Finally Here!

So I finally made it to Kuwait on Friday night. It was a long and treacherous trip with started off with a 14 hour bus ride from Fort Campbell, KY to Norfolk, VA. We were driving on a nice big bus with a bathroom and had plenty of room. Unfortunately the first bus driver was falling asleep, which isn’t a good thing because it was snowing and raining on the first leg of our trip. The second bus driver was no better and it actually felt like I was in the back seat being driven by a drunk driver. We arrived in VA at 0100 and slept on the terminal floor to the wee hours of the morning. Then we started our plane rides across the world.  VA to Shannon, Ireland 5.5 hours.  Since we were flying with 200 Air Force Personnel… Ireland Airport….2 beer minimum.  No big deal to me because I don’t drink but I saw a few big smiles. A 3 hour layover onto a 6.5 hour flight to Qatar. We got off the plane in Qatar for a few hours and it was 70 deg and a beautiful breeze.  As we were about to land I looked out my window and saw all the flat land and sand dunes and finally reality hit me and I got a sinking feeling.. my thoughts… How is it I am coming back to the sandbox again? So we relaxed on the flight line between a couple buses and enjoyed to cool breeze.

Qatar to Kuwait City was only a few hours. Then the madness of locating everyone’s bags and getting everyone on the right bus.  Once that was finished everything worked itself out pretty quickly. Of course we had to say good-bye to our Afghanistan folks which was hard. Finally arrived at Camp Buerhing at 2330 hrs and got our rooms and unpacked a bit. Didn’t get more than 3 hours of sleep then up and atom.  Our living quarters are pretty sweet. Two rooms connected by a small hallway and we share a bathroom.  Not too shabby being permanent party for the first time. I could get used to this.

First few days we just got the tour and started the hand off. It is so hard finding everything because it all looks the same. But I will figure it out one way or another.  Went into a port o potty the other day and was surprised with a blast in the face of the worse smell I have smelt in a long time. I actually started dry heaving and had to back out. Ms. W was laughing her butt off until she went in and started dry heaving. Welcome back to Kuwait ladies!!! BLAAAAAAAA

So the dust has been pretty bad here the last few days. Note: Do not put chapstick, lip balm or lip gloss on prior to going outside.  Have you ever used St. Ives Apricot Face Scrub.. well the sand makes your chapstick feel just like that! Sandpaper lip gloss.  #1 reason why I hate Kuwait today!

My blond moment for the week: Went into the dispatch office to introduce myself to some of the employees and walked out and couldn’t find my car keys.  Walked back in checked the desk, emptied all my pockets, walked out to the car to make sure I didn’t leave them inside…. No keys.  By this time I am cussing and scratching my head wondering how I could lose a set of keys in less than 5 mins.  Can you guess where they were? They were inside my hat and my hat was on my head…. Holy Cow am I in need of some help.. really in my hat which was on my head.

Training is Coming to an End!

The last 30 days in Fort Campbell have been a rollercoaster of emotions, uncertainties, laughs, cries and goodbyes!  34 of us came to Fort Campbell with the knowledge that we were all going to deploy. The first week was full of high spirits and as much motivation you can conjure up from a bunch of CID agents.  After week one the powers above decided they would change their minds and decided to wipe the slate clean.  The list of actual deployers was now blank. Nothing was for sure and we were all left in limbo for 2 weeks.  No one knew who was deploying, who was going home and which country we were going to call home for 9 months. We knew nothing.  So you can only imagine how frustrated we all were.

But through the last month we have eaten our way through boredom. We have eaten at almost every restaurant in a 15 mile radius.  We have introduced Japanese Steakhouses and Jamaican to our Fort Drum folks, had lick your friends fingers Buffalo Wild Wings, fed DB who is our bottomless pit and loves to order the biggest  steak, and I taught Ms. JB how to use chopsticks. We have eaten Sushi, Mexican, Southern Comfort food and Junk.  All good things include great food and good company!

Our Mod Squad drives around in a big white marshmallow van. One of our group likes to sing karaoke in the van on short and long rides… yesterday was Katy Perry “ California Gurls”, Marc Anthony, and a few country songs.  It is so hilarious but sometimes you just have to join in.  We keep telling him he will have to sing on our 17 hour bus ride in order to pass the time.  Not so sure everyone is going to appreciate it but I will.  

The time has come to finally say goodbye to all of those who didn’t make the cut. It is really hard to develop a strong team only to have to break that team up. We shared some good memories, laughs and stories and I hope in the future our paths cross again.  God’s Speed!

PROMOTION TIME!

I have been promotable for quite a few months and have just been waiting for the day where I can actually become a SFC.  My husband surprised me the other day by having Balloons and Edible Arrangements sent to my hotel to congratulate me on my promotion. It was such a great surprise which brought tears to my eyes.  My husband is my best friend and he always seems to surprise me when I least expect it.  Thank you Tuti!   So on 1 Dec 2011 I was pinned by my two friends SFC DS and WO1 PJB! (They were nice enough to pay it forward and promote me since I am far from home). 

I owe where I am today to my husband, my family, my friends and mentors. You all have supported me through this crazy journey by giving me advice, listening when I was confused and frustrated, supported me through 2 deployments and teaching, counseling and mentoring.  If it wasn’t for all of you and your support I may not have lasted 11 years.  I am now a lifer headed down the path towards retirement and ready for whatever challenges, experiences and memories.  A close friend recently told me “The sky is the limit for you”

Battle Buddies

The one part of the Army which never gets easier is meeting good people and then saying goodbye. There are those who come into your life and exit as quickly as they entered, there are those who make a small difference and teach you something and slowly fade into the horizon and then there are those who come into your life and leave a impression, a friendship blossoms, memories are made and no matter how many miles are between you; they will always be your battle buddy.  I have some greatest battle buddies like my first battle buddy Diana who I haven’t seen in 10 years she is now a teacher, married to a veteran and has a beautiful daughter.  She has always been one of my biggest fans. My first roommate in Korea was Ms. Jaime.  She has been out of the Army for awhile now but we can go months without talking to each other and when we speak it is like we spoke yesterday and we pick up where we left off.  Then there is my Hooker! I have known Barbie for 6 years and I have no idea why we became friends. It was just an Asian Connection I guess.  She is crazy and part of my family and I am a part of hers.  She is also my husband’s adopted sister.  So no matter how far away my battle buddies live we are always a phone call away.  Thank you ladies for being you!

There are so many others who have become lifelong friends. I know there will be others too! 

I am going down!

Wednesday was a day of uncertain news and a chili cook-off. There was a brief unit function and then much of the unit speed off to spend time with their family. A wave of boredom overtook Ms. JB and I once again. What was the bright idea which arouse out of boredom you ask? Well in the spirit of giving thanks we decided to give blood for the American Red Cross. Ms. JB says that her office used to do this all together and then go to lunch. Sounded like a great thing to do!  So we were leaving the PX when this bright idea struck so we whipped our large white marshmallow van around and screeched into a parking spot.  Found the registration desk which wasn’t were it was supposed to be then made the head high, pep in our step march to the big Red Cross Van sitting quietly in front of the PX. 

We get in and go through all the paperwork and medical clearance steps. They sit me in a bed and start getting me all hooked up. So picture this.. you have a bus the size of a greyhound maybe.. with 3 bedlike structures on each side. The aisle in the middle is about the size of the aisle in a normal bus and you have about 4 women and a man running back in forth. These 5 personnel are no way near slim to put it nicely. So needless to say it was cramped quarters.  So they get me all hooked up and the blood starts flowing. Ms. JB comes out and they start prepping her, she sits right across from me so we can chit-chat.

My arm is hurting a little at first because of the needle but I keep pumping my fist. The ladies are doing way too many things at the same time so it is almost like a quiet chaos. My bag is almost filled and two ladies start going back in forth bantering about clamping my tube and who was going to do it. As they argue my blood bag gets too full and the blood has no place to go but back from where it came from! Back into my body! So as they banter.. I quietly say “I think I am going to pass out” I start seeing a black curtain drop in front of my eyes and stars appear. I try to fight the feeling of falling asleep (passing out) and they start panicking.  I can hear Ms. JB saying my name and the ladies telling me to keep my eyes open but they are just too heavy! When you pass out there is no magical light it is all black and its pulling me in… LMAO.  Ms. JB says I am talking slowly about stars and my leg is shaking out of control. (I do not know any of this at the time). The ladies start putting wet towel on my head and splash some water on my face. The ladies even go as far as putting a biohazard barf bag on front of me. Then some crazy lady thinks it will be funny/helpful to poor a whole bottle of water over me…. Hello! I’m saved! Call off the Paramedics, EMS and Police….I am Awake, Wet and Freezing.  Really all you had to do was let me sleep for a few minutes… there was no need to call in the shower team. So finally I wake up and try to get myself back together.. I would like that Sprite now please and my free T-Shirt!

So yes I am a little embarrassed about this extravaganza although I truly believe that it had everything to do with these ladies allowing my blood to backup into my arm again. I can honestly laugh about it now. I told Ms. JB that she had to take this story to her grave but she thought it wouldn’t be fair to all of you readers.  But she says the song for this story is Mary J. Blige… “I’m Going Down… I’m Going Down when your not around…. My whole world’s upside down.. Sleep don’t come easy” I was going down alright!  Too funny!  Note sure if I will be giving blood soon. Maybe in the future when boredom strikes again! Thanks Battle Buddy for keeping me alive!

Another great Army Day….

So yesterday we went to the range to qualify before deployment. We meet at 0700 to draw weapons from the arms room then to convoy (cars following each other from point A to point B).  So first off we have (3) 15 passenger vans which would fit the number of personnel we have, but NO we have to be individuals and take a whole bunch of GOV’s out to the range because we can’t operate like an Army Unit. Then our infamous leader who should have known where the range was made a 10 minute trip into a 45 minute trip! Really maybe High Speed should have done a Map Reconnaissance or a Leaders Reconnaissance? Instead we get a tour of every range on Fort Campbell and pass the same unit 6 times and had to turn around about 10 times!  4 of us are in the van and all we can do is laugh and shake our heads.  We watch as Blinks stops and asked the same unit 2 times where the range we need to go is. Maybe they don’t know because they didn’t get us there the first time you asked them. Then we stop at 2 ranges disembark the vehicles only to get back in and go to another range…Are we there yet? Seriously Not Impressed.

You know what else I am not impressed with: All the super troopers who decided they were to cool for school and wore their Army Combat Shirts (ACS). I know you all want to feel like you are real soldiers again but last time I checked the ACS’s were meant to worn as a replacement for the Army Combat Uniform Jacket and the Moisture-wicking T-Shirts… In combat! Not in the middle of November in Fort Campbell, KY.  So although you may never have the chance to wear your high speed shirt in “Kuwait” there is no need for you to pretend you are all high speed now! Not impressed. Did I mention it was cold…. Real cold outside!

Finally we get to the range and the IRT personnel show up. We load magazines and prepare to shoot. Our range is supposed to go “Hot” at 0900.  The IRT guy calls Range Control and gets put on hold for 1.5 hours.  Range control is the only people who can allow us to start firing…. Houston we have a problem! Which wouldn’t be our first of the day!  So we finally start shooting at about 1030! 

If you have ever been to a military range before you know there are lots of safety concerns and rules which need to be followed… Such as…

Weapons pointed down range at all times. Stay within the range limits. Take all commands from the tower or the safetys. Don’t shoot the wildlife. Stay on line and never step in front of a firer and so many other rules. So safetys are supposed to say behind the firers at all times to make sure there are no safety issues.  Infamous leader thinks that it is safe to call commands in front of 11 firers whom all have loaded weapons… Get your stupid butt behind the firing line and call your commands. Really how long have you been in the Army! That would be my advice considering you have already wasted our time this morning with your piss poor navigational skills.

So we finally get everyone qualified. I hate qualifying with all that darn gear on! I felt like I was in a fat man suit trying to fire with frozen fingers! Long cold day! Lunch included beef jerky, spicy chips and apples with peanut butter.  But at least I was in good company!

Rollover, Rollover, Rollover

So Wednesday we actually did some cool training… At least I thought so!  Wednesday we did rollover training in an MRAP. Rollover training is training where you get into a vehicle simulator and it simulates your vehicle either being rolled over 90 deg or 180 deg and everyone has to safely get out of the vehicle in 60-90 seconds. When you are wearing 60 lbs of gear and upside down it is pretty difficult to get out of seatbelts and harnesses.  So I have done this a few times before in a Humvee so I knew what to expect. What I didn’t expect is how un-Army some of CID personnel are. 

So I am sure if you are all wondering if something funny happened…. Well sure enough I got stuck upside down in the damn MRAP….yup me and the front passenger (TC) were upside down in retention seatbelts which we could not get out of.  It took me doing a handstand on the roof of the cab (hope you can picture this..) to release enough tension from the belt for me to get out (One of the other soldiers in the vehicle had to assist) .  So finally once I got out I could help the guy who was probably 100lbs heavier than me out of his seatbelt.  Boy do they make those seatbelts high retention and inescapable. Hey at least we weren’t the only ones to get stuck in that seat. I must say our crew (people inside the vehicle) worked as a team to get everyone out in a timely manner… wish I could say that about some other “leaders”

This is me in the simulator.  Tried to add some videos but the computer is way to slow here. Maybe I will post them later.

Happy Feet

So my time in KY has been anything but eventful… more like frustrating, boring and unimpressive. So finding ways to spend my time with limited transportation and options of things to do is tough. I will say that it could always be worse, way worse.  So the other day Ms. JB and I went to go get a pedicure at a little Nail Salon which is run by Asians.. they always do the best job. So I am sure I am not the only one who goes into these nail places and all the ladies are speaking in their native language and there is no possible way to understand or pretend to understand. I always wonder if they are talking about me. I think Ms. JB has thought the same thing because she really got me going.  I really needed a serious pedicure and the lady working on me was taking care of my feet and Ms. JB tells me “They are talking about your feet and how bad they are..” I say “You’re a jerk… they aren’t talking about my feet”.  My lady and her guy are talking back in forth in a undistinguishable banter and I look at them and sure enough he is looking at my feet.  Of course I know they weren’t talking about my feet but Ms. JB had me paranoid and questioning what their conversation really was about. We were both rolling in our chairs… I even asked them if they were talking about my feet and they said “No.. we no talking about you!”. What a relief!  If you know anything about me, you know that I hate people touching my feet or even looking at them.  I didn’t start wearing flip-flops or getting pedicures until about 7 years ago.  I still don’t enjoy getting my feet done but I am paranoid that my feet will look ugly if someone does happen to look at them.  Oh and please keep your feet away from me! Gross!

A few summers ago my husband and I were in a nail salon so I could get a pedicure in Florida and there was this older man getting a pedicure and his toe nails were at least 3 inches long, yellow and curling. It was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen. If I was his wife, whom was sitting next to him, I would have been so embarrassed, she is gross to have let him get away with that madness.  NOT IN MY HOUSE!! Anyway I felt even worse for the poor girl who had to give him the pedicure, she looked like she was about to vomit!  Please men… If you are reading this and you don’t take care of your feet (DS..Yes I am talking to you) do your wives and/or girlfriends a favor and get a damn pedicure. No one wants to be sleeping next to someone with werewolf feet!  Pretty feet are happy feet.

How about some laughs….

Alexandria my stepdaughter called me this morning to tell me she broke her arm… this of course is not funny… but she is so accident prone her dad told her she needs to live in a bubble. This is the second time she broke her arm in the last 7 years.  Of course I had to make her laugh and ask her silly things like… how are you going to text?.... How are you going to wipe your bum?.... And how are you going to do all that homework?   She says I can wipe my bum with my left hand S-Mom!

So she got a pretty blue cast today!

Then she went to a Chinese restaurant and this was her fortune!

Julesiya, my God daughter answered my phone call today….” Papa Gino’s.  We are closed we have no more pizza!”  She is so funny. I was telling her about Zoe and Patience and she asks “Patience can talk?”  It was so cute!  She asked me if I wanted to speak to Mommy or Cici (her dog) .  I told her I wanted to talk to Cruella Deville (My step son thinks my BF looks like Cruella Deville).  So Julesiya says “Cruella Deville… Titi Courtnee wants to talk to you”  Too cute.

So my BF Mom… aka Mom #2… Read my Military Lingo blog… and calls Genessa and asks discretely… “What is tea bagging?”  Genessa has to explain to her Mom what tea bagging is…a little embarrassing.  Mom #2 if your reading this… always ask discretely. 

And finally… the new phrase for this deployment… “I am not impressed”

Fort Campbell… I am not impressed!
Fort Campbell Gym where I have to pay $2 to get in… I am not impressed!
Fort Campbell Soldier who don’t get haircuts, wear tight ACU’s, who wear metallic burnt orange fingernail polish in uniform, pony tails in uniform, Soldiers who don’t give the greeting of the day and/or salute… I am sorry but I am not impressed!
This deployment so far… I am not impressed!

Have a good weekend everyone!  And please remember that tomorrow is Veteran’s Day! Take the time out of your busy lives and thank a Veteran because without our brothers and sisters in arms our lives would not be the same.  Please take a second to pray for those who have given their lives protecting our freedom and those who serve every day voluntarily so you can sleep safe at night.  Thank you!