July 19 (Day 282)

Sorry I haven't done any work lately. The last two B&Bs my family and I stayed at had Wi-Fi, but not a computer, so had to wait until I had access. I am currently stuck in Kandahar, so figured this was a good time to post.

I ended on July 1 last time. Here is what follows.

We got up early on the 2^nd in preparation for our drive to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport to pick up my sister. It was a pleasant drive, taking us several hours to arrive. There were rolling hills, lots of green foliage, crops, and you could often see for fair distances. Fortunately, there was a GPS in the car, so we were able to plug in our destination. Of course, when we put in the airport, about 10 different ending points were listed. We just selected the first one, and figured once we were close enough, road signs would point us the right way.

Once we arrived at the airport, the adventure was really just beginning; now we had to find Nicole. We actually got there about ½ hour after her purported arrival time, giving her opportunity to go through customs/immigration and get her checked baggage. Mom and I went into the terminal, while Dad drove the car in circles. We found the information desk, verifying her flight had arrived, and where she should be exiting the gangway. We didn't see her right away, so while one of us stayed put, the other would wander inside and outside, seeing if we could find a glimpse of Nicole. After a while, we both just stayed put, hoping she had not made the exit yet. Shortly thereafter, Nicole came up from behind and surprised us both. She had been wandering around the area as well. Seems we just kept missing each other.

I called Dad (we picked up a couple of “cheap” cell phones in Germany) to let him know we were on our way to the pick-up point. At least we didn't have any problems finding him! We completed greetings all around and loaded my sister's luggage. Now we were on our way to the region of Normandy.

Again, it was a pleasant several hour drive to our next destination of Carentan, France, and our first B&B. The main interruptions were toll booths, and the tolls are not cheap. We spent around 40 Euro between Paris and Carentan. The other thing is we never quite knew what we were going to get; sometimes we would get a ticket to pay later, others took credit cards, while others had cashiers. We just had to be ready for anything.

One weird thing my father and I observed (Mom and sis were crashed out in the back most of the time) were some sort of “art” along the side of the road. They looked like they might have been made of wood and just off the shoulder. They came in different shapes, flat circles and triangles, 3D globes and squares, etc..., and were painted in pastel colors, with no discernible patterns. I thought them quite ugly and an eyesore to an otherwise beautiful country.

We made a detour to Bayeax on our way. Mom and read about a tapestry that is kept there. It tells the story of the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy in the Battle of Hastings. It was embroidered in the 11^th century and is listed as a “Memory of the World” by UNESCO. The tapestry is quite a site at 70 meters in length! We purchased the audio tour, which described the scenes. It was very interesting. I encourage you to look it up on the internet.

After Bayeax, it was only a 20 minute drive to Carentan. We arrived, but found out we were early, as check in wasn't until 6pm, it was only 5pm. We drove around the immediate area, looking around, maybe to get a bite to eat. This was our first experience in learning the French keep very different hours of operation for their stores, including restaurants, as nothing was open. We parked in a little square and walked around for a bit, taking in the scenery. After a while, we headed back to the B&B to get settled in.

Our hostess, Nancy, was gracious and friendly. We were given two rooms. I was afforded one to myself (compliments of my sister for not having real privacy in Afghanistan). It was decorated in blue with a oceanic theme, with lighthouses and sailboats. Blue is my favorite color and I collect lighthouses; how cool is that! After we were settled, we received a reference from Nancy on a restaurant just down the road. It was a nice establishment. I had a really good pizza. I have some pictures, but those will have to wait until I get to Shindand where I can load them onto my computer.

Well, my time is almost up on the computer, so I will check in later for another post.

Until next time...

July 5 (Day 268)

I guess I can finally get to the fun stuff. After the few hours rest at the Sheraton, my friend and I hit the road up to Landstuhl, where my sister's best friend from childhood, Leticia, lives with her family. I was fortunate that I was offered a lift, otherwise I would have needed to take a shuttle or the train, either of which would have cost about $50. It took us just under an hour to make the trip. I was dropped off near the train station in Landstuhl. Now it was time to contact Letty to get a ride to her house. Clare had pointed out a phone booth (I had used one at the Frankfurt airport to let Letty know I was en route) on the corner. They cost 1 euro and do not, evidently, take other coinage, so I popped into the corner store to get change. When I tried to use the phone, however, the euro just fell through to the change slot. I went back into the store to ask if there was another pay phone, but the gentleman at the store simply inquired who I was calling. When I said a friend in town, he let me use his store phone. Good luck with that in the States! I managed to get through to Letty, and about 15 minutes later, she and her husband pulled up.

It was really nice to see Letty and her husband Robert again. It had been quite a few years, maybe a decade or so, since we last saw each other. It was early afternoon by the time we arrived at their house. We spent the rest of the day catching up on “old” times and having quite a few laughs. Robert has the Apple TV, so we availed ourselves of some shows as well. It was a very relaxing afternoon. Making periodic appearances during the afternoon were their three daughters, Summer, Kaitlyn, and Shelby. The girls were a hoot! One even “allowed” me to use her room the two nights I was there. Letty made a delicious dinner of quesdillas (go tex-mex!), and then we settled into a movie to finish off the day. The benefit of being the guest was I got to choose the film. Since I have been downrange for 9 months, I had missed out on a lot. I settled on Wrath of the Titans. Not an Oscar contender to be sure, but a fun popcorn flick. That was June 30.

The next morning, I awoke fairly early (I am used to it at this point), so I went downstairs and started watching some NCIS. I can't wait to get caught up on that show! Since it was a Sunday, the rest of the household slowly began filtering out from their beds. Letty got breakfast going, eggs, potatoes, refried beans, breads and fruits. The next few hours were again filled with chit-chat and just simply lounging around, with some TV thrown in. Mom and Dad were flying in that day, so we waited to hear from them one way or another. We managed to get in the new 21 Jump Street movie. It was funny and I enjoyed watching for the cameos from the original TV series. The one that got me was Johnny Depp. I hadn't heard he actually signed on, so that was a surprise.

Mom and Dad finally manged to find their way to the house early afternoon. It was good to see them in the flesh. We had Skyped several times during my deployment, which is better than a phone call, but it isn't the same as in person. It was a joyful reunion, even though they were both tired from their long journey. They forced themselves to stay up the rest of the day in order to get on the local cycle.

My mother and I needed to exchange some currency, so everyone went to the PX at Rammstein. It was the most elaborate one I have ever seen! Outside of the PX proper (which is larger than the little compound where I work), there were a couple dozen stores (local merchants mostly) along with the requisite food court. We exchanged some of our dollars to euros in preparation for our two-week long festival of fun, and wandered the PX for a bit. Afterwards, we got a bite to eat in the food court, and I topped it off with some ice cream...Peanut Butter Chocolate of course!

We filled up on fuel as well. Let me tell you, it is not cheap! It is somewhere around 1.40 euro per liter for diesel; my parents rental is a BMW 520d. Unfortunately, the euro is stronger than the dollar, even though it looks like it might implode at any time.

We had dinner that evening, bowtie pasta with vegetables, followed by some conversation. Mom and Dad finally called it a day, while the rest of us stayed up and watched another movie. This time it was Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. As with the other “Pirate” movies, it is fairly long, so I did not get to bed until midnight or so. The end of my first official day of leave, July 1.

Well, as that night, I should call it a day. Until tomorrow...

July 4 (Day 267)

It was about a 5 ½ hour flight to Frankfurt. I didn't sleep very well, but I think I got some catnap time in. After landing, I accompanied a new acquaintance of mine (more on that later) through customs, where I presented my ID card and leave form. I did not have to use my passport, which caused me some disappointment, as it is a brand new one, and I didn't get a stamp. Guess I'll have to wait until I visit as a civilian. After customs, I picked up my checked bag, and my travel companion and I went to the car rental area, as she had one reserved.
We left the car in its parking spot while we went to the Sheraton. We each got a room, which were used for only a few hours so we could get some needed Zs and to clean up. I spent 149 euro (about $220) for that meager time. That was the most expensive shower and catnap of all time! It was necessary however for both our safety as we prepared to hit the road toward Landstuhl.

To backtrack a bit. There were several people heading overseas on their R&R. Individuals were grouped depending on the departure airline from Kuwait. There were four of us leaving out of one area, two to each airline. Since we had over 4 hours of wait time until departure, we all went to grab some dinner. We ate at a pizza place, and spent time talking a bit. It was then I discovered a SSG was also heading to Frankfurt. It turns out she has been in Germany for 13 years, so knew the area well. We hung out together until the 3 hour mark until departure where we could check our baggage. This was an interesting experience.

We had to wait in something of a line (if you didn't immediately move in concert with the person in front of you, those behind you would cut the line) as the usual. When I got to the counter, I still had to contend with other idiots (where they came from I don't know) who showed up at the counter trying to bypass the established “process.” I was taken aback by the sheer lunacy of these acts. Bottom line – it was a madhouse.

An interesting thing I did was shrinkwrap my checked bag. There was an actual machine that spun a bag, wrapping it in plastic. My bag had a lot of straps and whatnot, so this made perfect sense, plus it protected it from tears etc... That was neat.

Unlike American airports, where after you check your bags, you are relegated to a small “secure” area with few shops etc..., after checking bags in Kuwait, you go back to the main area from whence you just came. For your reference, the Kuwait airport is more akin to a mall, so there was plenty to keep us occupied during our wait. We people-watched with the relevant irreverent comments. :) We were given a briefing upon arrival about not smoking in the airport, and the $200 fine. We soon discovered that “we” were not allowed to do so, but the locals did not seem to have to abide by this rule. Not that everyone lit up, but a few did.

I noticed Starbucks followed their usual MO with multiple locations within eyesight of a central location. There was one on the lower floor, and one on the upper, each on opposite sides of the narrow portion of the concourse (it was about 50 yards). Heaven forbid you had to ride the escalator to another floor to get to your coffee! I stood on the upper floor at one short end, and could easily see both entrances. It was ridiculous.

There was a Baskin Robbins at the airport, and I availed myself of some Peanut Butter Chocolate ice cream. Boy was that delicious!

Well, it is 2200 local. Time for bed. More tomorrow...

July 3 (Day 266)

Well, it has been quite a while since my last post. To be honest, it has been rather dull at work, so I decided not to bore anyone. However, I am now on R&R, so things are picking up. Perhaps I should start from the beginning.

I flew out of Shindand on the 27th of June. I was up as usual at 0600, and finalized my packing. I had an early afternoon showtime at the passenger terminal, getting into Kandahar around 1700. I was able to get a ride to my lodging quarters (I boarded with one of my Soldiers), and got a bite to eat at the dining facility. They have a better/larger setup than Shindand, so it was something of a treat. After I cleaned up, I went to bed for I knew the next day would be long.

I got up at 0700, repacked what I had used, got some breakfast, and made a briefing at the passenger terminal. This was the first step in trying to get a flight out that day (the 28th). After the brief, I had to schedule another brief with the security folks at my Battalion (BN)since I was going outside the US for leave. I managed to get this done right before lunch. The other three items on my agenda were to turn in my weapon, get my leave form signed, and to do a meet and greet with the BN Commander. I managed to accomplish all three by 1800. All the interim time was spent at my Company HQ being bored. The only thing left to do now was show up around 2000 to see if I was going to make a flight that night. Fortunately, I did, and to make things short, I took off very late at night, getting to Kuwait after several hours flight.

After landing, I had to endure several briefings, get my checked bag, and get a billet. It was now the 29th, about 0730; I was very tired by this point, as I had been awake for about 24 hours. I did manage to take a shower and get a couple hours sleep. I had to check back with the travel folks at noon to see about my itinerary. I found out I was flying out that night, so I was excited. I had to go back to the travel folks after a few hours, and from that point, my time was once again not my own. I essentially was on «lock down» for 8 hours before my flight was to take off!

This time was taken up by a few more briefs, customs inspection, and an hour busride to the Kuwait airport. Even after arriving at the airport, I had over 4 hours before my flight. Remember, I again had been up for quite a few hours without sleep. At takeoff, I was going on almost 40 hours wake time on 3 hours sleep. I still had my overnight flight ahead of me, and not much chance of getting much good rest.

Turn in tomorrow for the continuing adventures.

June 10 (Day 243)

It has been an interesting time at the office the last couple of weeks. Half of my crew has been on R&R, so it has been quiet, as far as the noise level is concerned, although the work pace hasn’t slowed down.

I have been busy with coordinating the APO move. I put together a schematic of the new APO, as well as the layout of our sorting yard. I am working on obtaining a new tent, about 60’ X 100’, that will be used for covering the actual sorting operations. Our 20’ transportation containers will be staged in the exposed area of the yard. I want to get away from using the same size containers for unit mail sorting, and transition to shelving. The containers are cumbersome, dark, and inefficient, where the shelving is more accessible, allows for separation of large and small packages, and allows for mail clerks to back up their vehicles directly to their mail so they can get in and out. The biggest hurdle will be getting supplies and tools so we can build our office spaces and shelving, not to mention our new lodging rooms.

I was teased yesterday with news that the containers I sent from Ft. Hood last August were at Kandahar, and have been since October. Of course, that means our containers were actually “lost” since no one knew where they were for nine months. I then received another email saying the containers might still be in Pakistan. So, who knows? Bottom line is that I, and several of my Soldiers, have personal items that are not accounted for. I just want to file a claim for my stuff and be done with it if the “powers” can’t get eyes on. Let me tell you, this whole thing has been ridiculous!

Well, even though the game isn’t over, I have already called it – the Heat are in…unfortunately. I really am not a Lebron James fan. Not that I care about the Celtics either, but there you have it.

Only two weeks or so before I prepare to get on the road to Europe! I am excited! The class I have been trying to take is working…for the most part. A couple of times it has frozen on me, and then taken me back to the start of a module (or close to it). It’s a little upsetting when you were on page 50 and you go back to 16, and have to work your way through it again. I only have two more modules to go. I plan on finishing tomorrow. Don’t think I have the stomach for it today.

Ordered the first two seasons of “Leverage” and received them this week. I had started watching it when it first came on a few years ago, but somehow lost track. It is a fun show; I watched the first episode last night, and will likely watch a couple more today. I also watched the last episode of season 6 of “NCIS” last night. This is the last season I own for the show right now, so I guess I will have a break, at least until I find the next seasons on sale! J My parents sent me Mission Impossible 4, and I viewed it last weekend. It was pretty exciting, and seems to me to set up the possibility of another one. I don’t know if that is prudent or not, but we will see what happens.

Spoke with my best friend Robert this morning for about an hour. It was nice talking to him; it had been a while since our last conversation. We have known each other since high school, so we have a few years behind us! He and his family are doing well, and I am glad, especially for his daughter Renae, who is still adjusting to her diabetes diagnosis. She will be five this year, and I should be home for her birthday. I am happy about that. 

Well, not much else is going on, so until next time…

May 27 (Day 229)

Not much exciting going on, so just a quick note.

Well, another week has expired, one more closer to R&R and to going home. It is another Sunday at the USO; the pace had picked up since a new unit came in a couple of weeks ago, but now is settling down for the most part. Many people go for internet in their rooms, even though it costs mucho dinero; to each their own.

Work is work; still having issues at FOB Stone regarding picking the new rules. I won’t get into any more details, but suffice to say it took up a good portion of my time this past week. My biggest chore is to complete my leave packet for R&R. Since I am taking my down time outside of the US (OCONUS), there are additional briefings etc… I have to complete. There is an online class on SERE (survive, evade, resist and escape) that I am supposed to do. The problem is it won’t load properly. I have spent hours attempting it. I don’t know what I am going to do about that.

I am recuperating from a back injury sustained on the 15^th. I was kneeling on the ground packing my bags for travel back to Shindand when the bookshelf behind me fell on my back. Went to the clinic; there is no pressure pain, just while I am moving, especially bending movements. The thought is that I have a bruised rib. I was given some meds and a directive to take it easy. You’d think relaxing would be easy, but I prefer to work out at the gym; and I can’t go running, so I will be in poor shape come next physical fitness test.

I am having a meeting with the APO leadership in about an hour to discuss our upcoming move. Yes, the APO is changing locations, and earlier than we originally were told (July vs. Sept/Oct.). So, we have to go over the details of how to make it happen without (hopefully) having to shut down operations. I have some ideas to make everything better; it ought to be an interesting day.

Well, that’s all for now. Until next time…

May 20 (Day 222)

Things have been busy at work. It is likely a result of my being out of the office for several days last weekend. Had a lot of catching up to do, answering emails, doing reports, etc… I went to FOB Stone partially as a follow-up to my platoon sergeant’s visit, but primarily to perform a contractor audit. I just observed the general order of things the first day, but the next two I really got into the audit, annotating the discrepancies. The new contractor site lead had been trying to fix a lot of problems that existed from the previous supervisor. Previously, customers essentially ran the post office, coming and going as they pleased, walking directly from the front of the post office to the back operations area (and vice versa), picking up their individual mail. These are all no-go’s, and of course everyone was complaining about the changes (or rather corrections) being put in place. There were elements not associated with the post office that thought they made the rules! Believe me, I put a stop to that.

I’ll explain something, so you get the idea of how mail distribution works. Individuals from a unit are designated by their commander to be mail clerks. These personnel pick up the entire unit’s mail from the APO and then stage it from their own unit mail room. Think of the APO as the Walmart distribution center, and individual Walmarts as unit mail rooms. Anyway, previously mail clerks could come by the APO anytime during the day to get their unit mail; this is called mail call. The APO was shooting themselves in the foot. They had to be available at all times to escort (and I use that term loosely) the mail clerk through the operations area. When the site lead shortened this by a single hour, you’d have thought it was the end of the world! He is now shortening it to a four-hour block (from the previous 7), so we will see how that pans out. I told him he should do one hour, which is what Shindand does, and we are a much larger operation.  We get it done too.

So that was my extended weekend. Also, the morning I was packing up to return to Shindand a bookshelf fell down onto my back. There was no real light, just a sliver though boarded up windows. I saw a change in the shadows and heard something move, and bam. OUCH!! It wasn’t the sturdiest piece of “furniture” (or necessarily very heavy) but nothing had happened in the previous several days, so I was caught unawares. I am still store; I actually went to sick call yesterday to get it looked at. It is always a good thing have it annotated with the medical folks in case something more serious comes of it later. Anyway, I have 800mg Motrin on an 8-hour cycle for a few days, then to as needed, along with no physical activity. I’ll go back to the clinic if it doesn’t get better.

While at Stone, I put money down on an Afghan rug. It is a nice one, and I figured this is one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ things. Besides, I have a lot of hardwood at my house, so a good rug will make a nice addition. I just need to remember to head up to Stone again and pay it off!

I ordered some new shoes for my upcoming trip as well as some new underclothing and socks, all of which came in this week. I will be putting in my leave form in about a week, the first step toward the whole R&R process. My next goal is in sight – the end of June when I get on the first of several planes to go to Europe.

And on that note, until next time…