Chris' Updates

So, as I write, I'm sitting in transient housing, just waiting. We have basically given control to our replacements, and thank goodness for that. My replacements are good guys, and really squared away. It's almost too bad I can't spend a little more time with those guys, but I'm ready to go home. I'm ready to go back to my own friends. So we've got a couple of days now where we need to check in with them once a day to answer questions, but for the most part, we're free to wander around base as we please. The biggest downside is that transient housing is not close to anything, and all of our vehicles have been turned in. If you're going anywhere, you're either taking the packed, hot, smelly buses, or walking in the 120°F weather. And every location has different rules. To enter the DFAC (dining facility), Army personnel must have a weapon and no one can bring in any bags of any kind. At the PX, they don't care about weapons, but no bags. If you...

Well, here we are, at the last few weeks of the tour. Our replacements are expected in at any time, and we couldn't be happier. With light at then end of the tunnel, tempers are flaring up a bit. People are not holding their opinions in check as much. I don't suppose I should have expected anything else, but it's a little sad to see. All I can say is, the sooner we wrap this show up, the better. We have a couple of days left in our CHU's before we head to transient housing. Transient housing means we're back to living out of bags in 20-man tents. Oh yeah, and we can't take our satellite internet system with us, so I'll have to give that up. I'm not looking forward to the living arrangements, but if we're leaving, I can survive that way for a few weeks. That's one thing I've learned in the Army; a person can survive any bad situation for a fixed amount of time. Running? Not fun, but we only have to do it for 16 minutes at a time (during a PT t...