Desert Oasis!

Today we found out that there is a whole other side of the base with a much bigger and nicer BX, barber shop, restaurants, another theater, Starbucks, a lounge area with pool tables and video games, etc. It's like a little desert oasis!


This is called "Jack's Place", I found it a day or two ago. It's basically a quiet reading room where you can sit on the big fluffy chairs and read magazines or a book. There is a small library of free books there, as you can see in the picture above. Also hot chocolate, coffee, snacks, etc. I had some hot chocolate last night to warm up after freezing to death out on the computer.




Here's the big BX on the other side of the base. It's a real building, not just a tent. There's WiFi there, so people are all over the place with their laptops.


Here's the food court, they have a Starbucks, an Asian restaurant, etc.



Here's the main BX part, almost as big as the one we have at my base in the states.




Here's the game room, they have probably 6 or 8 PS3s, Xbox 360s, etc. They have a pretty big selection of games that you can check out as well, or buy your own in the BX and play it I guess.


Another view of the game room.


Pool tables, foosball, air hockey, TVs, etc.


The central fountain area in the BX again.


Movie poster at the theater.

I bought some Crocs to use as shower shoes at the BX. As always I'm highly concerned with shower fashion accessories so the regular black $.99 thongs were not going to cut it. I also bought some soap, as I am not only concerned with fashion in the shower, but also cleanliness. And I'll need a lot of soap to feel clean in the showers here, as they are mostly disgusting filth holes. Perhaps I will take a picture of them later so that you can all enjoy them.

Also while we were out we saw some TCN escorts and got a preview of what our lives will be like for the next 4 months. There were a bunch of Qatari civilians or someone working on building a building, and a few Air Force personnel just sitting on a stool watching them work. That's what I'll be doing in Iraq, except I'll have on my helmet and body armor and be carrying a weapon I think. So that should be even more fun.

Still don't know when I'll get out of here, but it is becoming a bit tiresome living out of my backpack and trying to sleep in a tent full of other guys. Will be nice to get to Iraq and get my own room or at least just have one roommate and have a job to keep me busy. Which sounds strange to say it'll be nice to get to Iraq, but at least it'll be a steady schedule and I'll know what to expect and can unpack my things and have a "home".

More Qatar Pictures

Well we were supposed to leave for Iraq this morning but after partially out-processing we found out our plane was canceled so we had to in-process again, go pick up our linens again, get our tent back, etc. Then we took a nap for two hours. So now I have an entire day to kill, at least. Here are some random pictures I took this morning.



My boots. Yeah, I'm pretty bored.



Even in Qatar people can't resist writing stupid things on walls. I bet it was all Army guys that did it...



"View" from the bus stop, angle 1.



And angle 2.



People put stickers of their squadrons all over the place. Usually they try to put theirs in a more difficult place to reach than the others, so that they are more elite than the other stickers. I can imagine bored Airmen and soldiers with a bunch of stickers in their pockets saying "Hey, let's see how high we can get this sticker up that pole!", and then spending the rest of the afternoon engineering some complex tower structure to stand on so that they can get their sticker 15 feet in the air.



My view from my bed. Very scenic. That tube thing is the heater vent. Someone went out to turn it on this morning and I heard a loud squeal from the generator outside then that tube whipped really loud with all the air going through it. It scared the crap out of me.



Clever one. Thought my wife would like it.



The crew. All from my base (the ones closest anyway).



Watchtower.



And a video of the bus ride this morning. It could go on for another 30 minutes and would basically look the same. Everything is just flat, dusty, sandy, and brown for as far as you can see.

Qatar Video

Qatar

Like I said in my last post, I'm currently in Qatar at Al Udeid Air Base, which is a major hub for all flights going into and around Iraq. We don't know when our plane will leave and so we're staying in the transient billeting for now. They are big tents with about 20 bunks per tent. Our group that is going to Ali AB is all in the same tent plus others going to other areas. We got here and it was freezing cold. Again, my cold weather gear was in my checked luggage along so I was quite uncomfortable for a while. Even during the day here there is a chilly wind and I don't think it got above about 60 degrees today, though I didn't wake up until 2pm after in-processing and going through customs last night.







The bunks aren't too uncomfortable, but after so long traveling and trying to sleep on an airplane, any flat surface feels pretty good to sleep on. The tents are heated which was great last night, but this morning it got unbearably hot, as I don't think the heating system has a thermostat, it's just on or off and it was left on. I would guess it was about 90 degrees in the tent and I was sleeping right under one of the vents on the top bunk (the vents are the white tubes hanging from the ceiling, if you can see them in the pictures). Needless to say I was just laying on top of all my covers and was still burning up, but managed to still get at least some sleep. You can also hear the wind blowing against the tent, the door opening and closing as people come and go, open their storage trunks, etc. My wife would not sleep well here! :) Somewhere along the way I lost days of my life. I remember getting on the plane in Denver, and somehow I've ended up here days later and I only slept in a bed for one night. I'm not sure where the rest of the days went, but they were sneaky about it.

The little base here has quite a lot of stuff. There is a large central tent that everyone calls "the bra" because it looks like a bra, which is where I'm sitting to write this with the WiFi. It's quite cold and I'm right out in the open so my typing is getting slower and slower as my fingers decide to stop moving quite as nimbly. There is a media building with computer access, a movie theater, dining facility open 24/7, gym, BX, bar (we're limited to 3 beers with a ration card, if someone chooses to drink) magazine reading room, Pizza Hut/Subway/Baskin Robbins/Coffee shop, etc. You can even buy a custom tailored suit here for cheap. And, inexplicably, there is also a place to buy a new car. I'm not sure why or how, maybe it's some kind of tax break? We don't have any duties here, so we can just wander around using the WiFi or gym or whatever else we want all day. Picture of the bra below along with our tents from the outside along with the volleyball court (full of rocks, ouch) and one of the bunkers where we would go if we were attacked (which are apparently also used as a popular make-out spot for couples, as they are not allowed in the opposite sex's billeting).





The dining facility isn't bad, food is similar to basic training, except now I have time to eat it and taste it. I just swipe my ID card on the way in and then have unlimited access to whatever I want. I can see why a lot of people gain weight out here, it's basically an all-you-can-eat buffet for every meal, including sodas, ice cream, cookies, short-order grill, etc. I'll have to watch what I eat so I can leave about 25 pounds of myself out here in the desert! The good thing is that there is also a salad bar and fruit bar so it's just as easy to eat more healthily. The sodas are all in Arabic of some kind, as well as the milk.







The glass of "stuff" in the following picture is supposedly "lemonade". It tastes sort of like lemonade but looks suspiciously exactly like the "orange juice" that I had last night for breakfast. I have a theory that the machine that dispenses the juice actually contains only one kind of liquid and then they just change the labels. I think I may avoid the juice in the future and stick to the water/milk, though I hear the fruit punch at least isn't brown. Maybe they add red food coloring to that spout.



The jet lag isn't bad so far. A couple more nights and I should be pretty much on the right schedule. I guess working on crew and switching between nights and days all the time has made me pretty flexible as far as staying awake or sleeping at random times.

Here are a couple more pictures of our billeting area to finish up this post. I'll post again if anything else interesting happens here in Qatar!

Norfolk to Germany

Hello from Qatar! I'm currently sitting at an outdoor WiFi hotspot in Qatar but this post will be about Germany, with a post to follow about Qatar, if my fingers don't completely freeze up and keep me from typing (it's very cold here!).

We left from Norfolk, VA and boarded a chartered MD-11 to take to Germany. It's like a normal commercial aircraft with flight attendants and everything but all of the passengers are military. The terminal at the Naval Station had a USO so we got goody bags full of stuff like shampoo, snacks, playing cards, etc. They also had nachos and popcorn and movies/books/boardgames.





I sat in the back of the plane and somehow chose the row of seats that were narrower than any other, with armrests that didn't go up. So, within the first 30 minutes I found a new seat because I was miserable in the one I was in as I couldn't move my legs at all and was squished into it. That row must have been made for babies. It was about an 8 hour flight to Germany and I didn't get much sleep. They played a couple movies and we had some horrible food and that's about all there is to say about that.

Arriving at the terminal in Germany we were originally told to stay in the gate area because we just had to refuel the plane and then get back on, but after about 30 minutes of waiting they said it was going to be longer than expected so we could roam around the base a bit. We walked to the BX (Base Exchange, the store) and looked around but noticed that as it was on an American military base, everything was American and there wasn't much German stuff to see other than some beer steins for sale and the street sign that I took a picture of. So, we didn't get to experience much German culture on our short layover. It was a very nice base from what I could tell though, the terminal was very modern and nice and the BX was a good size. It was very chilly there, and I was unprepared as all my cold weather gear was in my checked baggage so it was a very brisk walk to the BX. The only German I heard was from the security people at the checkpoint doing the luggage x-rays and security checks.

Norfolk

Got off the base today and went to eat at Hooters with the others. Having to take taxis everywhere is really expensive, I don't know how people in New York can afford it. Also killed some time at Circuit City and then went to the NEX (Navy Exchange) which is a giant military-only store. Probably 4 of the BXs (Base Exchange, same thing) at my base could fit inside of this one. I bought a power converter so I can use my electronics in Iraq on the 220 power supply and a book about traffic. How it happens, why it happens, how we perceive it, etc. Sounds interesting. A book about plane rides would have been more appropriate I guess but I couldn't find any about that.

One interesting thing about this base is that it is at least partially powered by steam. There are steam pipes going all over the base, connecting to almost every building, all coming from a few central buildings that produce all of the steam. I guess they use it for heat, to power machinery, etc. They are supposed to be trying to phase it out, as I guess it's pretty dangerous and not very cost effective. But it is interesting to see the little veins of the base running everywhere.



On the way back to our lodging we had the taxi driver drive by the piers so we could see the boats. The pictures don't at all show how big they are, you really have to be next to one to really understand it. They are basically huge buildings floating on the water. I definitely would not want to live on one for months at a time though. Apparently, Navy people stay out at see for four years and then on shore for three, according to the lady that was driving us around last night. Of course if the boat is in port they can get off, but are still assigned to that boat and could go any time the boat does. That sounds pretty awful. But, that's why I didn't join the Navy. Here are some pictures.







I don't know anything about the ships, so just look at the pictures. There were a couple of submarines as well which were really cool. Also, the last picture is of the new aircraft carrier, the Bush, which is going to be commissioned sometime in the next week or so and all of the Bush family will be here for that.

I'm not sure when I'll have an internet connection again but I'll post something whenever I do, from the other side of the ocean!

First day

Just completed the first day of travel for my deployment. Going good so far, currently still in the states, staying in billeting (a motel) at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia.

Said good bye to Jenee' in the morning (miss you already!) and then went to the base to meet with my deployment manager who would take me to the airport (I had to be taken by him in a government vehicle because you can't transport government weapons unless it's in a government vehicle). Stopped at Wal-Mart on the way to buy some padlocks to put on my weapon case. Here is a picture of the Wal-Mart. I know it is super interesting, try not to fill up my blog with comments about how interesting it is so far though.



Then we arrived at the airport where I checked in all my bags. I had to open up my weapon case so the ticket agent could put some paperwork in there then take it to a special security checkpoint where they inspected it, then a man took it away and put it on the plane. The commander and director of operations for my squadron and one of my crew commanders came to see me off, which was nice. They brought me a goody bag with snacks for the plane ride. Went through the speedy security line since I was in uniform but unfortunately didn't save that much time as there wasn't much of a line even for the regular people. It would have been more fun if I had gotten to skip past all those regular suckers. Also, going through security is annoying when you are wearing boots and have to take them off and put them back on. It takes a while. Went to the gate and saw a new Airman Basic there in his blues on his way to tech school. The others in my group showed up and we all talked to the new guy for a while. Interesting that I was in the same position almost 2 years ago. One of the guys in my group knew one of the ticket agents at the gate, so he got us all upgraded to first class! It was my first time flying first class and was pretty nice. The extra leg room is greatly appreciated for a person my size. I even got the little hot towels to wash my hands with before the snacks. Here I am in first class on that flight.



Then we flew to our first destination where we had a layover which was longer than expected due to the plane we were waiting on being diverted due to a medical emergency on board. While waiting during the layover I was called up to the ticket counter and was upgraded to first class again! This time it was only me and not the whole group. However once on board there was an empty seat in first class still so they invited one of the guys I was traveling with to come up. There were two Navy guys in first class as well. It was nice of the airlines to upgrade military members to fill seats. So needless to say, my two flights today were quite comfortable!



Arrived at Norfolk airport where we collected our baggage and had to take a taxi to the Naval base because the shuttle bus had already stopped running. Learned that taxis are expensive and prone to be dishonest. We took two separate taxis and after meeting back up with our other group learned that our taxi driver had taken us on the "scenic route" of the base which ended up costing about $20 more than the other guys paid. Oh well, the government is paying for it, not me. But, he did take us by the coast and we got to see all of the battleships and aircraft carriers in port here, which are extremely impressive. I had no idea those ships were so big, they look like sky scrapers floating in the water. Perhaps tomorrow we'll have time to go back and see them and maybe take some pictures in the daylight.



Checked our baggage and weapons in at the air terminal on base for our flight tomorrow and took a shuttle to our lodging for the night after a quick detour off base to get some food. The lodging is nice, it used to be Officers quarters and is now just a lodging facility. Only $25 a night (billed to the government for this trip of course) but these facilities can be used for any purpose if there is space available I think, which makes traveling and staying in a hotel quite affordable if there is a base around.





Multiple people throughout the trip would come up and thank us for our service, which was nice to see. At least some people have learned that even if they don't agree with the war they should still support the troops. Also saw multiple other military members traveling in uniform today. Norfolk is evidently a major military city so there were especially a lot of military members in the airport there even at the slow evening time period. The Navy base here is huge, even from the little I saw tonight in the dark. It makes my little base back home feel very small and insignificant in comparison. Hopefully I'll get to see a bit more of it tomorrow, in the day light!