pictures from al-udeid

the transient tent in which we stayed

housing for those deployed to al-udeid 

door to the pool

the gathering area–the “bra” (formerly called “wagon wheel” but the tents changed shape)

the long and winding flight

after learning a bit after 2am that i needed to be at the rally point at 5 am the night of 21 january, i got to watch a seaman wearing rubber gloves empty the bags i’d just meticulously packed in a quest to find secret documents and porn, the top 2 objects normally giving a [...]

qatar

plane broke 10 min after takeoff…we turned around and came back, sat on the ground 2 hrs, and then took off again and made it here!  have had dinner (first meal since last night’s dinner) and my rationed 3 beers.  going to bed now after a shower.  headed out tomorrow, hopefully.

flight

was awakened 1 hr ago (it’s 0335 now) and told we’re to assemble at the basketball court for a flight in a couple hours.  don’t know if it’ll go through qatar or kuwait or even if we have a rotator arranged once we’re there, but i suppose this is step 1. 

iraqi art

  
these are painted inside our squadron operations building

s.n.a.f.u.

i’m sure everyone knows this is an acronym of military origin. 
i thought i knew when i was scheduled to fly out of qatar and into nashville, but my mission has disappeared.  several of us were grouped together on the same mission…the others seem more concerned about it than i am, but since i was the flight commander [...]

small world, large sphere of influence

on our way to the fitness center the other night, i stopped into “troy’s place” with ltc sanders to show it to him–it’s a trailer with books, coffee, a couple of home theater setups, DVDs, etc. run by the chaplains.  it’s open 24/7 and is a good place to play cards, read, etc. without the [...]

pictures from around the stadium

the track
 
the outdoor pool

the platform diving boards
  
 memorial showing the stadium’s new namesake
 
 inside a bunker by the track
 
my understanding is that these facilities were used for training iraqi olympic athletes at one time.

lightening the load

i mailed home my second 50#+ trunk today.  i love the gradual finality sending away my trailer’s contents brings.  and i love that i should be able to get out of here with only one bag plus my backpack.  widespread panic had it right:  traveling light is the only way to fly.

standing in the greener grass

last time i was here, i caught myself feeling sorry for my army counterpart of sorts–an army MSC (medical service corps) officer who sat across from me in the CSH (combat support hospital) and was in charge of patient admissions.  why?  because he had a family at home.  i was glad i had no wife or [...]