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!