Kuwait-ing for the Sun

Greetings from the sunny country of Kuwait, our neighbor to the east. Well, ok, it’s not particularly our “neighbor” per se, but I am here. That much I know. As announced last week by my lovely, amazing, and possibly-insane-for-staying-with-me wife, I have indeed begun the deployment. We’re currently at an undisclosed location in Kuwait- undisclosed because if you looked at this place on a map, you would think I was way off on the coordinates…it is in the middle of nowhere. Outside of Kuwait City, this country is one big sand lot. And it’s hot. Did I mention that? Oh, how I’ve missed the desert heat these last few years. It’s actually not bad right now. It gets pretty warm during the day, but it’s not even summer yet, so there’s more to come. But coming from Baumholder , this is a drastic change.

Leaving was pretty tough. The last minute notification was a bit surprising- I was expecting it at any time, but thought I had another day. I only let myself spend four hours or so getting mad about that, and then I got on with the business of enjoying every last moment with my family. I think Luke’s story time was the hardest that night, and then Mindy wanted to take a picture of it! I love you honey. We bought Luke a lego block Cars playset, and he loved it. I have no idea if he still likes it that much, but his attention was riveted to it that night. Will was his usual baby self, but he looked at me a lot, so I take that as my bonding moment with him. Mindy and I were up for awhile before I got about three hours of sleep, and then I got up around 1:30am to get ready to go. I said bye to the kids again while they slept- again very hard to do. Then Mindy and I said goodbye, and I walked out the door and down to my unit to head off…

To a gym, where we sat for many, many hours. Then we moved to a theater where we sat for many, many hours. Then we rode down to a holding area for many, many hours. Then we went to the airfield…and sat around there for what seemed like a couple more hours before we took off. The flight was uneventful, and we landed in Kuwait around 11pm local time (we’re an hour ahead of Germany time here). By then I was pretty beat, but we had yet to arrive at our final destination, so we drove off into the desert night. After all that, and then unpacking, and then breakfast because it was about that time, I went to sleep on my cot around 8am. So that was nice.

For the last week or however long I’ve been here, I’ve alternated being busy and being bored. But between you and me, mostly bored. There is a Starbucks - Starbucks! - here, so I can’t complain too much. I find some random things to do. In fact, here are some random things about my current life:

1. There are thousands of ladybugs here. Ladybugs? Ladybugs. I don’t remember them from last time, but here they are, everywhere.

2. There is a plethora of Chuck Norris literature in the porta-johns, offset by gratuitous homemade pornography.

3. I have actually spent more time here cold than hot. The AC is constantly set to around 60 degrees, which when it blows right on you- like at my desk in the TOC or in my cot- is quite cold.

4. I have single-handedly funded the college of whatever rich guy owns Starbucks. I can’t resist the apple filled doughnuts. Our battalion chaplain, Keith, is my brunch partner.

5. The game American Civil War is extraordinarily difficult.

6. So far the battalion staff chow topics seem to alternate around between Mormonism, adoption, and what we will do with our free time. We have also reached a consensus that AAFES will do whatever it takes to get soldiers’ money.

7. After 5 years of this craziness, they still can’t seem to keep the showers filled with water. I thought they might have figured that one out by now.

8. I still hate cots.

9. I have a nasty habit of breaking sunglasses, which is why I’m cheap and won’t buy expensive ones. So a day before I left, Min bought me some $15 PX specials. I broke them in less than a week.

10. I have an insatiable appetite for DFAC ice cream. I rarely eat it at home, but somehow here it calls me like a siren. Must…abstain…

OK, enough randomness. Here’s two pictures for your viewing pleasure-

This one is inside the tent where I live (just one side). If you can pick my cot, you win a prize. Just remind me about it in 15 months…



This is just a random shot of Kuwait. Pretty much everything looks like this, so I just stuck my camera outside and took a picture. I wanted to get the plane and some trip over pictures, but the Air Force is full of OPSEC nerds.



OK, that’s all for now. I’ll be here awhile longer, so maybe I can post another one before we move north.