7/25/08 Wrap Up

We got to site very much looking forward to a little cool down in the a/c but our generators were down. They came back up in an hour or so. I wandered over to the radar shop while Dave pounded his head on the shelter wall giving him 3rd degree burns on his forehead. To tell you the truth he got such a bad haircut last week it doesn't really mess with his looks that much. I promised him next time I would execute the barber before he could cause such damage. We're battle buddies (an army term we deride constantly) and I'm blood sworn to protect him from such fashion faux pas.
At the radar shop they have a guitar so I got a little a/c and played a quick song. When I went back to our space the power was up and life was beautiful again. Inspected the sign SSgt Martinez made for our site gym. It reads "Pain Train" "weight over form--bury me massive" I love it. I've now joined the club where I help Dave torment the CO and SgtMaj. I've moved up from victim to apprentice. Nice.

Afternoon was busy with lot's of actions and events coming in over e-mail or in person.
Worked on command and staff for about an hour as well.
At 1830 we departed in the CO's vehicle for dinner. I went light on dinner and had a chicken breast, some greens and carrots and a couple bowls of salad with another bottle of water. I was a bit quiet at dinner tonight because the leg workout and mid day walk were somewhat taxing.
There was a dart tournament tonight at 2000 but we got home at 1930 and I was feeling exhausted. Checked a couple e-mails then went to shower up. Now I'm writing this to you and getting ready to crawl in to bed as I'm very tired. It's 2105.

So that's a somewhat typical day. Just like Colorado the weather doesn't seem to change much. Sunny and warm again!

7/25/08 Workout

1030 we caught a ride back to the huts (We live in wooden boxes called SWA huts) because the command element CO, SgtMaj, Dave and I were going to the Main Gym for leg workout. Most days we work out on site because it's good motivation for the troops to see us sweat up there. We have no equipment for a leg workout though. Ran the half mile to the gym from the huts and Dave proceeded to kill us with various leg exercises. I almost fell down the stairs after going up to the aerobic machine area to chat with a fellow Marine. Sudden onset of spaghetti legs almost killed me but I recovered in time to make it look like I was merely drunk. Finished up with a little ab workout. Drank a bottle of water before workout, one during, and one on the 2.0 mile walk back to the site after workout. I guess we got back up to the site at about 1200. CO and SgtMaj separated from us at the gym and we didn't see them again until late afternoon. Walk back was kind of nice because while it was around 110, we were in shorts and T-shirts and got some sun on our legs. Dave complained the whole way while I insisted it wasn't that hot. He told me he was pretty sure we were both dying on the side of the road and mumbling at each other and were only imagining that we were still walking back to the site. We laugh nonstop. We are going to be like brothers after 7 months.

Cooled down at site, checked e-mail and changed over to uniform for chow. Have to be in uniform everywhere on base except gym or running. Chow was the best lunch yet. Mexican day. Don't think I've forgotten how good Chipotle is but it's just not on the near horizon. Rice, beans, chicken, queso sauce, tomatoes, sour cream. Filled my whole plate and drank another bottle of water and had a coke for desert. Mmmmmmm Coke with ice. Finished chow by 1330 which is when they are closing up.
Hike back up to site (.5 miles) was brutal. It was just scorching but again, I insisted that it's nice out. Dave threatened to do me bodily harm except that would cause his body temperature to increase further. He also informed me that he didn't have time to fill out form SF 387-424 authorizing him to dig a hole or get it approved by the base configuration committee so he had to settled for flipping me off which still violated several of the 56,000 base orders and could result in fines up to and including death. I told Dave of his violation and threatened to shoot him if he persisted but it was just too nice a day to mar with violence.

7/25/08 Morning

I usually wake up a time or two to go to the bathroom. We hydrate so much it can't be avoided. I think I drink 7 or 8 litres of water a day. I'm sleeping quite well, now that I'm adjusted. I'm quite exhausted by the days.
Today the alarm went off at 0500 and I snoozed it until 0530. Got dressed and met Casey (Capt McKinney a main character) as he pounded on my door to let me know I was running late. We hand our bags off to the bus that takes the troops up to the site for crew change. We aren't allowed to have bags or gear in the chow hall because it's too crowded and their are safety concerns for bomb plantings. Dave(Major Dave Fennell another character in more ways than one), Casey and I walked 1.5 miles to DFAC 3 (chow hall three DFAC means Dining Facility the Marine corps tries to complicate everything as much as possible). I had scrambled eggs with salsa and two pancakes, a bottle of water and some grapefruit juice. Oh, and a biscuit with strawberry jelly. Good biscuit, just like my beloved McDonalds.
Walked up the hill to the site and checked e-mail. I think I was there by 0700. CO and SgtMaj showed up about 0730. Routine morning start up with e-mails, messages, reports, task reviews etc. Played a quick game of chess over in the Motor Transport and Utilities section. Brought out my big board to play they had a chintzy one so they are holding onto it for me. Beat Sgt Clark but told him not to let it happen again. Provided learning points and instruction on errors and made him do 150 pushups. Checked out the rest of the areas and chatted with the troops. Weather quite nice at this time of day. Temperature just above 90. But no humidity! Had a meeting with the CO and discussed space arrangements going forward when our counterparts depart shortly.

Evening 7/24/08

Was studying command and staff and trying to complete my assignments last night....late. Behind as usual. Taking a masters course and helping command a squadron in a war zone is a tall order. Internet connection plays hell with my discussion posts because it's so slow and it's hard to get all the reading done. Got finished around 2300 (Sorry, I'm going to use military time) Skipped the shower which is totally disgusting when you are sweating 4-5 litres a day but no one complained. Showers and heads are in trailers. They are quite tiny. I can barely walk between the sink and the shower stalls. I think you could put two of these showers in our shower stall at home. I'll get a photo for you eventually. They have an a/c in the trailer so it's not too bad. Just skipped it as I was too busy.
Fell asleep quickly a little after 2300, I believe it was 2302.

Nice Gap

So a lot has happened since I left work.
We trained up at the Squadron area there in Denver. We spent a week shooting in Wyoming which was a blast even though it was warm most of the week it turned very cold and rainy on the last day of shooting. It was the day tornadoes destroyed parts of northern Colorado.
The troops had tons of classes in everything from first aid to convoy operations and spent half of every day getting proficient at our technical MOS.
We completed training and had a weeks vacation and then another week of very little to do which ended with the long 4th of July Weekend.
Immediately after the 4th we moved to Miramar in sunny San Diego. We got some shots, trained in the Humvee escape trainer and then departed the country.
Getting to Iraq is half the fun apparently. I'll have more posts on all this later as I catch up.
So now, I will post some recent happenings and gradually fill in some of the missing details. Some of this may be boring so I'll give you some labels to help you decide what to read and what not to read. [Routine] [Funny] [Interesting] etc. You get the point. This is my way of sharing what's going on so like my guitar playing, I'm not getting paid so you don't have to like it.
And now, on with the show.