It's true. More soldiers today told me how much happier they are now that they are in Kuwait than they were in Fort Sill.
Not me.
I am sitting outside in 90-degree weather on a metal bench trying to get a decent internet signal. We have no internet in the barracks which, as I noted before are 78-man tents. The food is much better, I will grant that. But we are confined to a few square miles of hot sand and bad weather is forecast for tomorrow and Friday--that means sandstorms. We hear the sandstorms are so bad you can barely see to walk the 50 meters to the portajohns, let alone the 1/4 mile to the indoor plumbing or the chow halls.
But today I got a reasonable explanation from one of the fuelers in our unit. He said he has known about this trip for a year and a half and for him, he is glad to be one step closer to our final destination. He also said that in Kuwait he does not have to fight against temptation the way he did in Oklahoma. Back there normal life was just outside the gate. Beer was sold 1/4 mile away in the Post Exchange. In minutes you could be in a bar or at least drinking. Here in Kuwait the whole place is under General Order #1 so nobody drinks and if you go off post here, there is not going to be a bar right outside the gate.
Closer to the goal, further from temptation--that makes sense.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter
In the hopeful world of self-help books the reader is drawn into the possibility of changing her life for the better. We could all be thin...
-
Tasks, Conditions and Standards is how we learn to do everything in the Army. If you are assigned to be the machine gunner in a rifle squad... -
On 10 November 2003 the crew of Chinook helicopter Yankee 2-6 made this landing on a cliff in Afghanistan. Artist Larry Selman i... -
C.S. Lewis , best known for The Chronicles of Narnia served in World War I in the British Army. He was a citizen of Northern Ireland an...
So true, and sounds like something 2LT West would say :). Again, I am so thankful to have found your blog. I don't feel so powerless and in the dark. To another safe day abroad.
ReplyDeleteI too, am so thankful to have found your blog.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work. It gives us a better perspective of what you all are dealing with. Can't imagine having to go through a sandstorm to the john.
As I said to Dianne, now we start looking toward their return.
Prayers,
grace
Neil, your blog is air to my lungs... I will be thinking of all of you and praying for peace for you in the tents during the sandstorms... that should be interesting. ... I am with the mom above... to another day of safety.
ReplyDeleteDianne
poohbear I am also glad I found your blog. I have 2 important people in Kuwait with you and it gives me insight on your lives aay from home. I think you are amazing for what you are doing at this time in your life. I pray for you all and look forward to the day you come back. I am on your blog before my eyes adjust in the morning. Thanks and God bless.
ReplyDeleteThanks to al of your for your prayers and comments. It's great to know there are people praying for us and who think about us.
ReplyDeleteNeil
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 04/23/2009 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
ReplyDelete