Yes, i'm still alive

it's been sometime since i've updated my blog. our comm has been blocked fairly recently as of late, and if you watch the news at all, you may understand why. we've been pushing forward trying to clear more areas of insurgents, which of course means more casualties, unfortunately. september, the season of ramadan (and slightly cooler weather), has historically been a time when insurgents are more active and even though our squadron doesn't go outside the wire, we're busy prepping to support those who do.

it's also getting closer to when we go home. less than 2 months to, less than 1 for our advanced party and i've been pretty busy getting those guys prepped for redeployment. everyone's gettin' a little antsy and tensions are higher than ever. i think everyone, including yours truly, is just ready to get out of here.

on cool thing that i got to do was go on a ride around the base with the vector control guys. their job is to trap all the wild animals, jackals, hyenas, wild dogs, jungle cats, foxes, etc, that roam around the base, making sure there is no disease. i got to see many parts of the base that no one ever goes to. saw some of the russian migs that saddam tried to bury hoping that he would be able to resurrect and reuse one day. some are still half buried! we also saw some of the kids that live on the lake just on the other side of the fenceline. those guys bring them toys and water and treats. i brought them extra toothbrushes and toothpaste. i know, i'm a nerd.

Two and a half months

august is here. supposedly the hottest month of the year. it's been pretty bad and i can't imagine it getting much worse. but i don't care. cause we only have 2.5 months to go. even though it's only a two week difference, for some reason it sounds so much better than the 3 months we had in mid july. i'm betting the month is gonna go by real slow though. there's quite a bit of things to do for redeployment so i'm hoping that will pass the time by.

we just got some newbies out here. seems strange to spend all this money and effort getting these guys out here when we're already fat with bodies only to send them home less than 3 months later. one of them is the squadron career counselor and the irony is that most ppl out here already reenlisted if they were planning to and so she doesn't even have anything to do. great, eh? i guess if you have to reach, it's always nice to have extra bodies to help with preparing to go home and there's always the "we need some continuity for next deployment" excuse...blah blah blah.

although to be honest, i wouldn't mind coming out here for a short period of time. i'd prolly would've even considered volunteering for a 3-month deployment (well, not now after this one...one deployment is enough for me). my friend ooh-rah came out here earlier in the year on a 5 week deployment when her c130 squadron came out. she's coming back out for another week or so sometime soon to help them get ready to go home and she's telling me how much she's looking forward to it. i guess it's one way to get out of the clinic...hehehehe