New room? Yes. We have a little tower that was mostly just being used for storage. We are receiving new troops so they are in need of more space. With that being the case, our First Sergeant asked ME if I wanted....The Tower. Some people call it "The Treehouse", I call it "The Penthouse".
I think that's alot cooler. Some of the pessimistic types call it "The Rocket Magnet" but I stay away from that one. It's a spacious one bedroom, one bath studio apartment (the bathroom consists mostly of empty water bottles...mostly), two windows, A/C, built in shelves, a cot and a very questionable set of stairs. I love it. Oh yea, pictures.
I think that's alot cooler. Some of the pessimistic types call it "The Rocket Magnet" but I stay away from that one. It's a spacious one bedroom, one bath studio apartment (the bathroom consists mostly of empty water bottles...mostly), two windows, A/C, built in shelves, a cot and a very questionable set of stairs. I love it. Oh yea, pictures.
This is the inside.
On the outside shot you can see a hole in the netting. The window opens right there and this is a bit of the view.
Well, it is the holy month of Ramadan here in Iraq. I guess everywhere else with Muslims for that matter. For those of you who don't know what that is you should consider yourselves lucky. When soldiers hear that their reaction is usually "Aw crap". Those in the practice of Islam take this month to abstain from food, water, sex and other such things during the daylight hours. So what we have is a bunch of Muslim extremists celebrating a holy month while being deprived of their basic needs (yes sex is one...that's medical). That'll get 'em good and pissed. We've had a few run ins with them so far. Nothing too terrible but the aid station did get busy once or twice and there were some medevacs. Sorry to say it, but there's no time more exciting for a medic. That's a downfall to our job. We don't have much fun unless we are doing our job but we don't do our job unless a soldier is injured. Sometimes we get, I'LL say lucky, and come across a wounded insurgent. Though they are our enemy, we still are obligated to treat them. Darn Geneva Convention. To keep from wasting precious supplies for the regular I.V.'s, we tend to go the more...practical route - a 14 guage needle right into the sternum. We call it the FAST 1.
All those needles you see are just for stabilization. The bread and butter, the one that punctures the bone and dives into the marrow, is in the middle. Does it hurt? Well probably. But the bullets we just put into him most likely already put him into shock so this pain probably won't bother him much. When will they ever learn?
All those needles you see are just for stabilization. The bread and butter, the one that punctures the bone and dives into the marrow, is in the middle. Does it hurt? Well probably. But the bullets we just put into him most likely already put him into shock so this pain probably won't bother him much. When will they ever learn? Oh real quick. We had a pretty nasty sand storm the other day. It blew through quickly but watching it approach and then circle around and come back again was creepy. This is the best shot I found...
Along with the sand came about 17 seconds of a very light sprinkle. For 17 seconds, my world stopped, and I was in Seattle kissing on my beautiful little wife. I love the rain. I miss the rain. Good news is 137 degrees was where the summer topped out at in our corner and it's all been a downward slope from there. That is exciting. We go 4-5 months of constantly sweating. Ew. So glad it's over.
Four months left. Wowie. I don't like thinking about it because...well, then I'll think about it. Ignorance really is bliss in this instance. In these last months, Chels is going to be busy with...well, Bux and our little Rayray, as well as 1,345,321 other things. And yes that is a fairly accurate number. I did a bit of math. I will also be busy over here. Not only with math but packing up to get out of here is going to be a loooonnggg process. My next task is actually to escort an alleged user/abuser/distributer of various illegal narcotics to Balad. Assuming you don't know, Balad is a deployed soldier's Disneyland. They have three PX's, two swimming pools, a full size theater, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Popeyes, Burger King, and delicious chow halls with functioning A/C that are open 24 hours a day. We have slow, inconsistent internet and we sweat while we eat cardboard. I'm sure an exciting blog will be posted soon after my return showing me doing a cannonball off the high dive. Hopefully interrupting the sensitive tanning schedule of some spoiled Air Force pansies.
Wow I just keep writing. Done now, I swear. Hope all is well. Give yourself a smile today. If you haven't witnessed Brayleigh Ann walking while holding onto a table...well neither have I. But you should go check it out. The cuteness level on that feat is out of this world. She'll be a ballerina by the time I get home. Alright! Seriously done now. Kbye.
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