Home Sweet Home

All right! I'm finally here -- four months of posturing, pleading and administrative hassle have come down to this moment.

Wow, is it dusty.

CSM (that's Command Sergeant Major to the rest of us) grabs my bags -- ALL of them, even though if you include the body armor, the PRT equipment, and everything else I have it's probably a good hundred and thirty pounds or more. CSM is probably in his late 40s or early 50s, but he is tougher and in better shape than most of the 25 year olds here on the Compound.

I am shown my new home, my "hooch," which I will share with another guy who is currently on leave. It's . . . cozy. At first, I am a little miffed, since I was expecting my own hooch, but as I see the space available here at the camp, I am no longer complaining. The PRT is bursting at the seams, and more people seem to show up all the time. In retrospect, I am lucky to get this housing.

The camp holds 140-150 people when all the patrols are in. Showers and toilet facilities are all in one location. My hooch is a coup in that sense -- I am very close to the ablutions. Once winter sets in, that will be a real premium!

We have a basketball court, all concreted in, a mess hall, doctor's hut, motorpool, even a swimming pool (a bunch of bunkers strung together strategically). Not exactly the most sophisticated filtration system, but hey, we're in the middle of a desert plain - who's going to complain? We even have a camp chaplain, a Catholic priest who is REALLY laid back -- he swears more than me, my sister, and her husband combined. (got a picture of him wearing his slick, all-black Afghan man-jammies, but I won't upload it unless and until he gives me permission.)

Perhaps most important of all is the chow hall. Most food cooked for the masses is nothing to write home about. These guys, on the other hand, are REALLY good. I've been overseas for the better part of eight years, and the things that are hardest to get in Malaysia and China, i.e. great beef, is something we get almost every day. Even more amazing given the location, they have fresh vegetables and fruit, and anybody will tell you that with military chow, what you start to miss the most is produce. They don't go crazy on spice, which is a change for this Louisiana boy, but I have a few bottles of Tobasco Smoked Chipotle that will hold me over for a while, at least.

I'm all settled in. Time to find out what I've gotten myself into.