Everything but work

The past week was a fun one.  We went 3-0 in softball, including a comeback from a 10-6 deficit in the bottom of the last inning.  I ran a half marathon up at Ali-al-Salim on Saturday morning.  Our hoops team won.  I got to talk to the Army about how they are going to move us from where we operate now to three new tents on a different part of Arifjan.

Our softball team is pretty good, we are in 1^st place in the league with one more game to play before the playoffs start.  It is hard to believe that we started the team right when I got here and we lost our first game 18-2.  Since then we have gotten in a number of reps (my biggest problem was that I was incredibly rusty after a decade of not playing) and really come together on defense.  We also got a little cocky, and did not play well against a lesser team leading to that late-inning deficit.  It was nice to be able to flex a little and pull the game out.

The half marathon was something I had sworn off some time ago, I figured as I age I should drop the mileage to something reasonable like a 10K or at the most a 10 miler because it takes time to recover from these things.  Unfortunately, I had some sailors set a goal to run in it so I decided to support them and signed up for it as well.  The various bases around here throw a variety of events like this, from 5K’s to full marathons, and normally there is a t-shirt offered as an incentive.  You may have heard that we are headed for hard times in the DoD, so this became a NON T-SHIRT EVENT.  You cannot believe what a ripple this sent through the very fabric of the US military establishment, so adjustments were made and rather than save the good news I will just come right out and state that we got t-shirts.  Mine is for a different half marathon that was run in November and others who finished after me got shirts for the MLK Day 5K, but at least the terrorists did not win.  I did better than I thought I would, I finished in 1:46.  The overall winner finished in 1:18 and the winner for my age group finished in 1:32.  More importantly, I was the first of the 12 Navy Customs runners to finish, so the old man still has it.  I hope to get a picture of me crossing the finish line; I came up behind this Army guy about 100 yards out and passed him.  He picked up his pace and passed me back, so I started a full out sprint (or as much of a sprint as I could get going, which wasn’t all that much) as did he and we crossed the finish line together.  I was laughing at the ridiculousness of it as we crossed, our pride was forcing us to tax our already dead muscles just to cross the line ahead of the other, having never met and for no prize other than knowledge that we had done it.  Below is a picture of a roaming herd of camels we saw on the way back from the half marathon, that was pretty cool.

The best story is that of our move.  We work in 3 tents in the northern area of Zone 6.  This part of the base is going back to the Kuwaitis as they apparently need more arid desert to throw trash on.  This is something that has been in a planning phase for well over a year, and the dates keep slipping, we all figured the dates could slip right on past the time we leave and then it becomes that wonderful thing known as SEP – Somebody Else’s Problem.  Unfortunately, the Army recently uncovered the fact that their contract with the tent provider expires in March, and if they want to move the tent without going through the pain and suffering of getting a new contract our move needs to happen before then.  Of course, we have certain needs, like power and network connectivity and certain security things that are not available at the new site, so until that is fixed we can’t move.  I got some insight into the Army’s lack of a plan when we met.  The only schedule they had was a list of units that need to move, so #1 on the list is the first one and so on. We are at #21, or something like that.  The kicker is that there is a group on there at #13 or so that is going to get the tents we are in right now.  So how could we be #21?  Do we get to be homeless?  We have an internal meeting this week, I want to show our leadership what a schedule with precedence relationships looks like.  I have run into a lot of really great Army soldiers out here, this was the first time I was a little taken aback.   

ARRGGGHHH.  At least the Pats game wasn't close in the second half, which makes it easier to deal with.  I am still irked that I had to get up at 2:30am to watch it and I have been tired all day.  In a strange way this makes watching the Super Bowl easier, the family has stories about my yelling and throwing things when the Pats play.   I will now be able to participate in the command's Super Bowl party and not worry about acting like a crazy person.

So I have had a few questions along the lines of "What is it you DO?"  Aside from the fact that I am a people person (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGS2tKQhdhY

) my job is to manage something more than 100 sailors as they clear people, weapons, equipment, vehicles, you name it to go back to the US.  For those of you that have traveled internationally you know that this is normally done right after you arrive in the US.  As a courtesy to those serving here in CENTCOM, we are allowed to preclear anyone heading back so they can walk right off the plane when they get home.  That is the Customs side of things, and it is pretty straightforward - no ammo, counterfeit products, war trophies, that sort of thing.  We also help the US Department of Agriculture with their rules, and that is a little trickier as no foreign dirt, bugs or plants are allowed in the US.  If you think about your car, that thing gets dirt all over it.  Now think about a tank.  Here is a video of one of my guys at what we call the washrack: http://www.dvidshub.net/video/194946/dirt-inspectors

So that is what they do, and my job is to make sure they do it right and that the machine runs smoothly.  What I like is that there is something new popping up every day, I get all sorts of questions about things ranging from getting stuff IN to Kuwait, (not our job, but now I know who in the Army is responsible) to a reasonable penalty for a sailor ticketed for driving around a speed bump (I made him read the regs and train the rest of the company on what not to do).  It makes my day fly by.

There are other things that fill the day; I started playing softball again after taking about a decade off.  The fields here aren't much more than leveled and dragged desert surrounded by generator-fed lights.  Another surprise to me was just how many rocks there are in the desert - shin bruises are a major occupational hazard to anyone playing as the ball takes all sorts of crazy hops off the rocks.  The company has two softball teams and a basketball team, and even if I am not playing I try to get to all the games just to watch.  I am also trying to run more, there are lots of 5K and higher events here at Arifjan and up in Ali.  A group of us are headed up to Ali this weekend to run a half marathon, although I am angry because I just found out they aren't offering a t-shirt to participants.  And on top of it all are the communications – e-mails, texts, phone calls and the weekly handwritten letters home (I am old-school like that).  Add that all up and it makes for a full day/week/month.

Camels, cold and conference championships

Sorry, faithful readers (all two of you), I have been silent for a little while.  Not because the pace of operations has increased or anything, I just find my days filled with stuff.  I normally don’t get back to my room until about 7:30pm or so and I like to climb into my rack (Navy for “bed”) by 9:00, read a little and fall asleep.  Lately I have had softball practice or games many of those nights or some minor kerfluffle must be dealt with and my precious 1.5 hours disappears. 

It has been an eventful couple of weeks in some respects.  One cool thing that demonstrates what a small world it can be was a meeting I had with good friend and former colleague John Lewis.  He was traveling through Kuwait on his way back to Afghanistan, where he is an Army Reservist currently helping train the Afghanis in Special Forces tactics.  It was nice sharing a few hours just talking about life, the Army/Navy and home.  He gets back to the States a little after I do, we’ll share a beer once we are both home again.

The other thing I promised was pictures of the outlying areas, so here they are.  Because I like to drive, I have to rely on my passengers to take pictures so they may not be EXACTLY what I wanted, but the one of the camel is pretty neat.  Melanie and I had an in depth discussion on one hump vs. two and which type is native to where.  This is a dromedary, or a camel with one hump and it is native to the region.  I don’t know why it is in the back of that pickup or where they are going, that is the first time I have seen anything like it.  The other picture shows one of the tent camps in the desert, I’ll get some better ones, I promise.  I also included one of my first dust storm, the wind was blowing across Saudi Arabia and if it blows long and hard enough it picks up sand and carries it across Kuwait.  It was like a very yellow, foggy day except the fog leaves a fine gritty coating on everything and gets in your eyes.   I am told it wasn’t that bad, on really bad days people wear dust masks and goggles.

One thing I really wasn’t prepared for is how cold it can get here.  The past week has been what I consider to be bitter cold.  The nights get down to around 40, and with a steady wind it makes for a very uncomfortable walk to the bathroom, shower, work, the gym, the galley (Navy for “dining facility”), or the softball field.  I had some long johns on for a couple days and a jacket each and every morning.  Of course in 2-3 months the heat will kick in and we will wish for these cold days, but right now it is downright unpleasant.  In typical Army fashion, the A/C is always on in the berthing (Navy for “where I sleep”) so I sleep under two blankets wearing my sweatsuit with the hood on.  Now I know some of you Northerners are scoffing at my bitter cold comment, but I am in the desert where it gets up to 130 in the summer, this cold was not what I signed up for.

So I missed yet another major event, Shannon’s 9^th birthday party (and in two days I will miss her actual birthday).  It was a first for the Brown house; a gaggle of Shannon’s buddies came over and had a slumber party.  This is one of those things I would have loved to take part in as her little friends crack me up.  I don’t know that Tracy got much sleep as she and Shannon had to take a nap the following day to recover.  Patrick has to give a speech at school on the meaning of the inauguration (because he is President of the student council and all), another thing I would like to help with.

The Patriots have moved on to the AFC Championship!  This is where the time difference really kicks my butt, as their game against Houston started at 12:30am here.  Their next one on Sunday starts at 2:30am, but I am committing myself to watch the thing, no matter how tired I will be the following day.  The Super Bowl is different, it is a big event here just like it is at home and I already let folks know that they will be allowed to sleep in the next day.  We’ll rearrange schedules for those that have to work but are big fans of one of the teams in the game, which just shows you how we prioritize things around here.

Happy New Year!

It is 2013 in Kuwait, I think the US is caught up now.  The Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders are here today, I guess they aren’t needed by the team anymore (not that I really care about whether or not the Cowboys made it to the playoffs.  I am moderately happy for the Redskins and think the Seattle-Washington matchup is going to be an excellent game.  Too bad it happens at midnight my time.)  It was a light day for the most part, some things are moving around but most of the sailors have most of the day off.

It was actually a day to sleep in as I didn’t have to be in the office until late.  Unfortunately the Army maintained their routine of playing reveille over their Giant Voice system, essentially a series of huge speakers set throughout Camp Arifjan.  At 6am every morning they play the bugle call, followed by something that is beginning to drive me crazy – the theme to the movie Patton.  They play it because the Third Army runs AJ and the Third Army is known as “Patton’s Own” as he commanded it during WW II.  Now I love the movie, in fact Tracy still tells a story of how she woke up from a nap (she wasn’t feeling very well at the time) to a war going on in the living room of her apartment, only to find it was just me watching the movie.  However, I don’t want to hear the theme every..single…morning.  Here it is:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdEy4GneZfw    I defy you to listen to it and not have it stick in your head.  I also don’t understand why they don’t switch it up a little bit, they have already set the precedent of playing something non-military, I think they are missing a real opportunity.  They could have had Christmas tunes during December, Auld Lang Syne today, Anchors Aweigh after Navy beat Army, things like that.  Google Doodles can do it, why can’t the Army?

I was out at the Kuwaiti Naval Base early Sunday morning; it was my first try at driving out on the highways myself.  We can’t go out alone, there are always two or more in any car and we have to have a cell phone with us as well as a memo signed by a senior officer that allows us out and about.  That said, it wasn’t any more risky than driving in DC.  Several cars blew by me, something that never, ever happens back home, but I have to be aware of setting a good example and not exceeding the speed limit.  The command was hit with over $6,000 in fines recently from some tickets received during the April – June timeframe, so there is an increased emphasis on good driving.  I plan to get out more and more often as I get comfortable with the routes between locations.  I understand some folks would like to see some pictures of Kuwait and I will get those, this trip happened to occur at night.  In the meantime you will have to be content with the cheerleaders picture.

The school break has been great for communications back home, and the kids each got an iPod Touch for Christmas so now I can FaceTime any of them or Tracy.  I got to see just about everyone at some point while Tracy and the kids were at the Wilkinson’s or while Kathy and Joe hosted a get-together for Tracy, the kids, Pauline, and Glen and Ed’s families.  I was able to see the kids actually open the iPods, which was very cool.  I got to see a jello pie and some snow, although I understand the snow caused some major headaches for Glen and Ed on their trips back to MA.  I got to see my dad and Ellen on their way back from Florida.   That’s the big thing that I missed being here, February won’t be a big deal (I certainly won’t miss the bitter cold!) but the holidays with all the family connections are always great fun.  I did manage to have some ice cream during our Christmas dinner, though.

Here’s hoping everyone has a happy and healthy new year!  I am not one to make resolutions, as I think it is silly to wait for one specific day if you want to make a change (and it is tough to improve upon perfection…) but I think I would like to spend the holidays at home next year.  Or you can go Melanie’s route, and I quote:  “I resolve to not have violent physical contact”.  So don’t we all.