SUMMER IS COMING....SOMETIME

I keep preparing for the summer blast and the weather keeps toying with me. It's like expecting rain and it never comes. We're hovering in the 90s and in fact it's supposed to hit 99 degrees F in just a few days. I thought we'd be well into the 100s by now. Not that I'm arguing.... We are advised to keep hydrating and while I think I am, these light headaches and other indicators tell me I need to drink more. I am being tricked by the fact there is little humidity here. I ran 5 miles the other day and sweat less than I would playing 5 minutes of tennis in Atlanta. Don't worry Loretta, I will start drinking more to keep on top on this. In the meantime, the weather is survivable. It's actually quite comfortable in the early AM and tolerably comfortable in the evening. I rode my bike to the pool today and although my mouth was dry, I didn't feel too hot.

What other little anecdotes can I share with you? Well, for one thing, I met with some sailors from a sister Seabee unit in the South of Afghanistan. They were sent her to scour our construction yard for things needed back in Afghanistan. We're closing up shop (in the months ahead) and they're just getting started. We have the benefit of living and working at an established base whereas they are building from the ground up. They sleep in tents with bunk beds. We sleep in comfortable trailers or the like, with a maximum of two persons per room. I doubt they have anything near the amenities we have here, including better dining halls and recreation facilities. Apparently they have a gym the size of a postage stamp. We have a decent gym right in our camp and an even bigger one "downtown". I am very fortunate to be in Iraq, never mind the risk of attack being greater in Afghanistan. Although I could die of boredom at times, I won't ever complain about how lucky I am overall. Now, if I could only drop some weight......

The Chaplain is not only our Batallion spiritual leader but also someone to share your thoughts and concerns with at times of need. I hear he is a very busy man these days. I haven't seen him out and about these days. He used to linger around the smoke pit, puffing on his pipe. I think he's overwhelmed and the sad part of it is there's no escape. It's not like a psychiatrist that calls it a day and goes home (a real home). He can't even go out for a drink.

Ocassionally there are Command investigations to look into improper behavior. Every unit has it's share of these and I did some (investigations) back in Rota. My Junior Officer assistant is investigating one now. It's a kind of a funny situation but the results may not be for the person involved. When you're in the military and deployed like this, there is no such thing as "off the clock". You can't misbehave on your own time. Everyone knows this but "stuff" still goes on.

Our CSE (Convoy Security Escort) teams consist of young, highly motivated guys, eager to carry out the dangerous duties. They escort our work teams that carry out construction projects. The construction folks are probably a little older and then there's the HQ folks like me, that are typically even older. I definitely have more years of Service (and age) than most of the folks here but that's also a reflection of my rank.

The last little story I'll share is in regard to our Safety goals. The military takes safety very seriously. The words 'military' and 'safety' are an oxymoron but outside of combat, the miltary is very concerned about keeping people safe. We even have an office and personnel dedicated to just that role. Like you see in construction sites, we post the number of accident free days accumulated. The highest we've ever had is 15 days. None of the accidents were life threatening but with the work we do, they're bound to happen often enough. Most days, in the morning staff meeting, the Safety Officer tells us the current count. When we hit the 10 day mark there were nervous jokes about how we might actually get past the 15 day mark. Well, sure enough on the 16th day, the Safety Officer stood up and announced that an accident occured the night before. It wasn't even work related. Some young sailor decided he could jump a dirt berm with his bicycle and ended up sailing (notice the pun) over his handlebars and breaking his collar bone. I'm sure if he knew about the safety record he wouldn't have attempted the jump....yeh right!!

I've dribbled on long enough and if you're hanging in this long with me, you must either be family or have time on your hands!! But thank you none-the-less. Take care!!