It's Getting Hot In Here

Hello from Kuwait! I had a nice flight over here, stopping for breaks in New York, Iceland, Germany, then finally touching down at the Kuwait International Airport. One interesting thing about the trip: The sun NEVER went down! It was light outside for the entire trip. I guess I should have taking that as a warning, because when I got off the plane my first thought was "Wow that airplane exhaust is hot!" but really it was just the wind hitting me like a blow dryer.

This week we have been fine-tuning the skills we originally learned in Kansas and also learning how to operate the new MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle. So far it's been pretty fun, but HOT, crazy HOT, the kind of hot where you want to just smack someone because they are breathing and their hot breath is adding to the HOT. I have been doing the gunner job this week, firing the weapon from the top of the Hummve, that was a lot of fun, I was getting sick of just being along for the ride and talking on the radio. The first three days kinda sucked, here's why: We got off the plane and did all of our in-processing then got to our tents, then down loaded our bags then tried to get some sleep. It was 3 in the morning by this time (after a 24 hour flight). They did let us sleep in till after lunch, then is was time to fill out some more paperwork, this time for finance. This part I didn't mind because they are going to be giving me some extra pay just for showing up. Those of us who weren't jet lagged too bad were able to get some sleep before we got up at 3 AM to go out to a range and confirm the sights on our weapon were right. Once we got out there, the range supervisor said we couldn't shoot because visibility was too low (too much sand in the air) so we would have to wait until it cleared. Given the fact that we are in an area where all you can see is sand stretching to the horizon, you would think that there wouldn't be a problem shooting a few bullets in a controlled direction. Apparently the problem is that some of the local herders were scheduled to be in the are with their camels and if we accidentally shot one, it may cause an international incident, or we would end up paying the guy a lot of money for his camel and all the offspring that may have come from that camel...either way they didn't want us taking any chances. So we finally got to shoot at about 9 AM, then we moved on to the crew served weapons to fire those as well. That took us through lunch, and then we had to move to another class where we were given a refresher on IEDs and how to spot them. All while this is happening, the sun is apparently pissed off at Kuwait and unleashes Hell, or summer as the locals call it. The average temperature has been 114 this week, but don't worry cause it's a dry heat! Any way, by day two, none of us are acclimated to the weather and we had one guy have to get seen by the medics for dehydration. Just for a gauge on how much water I've been drinking, by 10 AM I usually have had two liters of water or more.

In other news...The dining facility (DFAC) here is nice! It has tile floors, air conditioning, a salad bar, sandwich bar, beverage bar, dessert section, and a fountain; yes fountain the kind that are aesthetically pleasing and squirts water for your enjoyment. The best part about this DFAC is that it has porcelain toilets that flush! It beats a porta-john hands down. I have less than a week here so I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can, who knows what the next place will have!

I guess that's enough for now, next time I write I should be in Iraq. Wish me luck!

All My Bags Are Packed, I'm Ready To Go...

Well, the day is finally here. I am leaving today for Kuwait for a short visit then off to Iraq. The past couple of weeks have been great, I was on leave in Grantsburg. Melissa and the boys came with, we all had a great time! Isaac and Luke love being up there, hopefully Melissa can take them to visit once or twice. I don't have a long time to write, but I just wanted to say thank you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. Take care!