Oklahoma Ain't Got Nothin' On This Place

Greetings and salutations. We're here in the Middle East finally! Actually, we've been here for several days. Why not post? Good question. First and foremost, there's the issue of security and tracking moves and all that. Next, it was a matter of allowing some of the other battalions to not be around the TOC as much, so I could basically have a NIPR connection long enough to post and not annoy someone else who wanted to do something important like check stock prices.

So, we're here. And there's dust everywhere, which makes sense (even in places that are uncomfortable). Needless to say, I'm growing accustomed to it all. Actually, I refuse to believe I'm here. I continue to claim we're actually in the Nevada desert, and all these Arabs are imported.

Yeah, right.

OK, so communications. So far, it's all blog and email for the general populace. With family, I've been calling home using AT&T prepaid cards (great stuff to send to folks over here, by the by... if anyone is willing to send a ton of cards, email me and we'll discuss details). For all of you who check caller ID and refuse to pick up if you don't recognize the number: it might be me. Yup, I have no clue how the number comes across on your end. So...give some thought to NOT checking the damn caller ID. Unless, of course, you don't care to talk. Yes, I know. It might be a telemarketer. Or Avon. Or the Landshark. Or someone who hasn't called in years. Like a friend of mine in Massachusetts, this experience is tempting me to begin blocking caller ID on my calls when I get back home.

Most folks ask us what we're doing here. Basically, we're waiting to flow forward. We have some training and stuff we do, which is good. Me, I'm working on CGSC, which is a very good thing. It's all on CDs now, so knocking it out is fairly easy. Apparently, with deployments being the norm, more and more Regular Army officers began doing CGSC via correspondence and the graders at Leavenworth couldn't keep up with the grading (try teaching high school...). So, "they" reworked the correspondence course, trimmed up the writing requirements and such and repackaged it for those of us who have internet connections that are less than 100% reliable. My goal is to finish the whole thing before I get home. I'm also working out, which is another good thing. I haven't done squats in a long, long, looooong time. Needless to say, standing up from a sitting position is something I feel each time now! :)

We're looking forward to getting forward and becoming familiar with the jobs we're supposed to be doing. By and large, we're professionals, regardless of how many careers we juggle, and this is no different than anything else - want to get where we're supposed to be and do what we're supposed to be doing, period.

That's about all that's fit to print. I could tell you that we're still sleeping on cots, in tents with a lot of my closest friends and that it's hot, but that's rather par for the course. As usual, thank you for the thoughts and prayers.

Enjoy!