Bagram Air Base has officially kicked off its windy season in what is referred to around here as "The 120 Days of Wind". Whether heads down and squinty-eyed, or securely wrapped in a balaclava and bug goggles, everyone learns to make do with the resulting dust and sand flying about. I'd like to say that I'm wise enough to associate with the latter group, not only for my own comfort but also for the potential of keeping my eyes protected. I can't. Sporting my Wayfarers is, without a debt, better for morale. And I enjoy the compliments of, "Sweet shades man". I'm sure my eyes will forgive me later.
I bring up the sunglasses mainly because, although things aren't really bad out here at all, its nice to hold on to little pieces of normalcy from back home. For instance, such was the case a few weeks ago as myself and a few other co-workers were lamenting about missing being able to rock climb. Although the base is real good about offering different fitness activities, it can't cover everything, and we were all bummed about the fact that there wasn't a climbing wall available for use. At least, we thought so. As we wallowed in our self-pity, we were told by a fellow climbing enthusiast that there were rumors of such a wall existing on the other side of the flight line, leftover from some Strike Eagle squadron that had left several months earlier. With spirits raised and hopes high, we secured transportation and set off on the trek to the opposite side of base, in search of this rumored "wall". We eventually found ourselves in the parking lot of the old Eagle squadron, now being occupied by a squadron of A-10s. Armed with nothing but our charm and good looks (and one fighter pilot in case we needed someone to translate for us in "fighter speak"), we went in search of someone to grant us access to their compound and lead us to their "wall" if you will. I wish the story finished with us finding some way around the compound gate or through the use of some eloquent fighter lingo, or at least knowing some secret password. I think the exchange we had with the gentleman on the other side of the fence ended up something like this: "Hey man, we heard you have a climbing wall. Can we come check it out?" "Sure dude, here's the gate code, come hang out whenever". So, bravado-less but none the less victorious, we were able to check out what the previous guys had built up. It was a nice little wall, maybe about 15' high, with enough holds to keep someone happy. Unfortunately, the plywood backing was slowly rotting and several of the holds were coming loose and cracking the wood. It was a great thought, and nice to climb on once, but we decided that it wasn't worth the drive across base all the time. So there are hopes now of constructing a climbing/bouldering wall in our own compound, permission pending. We've got great plans drawn up. Fingers crossed.
One of the other small luxuries that I hold onto out here is my daily showers. For quite a while, I was taking my showers in a facility referred to as "The Cadillac". I don't know how it got the name because its present condition certainly doesn't warrant it. In the same facility that the shower is located is also the toilet facilities. So, while not awful but certainly not enjoyable, during the course of a shower, there is at least 2-3 dudes no more than 20 feet away, doing their daily business. I apologize for the crassness but I want to paint a realistic picture. As a result, showers end up being a fairly odoriferous experience. However, as of late, I've discovered a significantly better alternative to "The Cadillac". Enter, "The Spa". "The Spa" as we refer to it, is a slightly smaller facility, slightly longer walk, but significantly more pleasant shower experience. The Spa is a shower-only facility, raised several feet above the ground, never lacking in hot water or water pressure, always pleasantly smelling, and with a floor covered in raised wooden slats in order that one doesn't have to walk through puddles in the facility. Also important to note, The Spa is almost never occupied by more than one person, so there's a whole lot less of that "Excuse me bro"/awkward scoot around the dude changing next to you. Its the little things.
Finally, I brought up the subject of the wind earlier because it brings me to the reason of why I'm actually here in the 'Stan, which is, to be a pilot. And one of the best things about being a pilot and flying around in a crew aircraft is the good times and good laughs and good work one can have while out on a mission. This week, I had the privilege of not just once but twice being able to fly with a friend that I went through Field Training with in ROTC back in '06. We're still baffled as to how that one got signed off, as here we are, just a couple Lieutenants, in charge of a combat mission in the desert. To be straight, it was technically my buddy, Dan Hay, who was in charge of the mission, and I was just the pilot. None the less, it felt pretty sweet to be stepping to the plane in the early morning as the sun peaked, about to go do some quality work alongside an old friend. From years ago, being yelled at alongside each other, wondering if someday we'd ever make it to being an Air Force pilot, to now slippin' some surlies in Afghanistan. It was pretty sweet. With the winds whipping out of the west, pushing our skills up and our crosswind performance to the max, we executed like a well-oiled machine. I will say though that, when put side-by-side for comparison, Dan definitely greased his landing on a bit better than mine. I was impressed. And maybe a little humbled. Happy landings amigo.
The title of this blog just about says it all. I didn't think it'd happen this quickly but I've now come to realize what others before said was true. It's truly groundhog day here everyday. Not that that's a bad thing necessarily, it's just mainly the reason why I haven't blogged in a while. Everyday seems to meld with the day prior and its pretty easy to forget what day of the week it is. On the plus side though, it does make the time pass quicker.
And speaking of time, a highlight to the last few weeks was getting a chance to run into an old friend from way back. Travis Mitchell and I used to mix it up on the baseball field in our former years, usually providing more moral support for the team than actual substantial support by way of runs scored. Its important to note though that that moral support was enough to solicit enough sympathy votes from the rest of our team to get us both elected to the league's all-star team and the chance to play in the all-star game. As was our style, we lost that game in glorious fashion...we weren't invited to join the traveling all-star team. So fast forward 15 years and here we meet up again in the dining facility in Afghanistan, hoping to emerge more victorious from this venture than the last one. TBD.
Even though the days repeat and repeat and repeat, there's great things in all of them. Every morning I find myself blessed to watch the sun rise over the Hindu Kush from either 0 feet or 20,000 feet. Gives the Sierra Nevadas a run for their money to say the least. And thanks to a second mom (Debbie Henderson) who made me memorize Psalm 121, in addition to my own mom who reminds me of the same verses, I'm daily reminded, "I raise my eyes toward the mountains, where will my help come from?..."
Another highlight of the week that keeps the days at least a little distinct from the previous ones is Friday night dinners at the Army chow hall. Every Friday night is surf 'n turf night at the various dining facilities. Its a rough life, I realize. None the less, just because its surf 'n turf being served doesn't mean that its good surf 'n turf being served. The lobster tends to be sub-par and the beef so undercooked that the cow might still be grazing out at pasture, or so overcooked, I wonder if a piece of leather may be slightly more yielding to my palate. But for some reason, the Army chow hall puts a little more TLC into their work and come up with a much better selection of steak, lobster, and crab legs. Combine that with a near-beer and some ice cream and I can't find much to complain about. So a crew of us always roll over there about 45 minutes before the place opens up on Friday nights to ensure good seating and top choice of the night's delicacies. Makes Friday's just that much brighter.
Couple other highlights to the last few weeks. Some of you probably saw the news and saw that the President made a trip out here real quick. Didn't get to see him speak but did get a chance to watch his birds takeoff into the sunrise. That's a pretty lookin' airplane for sure. Also, I got a chance to rub elbows with Toby Keith this last week. He was out visiting and performing at several different bases around the 'Stan and he made a stop here. Someone from my squadron worked some magic and got him to stop by the squadron the next morning after his concert to meet everyone. I didn't get a chance to make it to his show, but I did snag a picture with the guy the next morning. I'll try to post it on my next blog. Don't have access to it right now.
And finally this week, to close things out I wanted to make sure y'all got an update on the mustache. Its still coming in quite nicely if I do say so myself. Even had the pleasure of combing it out the other night. I was real proud of that. And today, I got the biggest compliment of all. I was told that my mustache reminded several people of Clark Gable. So, maybe not quite Tom Selleck status, but I'll take what I can get. Hoping to take it to a whole new level here in the next month or two. Fingers crossed.
I've made it one of my goals while being deployed to make it a point to complain as little as possible, both in my bloggingand in my day to day business. That being said, I'd like to preface the following blog (and hopefully all others to follow) by saying that I attempt to write somewhat tongue-in-cheek if you will, because otherwise I'd be even more bored with my own writing than I already am. So what follows is not meant to be a complaint, but rather more of an observation of the way things are in these parts.
To begin, several people were requesting pictures of the living conditions here. Not finding the outside of a plywood box all that interesting to photograph, I skipped any outdoor pictures and elected instead to just to put up a few of the inside of my little hut. The space is small, about 8'x10' or so, but it holds everything I brought with me, plus a little extra floor space, so I'm pretty darn happy with it. And other than sleeping and maybe reading a book or surfing the net, I don't spend much time here since I share the building with 7 other dudes and it's quiet hours around the clock to accommodate our different schedules. So without further ado, I give you, "El Palacio Del Amor"
The Front Entrance
The decorations were left up by the last occupant, so just in case I'm here until this Christmas, no decorating required.
The South Wall
Reppin' strong for P-Town. Purple Pride.
The West Wall
Not much to say here.
The North Wall
Where I lay my head at night.
So there you have it. Not much to shout about but I'm pretty stoked up on it. Word is we'll be moving into a more permanent type living space pretty soon, but apparently they've been saying that for a long time, so we'll see what comes of that.
I know in my last post I wrote about the horrors of not actually having unlimited soft serve available which was a major morale blow. All in all though, the chow hall has provided a decent selection of food. However, there has been some major slip-ups in recent weeks. In particular my inability to speak the Pashtun or Dari has left me unable to communicate to the omelette/scramble man that he needs to learn how to turn up the heat on the grill. Since I'm a newbie still, I'm flying the early lines in the morning, which means that midnight meal is usually my breakfast. Due to the lack of breakfast options available at midnight meal, I usually elect to get the ham and cheese scramble from the alleged grill-master they've got working here. I've taken to the scramble since the omelette choice was usually left with the inside of the omelette still undercooked. But even with the scramble, there's still always some amount of undercooked egg left in the scramble. Its obvious that the grill isn't hot enough, made evident by the lack of "sizzle" whenever the man lays down more egg batter. So if anyone learns how to say "Please turn your grill up hotter because the eggs are undercooked" in Pashtun or Dari, please let me know. I'd be most grateful. But more than just the egg situation, they attempt to be just downright sneaky in the service of some of their food. Case in point, last week, due to the lack of ice cream, I was in search of some other dessert treat to satisfy my sweet tooth. Lo and behold, what did I see but a nice young server with a platter of what looked to be cupcakes with a bit of whipped frosting on top. Full of joy and happiness at the sight, I snagged one as a finisher to my meal. Now I may be young-ish still, but I've been around the block a few times and I know when someone's trying to pull a fast one with my baked goods. You can imagine my horror as I bit into said cupcake to find that the cake portion of this cupcake was not just your standard cake. Call me crazy, but they can't look me in the eye and tell me that they didn't unwrap the individually plastic wrapped Otis Spunkmeyer muffins from breakfast, smear it with a bit of frosting and pass it off as a cupcake! I was shocked. I know what a chocolate Otis Spunkmeyer muffin looks and tastes like and here they were, trying to pass it off as a cupcake. Sigh......war is hard.
On a much brighter note, a highlight to my week was connecting with an old buddy/roommate from college out on the flightline. Ol' Ryan Dewey (or Ry-Ry as I prefer) has been in and out of my base multiple times in his 130 and we had been trying to figure out a way to match up. I felt like a clown, walking up to other airplanes out on the ramp that looked like his model, asking the crew if there was a Ryan Dewey flying their plane. Just as I was about to give up and head back to my hut the other day, there I saw that sweet sweet C-130 coming in on final in all its glory. With hopes raised again, I waited on the taxiway for it to roll on by. Sure enough, as it taxied on by, there was my boy Ry-Ry, waving at me from the left seat. They continued to taxi to their parking spot where, once they were shut down, a reunion nothing short of magical commenced. All the way from the Villa Maria 2C days, to the epicness that was the Haggerty 214 team, to hanging down in the dirty Del Rio, and now in the glory of Afghanistan. Epic.
Well that about does it once again. Time to hit the gym before hitting the hay. Until next time...
I arrived safely into country several days ago and have been getting situated and in-processed since then. Unfortunately had to part ways in Kyrgyzstan with my flying partner from training, but still rolling with another great crew of dudes. I was completely heartbroken to find that life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows over here, as my hopes that there would be unlimited free soft serve were quickly shattered. Fortunately, my time in Kyrgyzstan did give me one crack at their free soft serve, so I took advantage of my time there. As evidenced by the picture, it wasn't the highest quality soft serve, so its probably better that there's none here now.
However, as a small reprieve, I was pleased to discover that several days a week in the dining facility (DFAC), there are individually scooped frozen dairy delights, so all is not completely lost. I've heard its more than my compadres in the south have available, so I count my blessings. And while I'm on the topic, its worth noting that the food served thus far has been top notch under the circumstances. Quality fresh fruits and vegetables, a wide selection of entrees, and some coffee labeled "strong coffee" that gives motor oil a run for its money. Its quite the stuff.
Currently, the mustache is still exploring, trying to get a good solid foundation built for itself. Its really got some great potential, it just needs to get its legs underneath it to get some good, full development. I'm convinced that my ability to grow facial hair, although rivaling that of an adolescent, is but a minor speed bump on what will otherwise be a smooth road to seeing this mustache through to full bodied growth. Its kind of more in a "Diego Mustache" phase at the moment. But just like a caterpillar patiently transforms, so will my hard work. So fly away sweet butterfly, fly away...
And finally, speaking of good music, big shout out to Than Neese and Steven Duck for the top notch album recommendations. If you haven't heard it before, give the album "Every Kingdom" by Ben Howard a listen. A tip of the hat to Than Neese for that little gem. Also bringing it strong was Steezen Duck's less well known but none the less impressive recommendation of the album "Simple Man" by San Diego based The Calico Kids, a group of some Point Loma grads. With sounds reminiscent of The Clientele and Mumford and Sons, it was a welcome surprise. Music recommendations are still accepted and appreciated.
I don't really need anything, but if you didn't catch my address the first time around and wanted it, here it is again:
A buddy and I just got back from doing some serious work tonight at a seafood restaurant in Baltimore, and I had a few minutes, so I wanted to get this thing kicked off. (By the way, check out http://gandmrestaurant.com/, recommend the seafood platter cause its just not a Baltimore trip without getting some crabs in your life.) Since a fair amount of people requested a way to stay updated on my deployed life, I decided to start up a blog to keep y'all in the know. Expect an inordinate amount of updates on my mustache (pronounce moo-sta-shey), food (especially the free soft serve), and other equally important subjects. Also, I'll have an address coming soon, so if you really want to feel patriotic, care packages are much loved and appreciated. And I've been told that I'll have access to most modern day luxuries, so if you're a skyper, e-mailer, or facebooker, I can probably be reached on all 3. My skype name is Dodgerfan5000 so get signed up/in and we'll stay in touch. I'm also taking good music recommendations for this trip. I'm currently on a Country kick on Spotify, so new material is appreciated. With that being said, I gotta catch some sleep cause the traveling for the next couple days won't be conducive to it. Time to tie a bow on it and put it to bed.
