2 Weeks

You know that saying about time flying when you're having fun? Well, apparently it can get away from you when you're not, too. I realized that it has been close to a month since I last posted. I apologize for that. So why did I name this "2 Weeks" if it's been over 3 since I last wrote anything? That, dear readers, is (actually a little more than) the time I have left before I turn my back on the Tigris and Euphrates - hopefully for the last time - and head back to Guam. It was a short deployment, but even so it's gone by surprisingly fast.

I did have a MEDEVAC earlier this month, but I honestly don't remember what it was for. Nothing overly exciting, except that I had a brand new copilot with me and it was his first time. Made me go back and read up on my first MEDEVAC. That seems like a lifetime ago. They told me when I took this job that the learning curve is pretty steep, but I had no idea.

So I have been asked to tell y'all a little bit about life in COB Basrah. My dear sister even gave me a list of topics that I have apparently neglected and has asked me to elaborate on them. Never one to disappoint, I promised to comply.

The Weather - The weather in Basrah is surprisingly different from Kuwait, even though only about 50 miles separates the two bases. Down in Kuwait I remember going from about March on and never seeing a cloud. Here we actually get no-kidding thunderstorms, some that drop quite a bit of rain. I've been told that it has something to do with our proximity to the river and the mountains of Iran. Don't get me wrong, it still gets hot here. It looks like I'll barely catch the beginning of the true (40+) heat and will be out of here before it gets really bad (50+).

The Locals - Since we don't leave base, my interactions with the locals are extremely minimal. I say hi to the local workers and they are all very nice. When we fly over towns I try to wave at all the people that we see and in a lot of cases they wave at us as we fly overhead. In some cases I've seen people shake their fists or hold their hands up as if they were aiming a pretend rifle at us, but those aren't very common. I even had a shepard render a very passable parade-ground salute to us as we flew by. I returned the gesture, but I'm not sure he saw it.

Spare Time - As you can probably guess from my other posts, I spend most of what spare time does come my way working through the collection of movies and TV series out here. I saw GI Joe the other night and actually really enjoyed it. I watched the entire series (5 seasons) of "The Wire" and also found that to be enjoyable, though there were times when it dragged. Currently I am watching "Dead Like Me" which only has 2 seasons and a follow-up movie, but I like it. I'll probably try to catch up on the last couple of seasons of "House" before I leave and maybe even try to finish "Battlestar Galactica" as well. I also try to spend at least an hour every other day in the gym. The other great time-killer out here are the games. It's kind of funny to see. At any given moment in the squadron there will more than likely be at least one heated game of Cribbage being played somewhere. We just recently acquired Yahtzee and so that has been quite popular, as of late.

Creatures - Thankfully I haven't had any really interesting encounters this time with the local fauna. The most interesting thing I've seen was about an 8" long lizard that was hanging out by our crew lounge the other day. He didn't try to attack me so it wasn't too exciting. Yesterday my friend flicked a spider onto me and I screamed like a little school girl so does that count? Unfortunately, the mos prevalent wildlife out here are the flies. They are everywhere. Thankfully they don't bite, but they are the most aggressive flies I've ever seen. They try constantly to fly into our eyes, noses, mouths and ears (the worst!). I've racked up some impressive kills on them, but they keep coming.

Cuisine - The food here is pretty much the same as we had in Kuwait. It really is quite tasty and they try to give us plenty of variety. The main difference up here is that the servers will give you all you can eat and then some. We have Baskin-Robins ice cream, though I only allow myself to eat desert on Sundays now. Most of the time I eat salads with sliced turkey and Swiss cheese on them. I think that I've lost some weight out here, but since all I wear are baggy flightsuits it's tough to tell for sure.

Bazaars - Since I don't leave the compound there really isn't a chance to enjoy the local shopping.

Danger - Things are actually relatively calm out here. We do carry our 9mm pistols everywhere, though and they're not just for show. The base is secure but there are still a lot of people out there who would love to ruin our day, given the chance. That's just part of the job description.

Typical Day - If I'm on the MEDEVAC alert, then my alarm goes off at 0520 and I get dressed and head to breakfast (oatmeal, fruit, juice). We preflight our aircraft and spin them up in the morning to make sure that they are good to go for later, if needed. After that I have free time until lunch. I used to spend most of this time in my ground job - "Operations Officer" - but have since passed that on to someone else. Around noon our other crew gets here to relieve us for about 30 minutes so that we can go get some lunch (the previously mentioned salad, chocolate soy-milk (if available) and juice). After lunch we're back to our ground jobs until dinner time. Dinner is a to-go box from the cafeteria. If lunch had something particularly appetizing to offer, I will often bring some of that back for dinner. Otherwise it's just a game of roulette to see what's in your box. Sometimes you win, sometimes not. After dinner I watch a movie or two and go to bed around 9 or 10 to read until about 11 and then I go to sleep. I wake up the next morning around 8 and head back to my room for a workout and a shower before lunch when it's back to work. That is pretty much how I spend every day. Fun, no?

Speaking of days, it's time for me to get on with mine. I will try to write at least once more before I leave. Thank you to everyone for all of your support while I've been out here. It really does mean a lot to me and everyone else out here.