I guess you could call this back-blogging. These two entries were posts I had written on my laptop but never had the chance to post.
Before the Move
As I mentioned in the last post, we are preparing for our move and getting things ready for a new contingent that will be taking over where we left off. The move so far has a bittersweet feeling. Describing my MOS and my mission here briefly in the past, I have shared with you my role in signal communications, managing the phone and internet networks that help our camp maintain our local and global communication systems. Our mission here was very broad, as we did our best to manage 24 hour operations and maintain smooth commo capabilities. In terms of going beyond our expressed mission, though, we did a significant amount to improve the longevity of our systems here and our wire and cable soldiers did a great deal to upgrade our site. After months of work here, knowing that we are leaving after so much has been accomplished is a little frustrating. The technical challenge that awaits though looks even greater as we are moving to a much more populated camp. Of course I can not discuss too many details about where we’ll be and what we’ll be doing, but I can say that as I did the other day that I am honored our company has proven itself and will be managing communications for some very important camps.
The last few days have been spent conducting inventories and ensuring that our equipment is accounted for. If you have never experienced military life, you may not know just how closely we have to account for every piece of equipment we’re issued. In a signal company, an NCO such as myself has signed for millions of dollars of communication equipment and all of that must be maintained and secured. Before any major moves, everything must be counted and checked to ensure it is all present. Perhaps it is my prior experience of working with the government, but I never fail to realize that everything I have signed for was first paid for by American taxpayers, and it is in their interest that we keep accountability of it, as well as doing our best to maintain our equipment in proper working order.
Arriving on Site
We arrived at our new home late in the afternoon and unloaded all of our personal belongings. As I had mentioned before, being here is like being at home in that “stuff” seems to accumulate. I actually ended up sending an entire trunk of items that I know I won’t be needing home. One of the things I did regret sending home was some of the extra supply of soft toilet paper I had packed last year. We had been very fortunate to be living in a camp with actual toilets for a while. They were standard trailers like a lot of the other trailers we have in theater, but had been converted into latrines. Porcelain, a word that doesn’t carry a glorious connotation back home truly is a word synonymous with heaven out here. For a lot of soldiers in theater, port-o-potties are plentiful and an all too familiar site. The heat in the summer months made them excruciating to use during the day, but with the heat now dying down they had become much more endurable. Of course, those latrine trailers are a thing of the past now, and it is back to one-ply rough toilet paper (if they have it in there to begin with) and the three by three standing cubicle of plastic.
This location really isn’t that bad though. Aside from the D-Fac (Dining Facility), there is also a small area of camp with several trailers for fast food vendors such as Hardees (Carl’s Jr. in California), a Pizza Inn which is a lot like Pizza Hut, and a Subway. In many ways, you could consider this place an oasis. The camp is fairly large and covered in fine sand. It is a stark difference from the gravel and asphalt truck stop camp where we had been stationed before.
Our tents are large 30 man tents they refer to as fez tents out here. Even these conditions are a little better than what we had before. The air conditioners work much better, and we all have a lot more room, which I fear means we might acquire even more stuff. I’m committed to purchasing no more needless items online or at the PX though. I must admit that as comfortable as it is here, the only problem has to do with trying to sleep during the day. My role changed a little at our new camp as I have begun a job working in operations. Rather than working with specific equipment, I am part of the team that help manages everything. It is a welcome change though and will be a chance to add a little variety to what had become very routine for the last few months. Working in operations means working 24 hour operations though as well. I was used to working nights and volunteered for the shift. The only problem is that my rack is right near the tents entrance and exit, so throughout the day that sounds of soldiers coming in and leaving keeps me half awake. I tend to sleep very lightly, so I’m finding that even in the desert, happiness can still come down to location, location, location, even when you’re in a sleeping bag.
Another perk about where we are currently is the size of the gym and the amount of equipment. It has to be at least twice as large and even has a television near the aerobics equipment which is usually tuned to MTV or some other channel that is fed through AFN, the Armed Forces Network. For me it is a perfect setup since I tend to spend nearly an hour everyday on the elliptical or treadmill running 6-8 miles. As much as I used to enjoy bringing a book with me to the gym to read while I ran, it is nice to catch up on a little television and it definitely makes the time go very quickly. Unfortunately, my aerobics workout tended to be the time when I read the most, so I am sure that as soon as I tire of the same cycled music video’s, I’ll return to bringing a book.
Most of all, after weeks of packing and uncertainty, it feels good to be settling back in and beginning a new routine.
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