a lot about all the opportunities some people don't have. Really I thought. Really?

The naturalization officer that administered the oath gave a nice little speech. He too was a naturalized citizen, as was his whole family he explained. It was moving to hear him talk of "our country". There was unmistakable passion in his voice. An almost relentless, fierce force to it. He asked, no he told the 62 new citizens to vote. In effect he told them that if they don't vote there was no reason for them to have become citizens. He then administered the oath. I have reprinted the oath below from the US Citizenship website. I have highlighted the parts that are verbatim the same as either the Oath of Office used to swear in Military Officers or the oath of enlistment. It was chilling to hear, it really was.

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

Think you got what it take to be a citizen? Go here and take a look at the study guide for the naturalization test. Prepare to be embarrassed.

An important day

Today is one of those good/bad days. It is now public knowledge that we have recovered the remains of Sergeant Matt Maupin. You can read the story here.


SGT Keith Matthew Maupin was captured in 2004. He was then the rank of Private First Class (PFC). He has since been promoted twice in keeping with Army policy of treating MIAs as continuing to serve.


It's a bad day certainly. Whatever hope we had held out that SGT Maupin would be found alive is now gone. I realize that most had succumbed to the facts and realized that Matt was probably not coming home. I am sure though that his parents and family held out at least some hope.


It is a good day in that his family can now put closure to SGT Maupin's death. I certainly don't know how you move on from this. I can only assume that knowing is somehow better than not knowing. It is a good day for soldiers too. As SGT Maupins father said in an interview "I told them when we'd go up to the Pentagon, whether he walks off a plane or is carried off, you're not going to leave him in Iraq like you did those guys in Vietnam," So for us as soldiers we see and are bolstered by the fact that we will not be left behind.

There are two service member still MIA. Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, a 41-year-old Iraqi-born reserve soldier from Ann Arbor, Mich., who was abducted in Baghdad while visiting his Iraqi wife in 2006 and Navy Capt. Michael Speicher a pilot, has been missing since 1991. I would ask your continued prayers for these men and their families.

An even BIGGER surprise!

Emily did such a great job of describing our trip that I am going to cut and paste this post from her email:

Emily and I got engaged on our trip to Europe earlier this month. :) I proposed at night in front of the lit-up St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican - how much more romantic can you get for a couple of good Catholics, really? We're pretty sure the Pope was probably looking down watching us from his apartment. ;)

We had an amazing time in Europe, traveling around Italy, Germany, and Austria. We spent a few days in Rome eating gelato, checking out the Vatican, going to mass at St. Peter's, listening to the Pope, checking out ancient Rome via Segways (AWESOME!), and of course, getting engaged!

We then headed to Naples for a few days where the Navy has an installation and a campground/rec facility about 45 minutes away that's set in the crater of a volcano. We were the only people staying there since it was so early in the spring, so not only did we get our own cabin, but we got the whole campground to ourselves, too! Naples was a marathon of pizza (every day!), checking out the town where Dave's great-grandparents were from and the church there, visiting the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery where his great-uncle was buried when he was killed in Italy during WWII, and spending a day in Pompeii.

We then hopped the train back to Rome, a plane to Munich, and two more trains to the absolutely beautiful skiing village of Garmish-Partenkirchen, Germany. It's very close to the Austrian border and set in a valley below the most incredible mountains. We stayed at a resort there that is run by the army and absolutely exceeded our expectations in about a million ways. It was such a treat and so relaxing! We did bring ourselves to leave the resort a few times, though, and spent some time walking around Garmish, drinking LOTS of yummy heffeweisen with giant pretzels. We also spent a day in Innsbruck, Austria, where we toured the Hapsburg Palace, sampled schnapps, and shopped for crystals. We spent a day touring an artisinal cheese factory and a monastery and took a trip to Munich and the Hoffbrau Haus on our last day.

We then said goodbye to the Edelweiss Lodge and drove across Germany (checking out countless German deer hunting tree stands along the way, of course) to Frankfurt where we spent our last night and went our separate ways. :(

Surprise!

After a not to eventful, but not to restful flight I made it to Frankfurt. Ahhhhhh the sights, sounds, and smells of civilization. The Middle East may in fact be the cradle of civilization but they certainly have not moved much beyond that. The food smelled sooooo good and there were people everywhere and this was going on and that was going on. It’s not home, but it was a damn far bit closer than where I had just left!

Emily has been under the impression I would meet her in Rome. With some divine intercession and a little logistical planning I was able to get a seat on the same flight out of Frankfurt to Rome as Emily was on. Now all I had to worry about was her landing on time. Getting through security and to the gate on time. There was still so much that could keep us apart!

So I spent the next 5 hours researching what gate Emily was coming into. Could I get down there and meet her there? Unfortunately, no. Security is pretty tight in Germany, which is OK with me. You need to be ticketed to get down the terminal, even if you are already in another terminal. I was in terminal B, Emily landed in Terminal C and we flew out of terminal A. I made my way through security again, and got to our departure gate. I roamed around a while trying to pass the time. Finally it was getting pretty close to when I thought Emily should be getting to the departure gate so I made my way back.

I don’t think I have ever crept through the woods deer hunting with as much care and caution! I was looking at everything. The last thing I wanted was to run into Emily and ruin the surprise. I went past the gate and lurked, looking at every person in the gate area. I had to be careful as I know Emily sometimes goes a gate or two away if it is too crowded at the departure gate so she can sit and read.

I decided to move. I crept up the terminal, scanning every face. Left. Right. Oh shit! She was walking right toward me. Jump behind a column and hold my breath. Move like a cat stalking his prey around the column…ahhhhh. She’s walking along, never saw me.

I follow Emily almost to the gate. I watch her go in and look for a seat. I decide to duck into the latrine. I don’t want to be so excited I pee my pants! I slink out of the latrine. People are looking at me kinda funny as I am sort of crouched, just in case Emily decided to come up to the latrine. I make my way down to the gate. I am moving slow. Looking again at every person. I come around a pillar and see Emily sitting way off in the back and she turns towards me! Whew, never saw me. I am about 50 meters from her, but I have to approach from her right side. There is no way to sneak up behind her.

I watch. She is reading a magazine. I wait until I see her turn a page and then I dash. I get past the counter and am able to slip in behind her. Ok gotta be calm. There are a few tables behind her with a few people. I slip off my ruck. I ease up behind her. She is engrossed in a wedding magazine. Funny I think. So cute, she is so ready to marry me ☺. “Excuse me ma’am, can I help you with your bags?” Emily looks up she looks at me about to say something like “no thanks”. She sees me. She looks, blinks. Looks. Then the expression and the “Oh my gosh, what are you doing here??? Ahhhhhh. Eeeeeee.!”

It was so fun. We of course hugged and kissed, we somehow were able to keep a modicum of decorum about ourselves. She was so surprised. We sat and talked and waited. Then, like everybody else we shuffled onto the plane for Rome. Unlike everybody else though we were already the only place either of us cared about being….with one another.

Nando’s Zucchini Appetizer

I spent a few hours at the café and then made my way to the check-in. Kuwait International Airport is, like the rest of the country, disappointing. For a nation of millionaires that don’t work, they sure have a crappy airport. That is not to say it isn’t nice to look at. They have it all Starbuck’s, KFC, Fuddrucker’s, even a Harley Davidson store! As with the rest of the place, they have really nice stuff set amongst a backdrop of crap and existing in a system of ridiculousness.

So while I am sitting on my luggage after I had been charged $5.00 to have it shrink wrapped (still not sure if that was voluntary or required) and taken by porter to where I am sitting on it to have it checked in I meet Fernando. Nando as he likes to be called, is a technician that has worked in the oil refinery business for almost 30 years. He has spent many years all over the middle east. Anyhow, we strike up a conversation while waiting for the baggage check into open and I discover he is from Italy! So of course we talk of my trip and we wait. We get checked in and then spend the next few hours waiting for our plane together. I find him an engaging very well informed and wonderful travel companion. I also notice the many facial expressions and gestures that I have seen in my Grandfather. I chuckle to myself and think “yeah, so that really is how Italians are!”

I will get to the appetizer in a minute, but I wanted to relate one part of our conversation that I found very moving. Typically speaking, Americans are not viewed all that highly by Europeans. There are lots of reasons for that, no the least of which is the “ugly American” display we see parodied in movies. Apparently we also have very little fashion sense as a culture, which is a very big deal to Italians especially. At the moment I want to relate to you, Nando and I are discussing politics and our respective cultures in general. Nando is very upset with the almost constant corruption that has plagued his government. He tells me a few stories and I try to explain that we have just as many problems as Italy in the very same areas. That is when he says something I will never forget. He looks over to me and says “…yes, but you LOVE America.” I am taken aback. Of course I do, don’t all cultures foster that same “spirit”. Don’t Italians LOVE Italy. Nando sadly tells me he does not believe so. He gives a litany of reasons; love of money or power, lack of national identity, etc. I feel a little sad for him if he is right. I try to say something to disagree with him again, but again he repeats “no no. Americans, you are different. You have invited the world, and you LOVE America!” I cannot argue with him. I simply nod and tell him I do love my country. Well, of course I do. Only a complete moron would serve in the military, risk his or her life, and not exhibit love of country!

So we talk more. Nando lives in Tuscany and I tell him how much Emily and I would like to take a vacation there someday and maybe go to cooking school. He tells me he likes to cook too and starts describing this recipe. It sounded so good I had him write it down and I thought it would be fun to post here:

• Slice a few zucchini length wise about ¼” thick.
• Heat these up on the BBQ or in a dry fry pan. Just a minute or two each side. Just until they are soft.
• In a mixing cup add:
o Olive Oil (very important Nando said, “no vegetable oil!”
o White Vinegar. To taste as you like it.
o Minced garlic, again to taste.
o Fresh coarse ground black pepper
o Finely chopped parsley
• Warm this mix up a bit, just so the flavors begin to meld together.
• Drizzle mixture on bottom of backing dish
• Add layer of zucchini
• Drizzle
• Layer of zucchini and repeat until ingredients are used up
• Leave this to rest in a cool, not cold place for 3 hours
• Enjoy as an appetizer especially before pasta!

As I will not be cooking for some time somebody will have to try this and tell me how it is. Enjoy!

Its not just a vacation, its an adventure!

As promised my faithful minions, er ah I mean readers, my first post detailing the adventure that is R&R (Rest and Recuperate) leave. So far all is going fairly swimmingly.

I am currently enjoying a Mediterranean panini at the Juice Zone Café in the Kuwait International Airport. I can’t detail my days activities, but I will say in true Army style it has taken me 13 hours to get a grand total of 30 miles away from where I woke up this morning to wait for a commercial airplane! I am not saying I have only traveled 30 miles, I had to go much farther to come all the way back to the airport. Although normally this would be quite a frustrating experience, I don’t care. My leave doesn’t start until the day after I land at my destination, so in effect this has been a work day for me. I’ll take it.

I will be here at the airport until my plane departs several hours from now. Again, I am getting paid, so I don’t really care. All I can think about is seeing Emily’s face when she sees me in Frankfurt. She doesn’t know it, but by a shear act of God himself I will actually link up with her in Frankfurt Germany and we will be on the same from there to Italy! She is going to be so surprised to see me in Germany. I cant wait. I will leave you all waiting as anxiously as I….

Its been to long

My faithful peeps. 10,000 appologies for my lack of posting. I owuld love to tell you about how busy I have been hunting down and killing insurgent scum, or how I have been faithfully and dilligently pusruing those that would do us harm but the truth is I have jsut not been in a writing mood.



Things are well here and I realize that alot has gone on in the recent past that you all might be interested in, but to me it is all just one long day. Sometimes writing about it requires me to keep the issues in the forefront of my mind and to be honest, that is the last thing I want to do.



My days have not changed much in the past few months, which I assume is part of the treason I dont feel like writing about them. I am still working coalition logisitics. Still on a staff doing administrative work like writing breifings, researching regulations, data mining and information gathering. All crap that I joined the army so I would not have to do.



I am still as safe and comforatable as any of you. Actually, statistically speaking I am far safer than almost any of you. There is virtually no crime on Camp Arifjan, certainly no violent crime. I dont leave post much, but even when I do statistically the Kuwait highway is far safer than the American road. All of the amenities are still operating. Both PXs, the Starbucks, Pizza Hut, etc. Its all very cozy. I really cant get over the number of people that complain about living here. It sucks I admit, but for me it sucks because it is so cushy and I feel like such a shamer. Most of you dont understand this feelign, but soldiers will. Believe me, when you see those troops livin up at a FOB or Combat Outpost that dont get showers for days, or have to eat MRE's everyday and then you hear esomebody bitchin because they have to walk 200 meters from the dining facility to their barracks room where they have cable TV, AC, a bed and a latrine down the hall it can piss you off.



Recently, I admit I have had trouble focusing. I leave this week for R&R, and I cannot wait. I am meeting up with Emily in Italy and we will spend two weeks in Italy and Germany! We have quite a bit planned and I promise I will post pics. We might even do a seperate blog. I am not sure about all that but it seems like a fun idea as I sit here and think about Emily and I recounting that days adventures in a brief blog and a few pictures each day.



Well thats the update. The weather is getting warmer and by the time I get back in mid March we will be knockign on the door of 100 degree days.

Boom!

Here is a video of the destructive power of an IED. The guys in the video were pretty lucky. You can imagine the destruction an explosion of this size would create.

Props for "The Blind Side" and Monica

Amazing as it sounds I read a book. Like a whole book and not an Army manual or Federal Statute. More amazing than the fact that I read the book is the girl that sent it to me. This time I am not talking about my girlfriend Emily (though she is amazing) I am referring to her roommate Monica.

Monica has been a great friend since Emily moved to DC. Monica is always there to lend a hand or an ear when Emily needs it and that is a great comfort to me being away. Knowing that I needed distraction from the day to day life here, Monica sent me a book for Christmas. Reading is not normally high on my list, but Monica was just sure I would like this book. I am happy to say she was spot on! So Monica, Thanks for the book and for being such a wonderfully supportive friend :)

The book The Blind Side by Michael Lewis chronicle's the rise to college football stardom of Michael Oher, but that is only half the story. Woven into the life story of Michael Oher is nothing short of an education on the metamorphosis college and pro-football have undergone in the past 30 years.

I am not a book reviewer and I don't want to spoil it for anyone so I am not going to go in depth. I want to say though that the book does a great job of doing couple of things all at once. First, it tells Oher's story which is nothing short of The American Dream. A kid with zero education, passed though the system. Living in the worst of conditions in a day to day existence ends up becoming not one of, but THE most recruited high school football player of his time. Thia is a great story about how people can make a difference in others lives and the power of faith, family and dedication. Second, the book is a lesson in the fundamental strategic changes in football as it evolved from a running game to a passing game. Finally it is a lesson in economics by describing how the seemingly inglorious position of left tackle has become the highest paid player on the field.

In short, a great read from a great girl. Thanks again Monica.

Last Call - Day 4 and My Return Trip

My last day was about the same as the other 3, not doing a whole lot of anything. There isn’t much to report because I didn’t do much. R&R is relaxing in that it gets you out of wherever you are. Other than that fact though, it is a fairly frustrating experience. 3 beers a day is a tease. It annoys me that the Army Senior Leaders SAY they have faith in their soldiers, but clearly they do not if they are limiting beer. There is a wireless network but it is so slow you can’t even connect to it most of the time. When you can it is not fast enough to load WebPages, but you can usually IM with it. There is a bunch of other little shit that is annoying the same way the same little shit is annoying at work. The only difference is your not at work, so it is a degree better.

We got pretty lucky and got scheduled on a flight the next day in the afternoon. This means that we do not have to be at formation until about 0800 on day 5. This time scheduled got me back to CP Arifjan about 9 pm the same night. Yeah, again another 12 hours to move roughly 400 miles by air, amazingly efficient. I got to ride on another, larger aircraft this time a C-17. I thought a few pics might help show how big it is, especially comapared to the pics of me in the C-130.

I made it back safe and sound and am now back at work. Nothing has changed in me week away. No surprise. I will say it was kinda nice to sleep in my familiar bed instead of in a bunk bed in a room with 23 other guys. It is also nice ot be back in that Pass is one more “event” that is out of the way as I head towards R&R with Emily and finally redeployment!

Days 2 and III

Ahhhhhhhhh! Nothing. Yep that's about what I have done. I realize I am usually not the hang out and do nothing guy, but after 4 months of 12-15 hour days, screwing off has taken on an entirely new shine. I really haven't done nothing. I have been to the gym everyday. I met a few guys and we had beers the last few nights. That's been cool. I did also make it onto the top ten list on a video game so I am famous, at least until somebody does better.

There is plenty of opportunity to go off post, I just cannot bring myself to go to a formation and be on somebody else's schedule. Besides I really have no desire to support the local economy. I got nothing for these jokers and I damn sure am not giving any more of my self and my money to their crap ass culture than I have too. Sorry for the digression, I just really don't like this part of the world.

If you're a trooper and your reading this looking for some insight on your pending deployment I advise you come to pass with somebody you know. There are a ton of people here and as I have shown meeting a few folks and hanging out is easy. I think that most folks will have a much better time coming with a few friends and hanging out. I was just looking to get away from all the BS at Arifjan and do nothing. I am perfectly happy chillin out for few days. If your not OK with that, come with a battle buddy. Here is a pic of the gym and MWR building. I spent a fair amount of time in here at hte gym and using this phone center/internet cafe. They have lots to do including pack on the calories with a Dairy Queen and an Orange Julious. The OJ with a scoop of protein powder after a workout is a nice treat!

Here is a pic of the guys I met up with. They helped me celebrate my birthday in style, with three beers! The two guys with glasses are realy up in the middle of nowhere. They live in containers that have been turned into rooms. They have to walk down the street to get to a latrine. They have to shut the water off while showering and if they take to long, they get banned from showering for a few days because water is rationed up there. Yeah, really. They make me happy to be me. Anyhow. It was cool to have somebody to hang out with.

They got the Mango's!

Yummmmmyy. The DFAC has way better selection of food than I am used to. For example they have fresh ripe mangos! They have other stuff too, Cherry Tomatoes, a hot grill bar where they will cook hot roast beef or turkey sandwiches, way fresher produce and some cool slushy drinks.

The best of course is the mangos. You have to be a little creative here so this is what I came up with. Take a mango and peel it and put all the good stuff in a plastic cup. To that add a banana or a kiwi. I mix it up; cuz I'm freaky, yo! Yeah, anyhow mash all that up together. On my way out I stop at the ice cream bar and have the girl plop a scoop of either strawberry or vanilla in the cup. Breyers ice cream no less! Then I mix that all up into a kick ass smoothie. Man it's like.... well its like some guy stirred some fruit up with ice cream. But its pretty damn good. As you can see "I'm pretty fly for a white guy!" Sorry I am listening to R&B and rap on the sound system and it's taking over :)

Day 1 :)

The day you get to Qatar on pass is day 0, so you get 4 full days not including any travel time. This works out real nice as I was pretty wiped out yesterday. I did go look around a bit. Let me tell you there is no shortage of stuff to do here. Before I go into all that let me again give props to the USO. Besides the Xbox's, PS III, Wii, Big screen TV, board games, snacks, toiletries, and books they provide they hand out phone cards. I'm not talking about some 10 minute, call home and let them know you made it card. I mean a 300 minute phone card. Just go in the USO and ask them for one. If you were one of the folks that donated to the USO over the holidays then I want to personally say "Thank You!!" This is the real effect of your donation. This is where your money went, and it is money well spent.

So here is a quick rundown of the AO. The USO/RR Headquarters building has the bars and restaurants in it. The Internet café, the USO canteen with the aforementioned video systems, dartboards, pool tables, and yeah yeah, wait for it, wait for it... Dance Dance Revolution! Ha ha ha. DDR was down for repairs but they have one. There are 2 gyms here. The big one has all you need, to include another internet café and phone center. The Dairy Queen and Orange Julius is also there which is convenient. You can get a scoop of protein powder in your OJ after you lift. The driving range and miniature golf course are here as well. There is the usual fast food offerings and a PX. If you really got have food there is a Chili's on post. I am good with free food in the DFAC, so I cant report on the Chili's.

I spent my day chillin mostly. I went to the gym and hit the weights. I am so not the do PT on vacation guy, but it has become such a habit I just don't like going a day without doing PT. I went to chow then headed over for my 3 beers. Amazingly they had Guinness on tap. The bartenders actually poured it correctly and even did the clover in the foam thing. Everybody that knows me hang on for this... I had 2 beers and packed it in. Just wasn't in the mood and really, whats 3 beers gonna do? I headed back to the barracks and went to sleep. Slept until like 1100 on Day 2, which is great. The best part of this place is not having shit to do. Which is my plan, not to do shit!

This better not be 1/2 the fun!

I made it to Qatar for my 4 day pass. Believe it or not that stunning model of efficiency known the world over as the US Military was able to move me, by air, a scant 400 miles in just under 8 hours! Yeah no shit. I cant give you all the details but suffice to say civilian air travel is looking a whole lot better.

We made it to Qatar on a C-130, which is a cargo plane. These aircraft are truly the workhorses of the Air Force. Some of these airframes are as old as I am! For those that are reading this from back home in Ohio, these are the aircraft we have in Vienna.

The aircrew did a great job and we had a very smooth and enjoyable flight. We were lucky because we only had about 60 personnel in our group or "chalk" and the plane can hold a lot more. A C-130 is designed for work, not comfort. When you ride in one you sit along the wall and in the middle so you are actually sitting perpendicular to the planes forward movement. The seats are metal frame benches with canvas stretched over them so they can swing up and out of the way when not needed. Since our chalk was so small we were able to stretch out and relax. It was pretty late after a very long day so most everybody crashed. The pic is from my seat in the middle looking at the starboard side of the aircraft. The crew chief had just put up the POW flag and I thought the red glow of the lights gave it a cool "im in the Army" sort of pic.

We made it to Qatar and everybody crashed until the afternoon. I am off to explore and see what there is to see. Next up: Day 1!