Saturday, August 30, 2008

Life in Kuwait

Well, I think we're almost done here in Kuwait. We're really only here to acclimate. We've been attending some classes, usually 2 to 4 hours a day. After that, we just try to keep cool and entertained. The wireless service on camp is decent, and pretty cheap. It's great to hunker down in the MWR tent or the USO and use their air conditioning for a few hours. Sgt. Rhino has already left on the advance party, and Sgt. Buccaneer is pretty much staying off of the section's cases.

I've had a good time relaxing, but I'll be glad to get up north. The living quarters are cramped, the cots are terrible, and our tent in particular has AC problems that fluctuate throughout the day. That, and I'll be glad to start doing our job and get the other guys out and back home. I know when we're ready to go home, I'm going to appreciate a little haste on the part of our replacements.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Quick post for pics


Fun in the sun, Kuwait style!


PFC Puck (formerly McLovin)


Sgt. Rhino (with the mustach) and PFC Gadget behind him

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Welcome to Kuwait

Hey everyone, and welcome to sunny Kuwait. We've got sand, rocks, and lots of lovely heat. There's a slight breeze, but you'll with there wasn't because it's hotter than the still air. Just imagine yourself in front of a huge hair dryer, add in a little bit of dust, and you're already there!

All in all though, Kuwait is better than Fort McCoy. Sure, there's the heat, and the 14-man tents with cots, but the MWR and dining facilities are much, much better. Within a 5-minute walk of our tents, we have an excellent gym; a rec sports tent with ping-pong tables, billiards, and dart boards; a tent with TVs for video games and DVDs; a movie theater; and a USO with more video games and a give-and-take library, all absolutely free. There are plenty of shops to spend that money burning holes in your pockets. So far, we've had a very light training schedule, too. We have to leave plenty of time to acclimate to the environment. Every structure is air-conditioned, and there's bottled water everywhere, most of it refrigerated. Really, a guy could get used to this. I still can't wait to get in to Iraq; the housing should improve, and the MWR should be at least on-par with here in Kuwait, even if it's a bit further away from the hooches.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Final Goodbyes

Yesterday was the final half-day of my pass, and the last time I'll be home before the trip overseas. The pass was a bittersweet event for me. I had a lot of fun and a great weight lifted for a couple of days. However, I had to say my goodbyes all over again, with the absolute knowledge that this will be the last time to see these faces for some months. It opened the wound of homesickness afresh. Even so, I would not have missed it for the world. It's incredible how much I miss Ashley. I think she's taking the whole thing in stride. We keep telling each other, and I know it's true: we'll make it through this, together.

The next couple of days are important in the Big Army's process, but as an individual soldier I'm getting a lot of down time. We leave for the next station in a few days, and I couldn't be more mentally ready for the change. Or rather, couldn't be more ready to get out of The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Wisconsin. I don't know what to expect in Iraq, but I'm anxious to get there and learn what my daily rhythm will be like. Once that happens, I can learn when to relax without keeping myself at the constant high alert.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Home, One Last Time

Well, once again I find myself in Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport, waiting for my flight to Denver. We're headed home for our 4-day pass, our last opportunity to enjoy the comforts of home before we fly overseas. I'm so ready to be home right now. I have no idea what I'll do over the pass, but I know I need to enjoy every moment. Maybe I'll take a hike in Boulder. That sounds nice.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

LOWCON

Alright, well the last few days have been... irritating. Somehow, I was detailed to hang around all day with the people running the evalutation. We simulate the unit's higher and lower links in the chain of command. Only, I'm not really sure why they needed a detail. All I'm doing is answering the switchboard phones and handing off to the correct person. Not only that, but it's a very slow job most of the time. I would much rather be taking service calls with my own unit than doing next-to-nothing with a bunch of strangers. Whatever. The evaluation is only 5 days long, and we're already 3 days through. I'll just have to keep re-reading Dune.

Friday, August 1, 2008

The Other MRE

Well, I've finished my lastest class on a different Army computer system, a logisitics tracking system that we might actually use. It's an excellent program from what I can tell, but it's so huge that it's difficult to learn, especially without an extensive background in computers.

Today was our last day of something called a CPX, and the first day of an MRX, which they've renamed an MRE. I have no idea what any of those things are, beyond "exercises." The only MRE that I know is a "Meal, Ready to Eat" in the little brown pouch. Whatever the exercise is called, the commo section had to set up the computer network today. So we ended up spending the day running network cables all over the place.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to go back to the machine gun range. Apparently the M-249 I qualified with last month never came back from maintenance, so I'll have to qualify with a different SAW. I'm not too disappointed. I'll welcome a little more trigger time.