Startin Work

Although we haven't fully taken the reins formally, we're pretty much running the show now. I have been in the driver's seat for about 5 days now, and haven't had too much trouble. It doesn't seem like a difficult job, and once we get fully settled in, I expect things to be rather dull.

Last week I receive word my our third child being born. It was pretty surreal, since it was lunchtime here when he was born. Also, it came in the form of a red cross message, and my staff is the one that receives and processes them. My desk SGT surprised me because I was on my way out for lunch and she said an RCM was coming in, and let me read it before telling me what it was. The joke was on her, though, since I made her write it all down anyway.

We all watched the last few inninngs of the world series game 6 live this morning early before shift started. My senior SGT on staff is from Texas and is a Rangers fan. I like the Cardinals as a whole, so I'm rooting for the Cardinals. It was a great game, even if I was getting scowls everytime I cheered for St Louis.

I ran 4 miles last night and 3 miles tonight. The alititude really bothers me here, since we are at 4900 feet. Part of it is I haven't run seriously in quite some time and am really far from where I was or could/should be. Tomorrow is my last running day of the week, since I don't work out on Sundays.

Things are well overall. I got skype working. Katie can give you my handle name, although since I pay for the internet, I don't go on all the time, only every few days around 930PM Fort Drum time. It's not too expensive, but I am trying to save some money right now.

That's all for now. I'll attempt to write again after the folks we're replacing all fly out. I can't say when until after they leave, so check back periodically for an another update.

Final destination

_____I am now at Bagram Airfield (BAF). I moved into my little corner room and tomorrow we go to the rifle range to confirm our aim sights are valid. The flight was a long 2 hours from Manas, and we were glad to get off the plane. We are 8.5 hours ahead of EST, and I plan to make my first phone calls tomorrow around lunchtime NY time.
_
_____The base is very big, with so many people. Most everything I need is an easy walk, however. There is a quiet gym near my room, as well as a nice dining facility (d-fac) and the brigade HQ. There is also a rather nice morale building, called MWR, a few buildings over, which has internet, a 12 seat movie room, ping-pong, etc. The brigade we're replacing also built a grandiose firepit within the brigade compound with darts, and a large gazebo for breaks.
_
_____The rooms we stay in are called many things: B-hut, home, hutch (pronounced hooch), room, house, and so on. I'll use those terms interchangeably, so be informed of the slang.
_
_____Nothing much else to report except I start transitioning in a few days. I'll be sure to post after that goes for a while.

Safely in Manas

_____We are safely in Manas Airbase. Currently doing prep and the like. There is a nice morale tent near our transient tents, so I can stop by to check email during the day. We are currently 10 hours ahead of Eastern Time.
_
_____We arrived this morning around 0330 local time and had about 3 hours to rest after initial check in. I think tonight will be a nice night to sleep. I only slept 3 hours or so on the flight, since it was uncomfortable seating the whole way. Total travel time so far has been 16 hours.
_
_____That's it for now. Hope you all are doing well.

Final Post

_____This is my last post before we fly. Our current projections have us leaving very early Saturday morning, just after midnight. We're headed to Rammstein Air Base in Germany for a refueling layover before moving on to Manas Air Base in Bishkek, Kyrgzstan. From then, it's military shuttle flights across the border and into Afghanistan.

_

_____These dashes are my attempt to differentiate between paragraphs. Right now, this blog software makes everything one paragraph. It is very annoying for me, so I figure it must be annoying for everyone.

_

_____I successfully re-started out hot water heater after it was snuffed out yesterday during a utility repair visit for our furnace. We were getting annual maintenance done, and he had to cut the gas, which of course killed the pilot light in our hot water heater. After consulting an internet video with pictures, I was able to light the pilot and keep my eyebrows intact. Score one for me and my face.

_

_____I mailed my three boxes this morning, including my violin. They are all insured, so if something bad happens, it's covered. Aside from my violin, I sent my Xbox, a bunch of clothes, a hymnal, a psalter, and several other items. I'm carrying my Bible with me, and have my laptop in hand, in addition to my clothes, so all my neccessities are taken care of.

_

_____That's all. My next post will likely be a real update from BAF.

More personal than work

Yesterday I attended my grandmother's funeral in Syracuse. It was nice to see family from all over the Eastern and Central states, however sorrowful the setting. It was a long day, as I had been up around 2AM to attend a meeting with folks overseas, and we only got home around 10PM from Syracuse. I did something I rarely do, that is switch driving with Katie for about 30 minutes.

For me, driving is one of those things that falls under the "protecting my family" clause written iinto the man contract I signed. It takes a lot for me to not drive, but I was getting tired, and I decided it was protecting my family to give me the opportunity to close my eyes for a short break.

The first group of people have departed already, with another group leaving soon. I am on a later group, and still have a short time home. A positive for being close to leaving is we are only working half days now. It is nice to leave at noon, because I can be home in time to put the children down for quiet time.