WE'RE ON OUR OWN NOW

It's late Monday evening (early afternoon back home) here in Iraq. We're getting into a routine now so there's not a lot of new things going on. The previous Battalion just left so it's all on us now. I lost my eating buddy (the other Supply Officer) but gained my dentist friend who just came from Stateside. There aren't a lot of senior officers in the Battalion so I have limited options for people to hang out with. The dentist is funny, so it will help to pass the time quicker.

I have moved into the loft above the Supply Office. I feel like the firemen who sleep in their firehouse and slide down the pole when they get a call. In my case, I just have to slide down my ladder. It's about as large as my previous room but better protected from the elements. It also has a TV (yeah) and linoleum floors vs. plywood. Speaking of TV, we only receive military channels which transmit a variety of American shows. One channel show CNN and then later in the day flips to FOX News. I guess they feel it reaches out to all political spectrums. Right now Jay Leno is on, probably from a show a few days ago. Next is David Letterman on the same channel. Nothing is on the same schedule as in the US.

We've been having a bunch of sand storms here. They say it's unusual to have this many but I'm told they can get even worse. It just gets hazy and very windy. The sand doesn't cut you up or get into your hair but it's not easy or comfortable to work outside. We sometimes have to suspend work until the winds settles down.

It's nice to be in Supply. We do have a few special perks that help make it a tad more comfortable. We have a kitchen area with fridge so that we can store things for later use. I have several chefs (in civilian life) who can cook up a storm. We'll put on a few special dinners for my folks and for other Battalion ocassions. I usually eat breakfast in the Supply area instead of driving to the dining hall.

Today I took a tour of the base laundry facilities run by contractors. We send all our laundry to them and it's part of my Supply responsibilities. They have row upon row of washers and dryers stacked on each other. I asked why I sometimes have green residue on my whites and that most of the clothes look dull after washing. The green is actually fabric softener that didn't quite soak in the wash and they use water from the river (filtered of course). But, hey, it's free and the clothes do smell okay. Beats scrubbing them on a rock by the river ourselves. The sand probably doesn't help with washing or the durability of these machines.

I'll try to think of some other "only in Iraq" experiences for the next time. In the meantime, I am doing fine, other than missing the family. The time is passing quickly and without much difficulty. I hope everyone on the homefront is doing well.