One Month

Well, we’re starting to make some progress; I’ve been deployed a little more then a month now. It’s not really that long a span of time, but it’s in one of the increments that you look forward to while going through a deployment. A lot has changed from the old way of life. Not so much that it makes you a radically different person, but enough to where you notice how being the military gears you for adapting to changes. Of course most of us don’t have to adapt to changes like this unless we’re in the military, so it might be a one-way street. Either way, getting that first month out of the way leaves hope that the remaining months will eventually just blur together.

We’re still trying to get set up so we can get going. It’s getting increasingly crowded around here with the continuous flow of new troops. We’ve been doing a lot of work to get our work site ready to go so we can have a place of our own. It’s kind of a drag when you’re spearheading an operation because you aren’t really relieving anyone or taking over facilities. A lot of prep work to do. As a new development, yesterday I saw my first camel spider. It was a little smaller than my hand and headed away from me when I saw it. Either way, when I stopped running I realized I was lost and had to find my way back to our work site. I really, really dislike spiders, especially ones that big. A spider that big will take the bug spray out of your hand and throw it at you. It’s not a joking matter.

I noticed today the Yankees have overtaken the Red Sox. It happens about this time every season, the Red Sox start off well, everyone thinks the Yankees are going to choke, then things start to even out and the Sox chase New York into October. The only exception to that rule was last season where the Yankees and their $250 million pay roll did choke and missed the post season. I don’t think that’s going to be the case this year. The Giants are trailing in the Wild Card now, too. It must be a case of the post All-Star Game slumps. The Sox are under .500 in their last 10 and I think the Giants might be a little better then that.

Here in Kandahar the temps are still hanging around the 110’s and 120’s. It was insanely hot the last few days, but not as bad today. For someone who doesn’t like warm weather, the bad guys sure chose a spot that wasn’t inline with my best wishes. Oh well, we don’t chose our fights anymore, we just win the ones we end up in.

Until next time,

-DM