Uncle Cobs joins the Narmy

Day 2: Jacoby Update #10

Jun 9th, 2009 6:00am

Not a lot of sleep last night, and I pretty much just gave up by 0500, and decided to walk around and type up a new entry.

Today is Day #2 in Kuwait. Yesterday when we landed it was stupid o’clock in the morning on Monday. After what seemed like a week, it was around 30 hours of air time in three pieces, interrupted by 13 hours in Germany, about two hours in Iceland and less than an hour in Canada. That, plus the hour on the tarmac in Kuwait while they tested us all for Swine Flu before deboarding, and the several hours in the hanger in Columbia prior to taking off, plus the several hours in busses to Columbia and from Kuwait City to our next training center make the total transit time damn close to 50 hours. So, needless to say we were pretty exhausted when we arrived at Camp Virginia. With a break on the way to the base for some water and to give the smokers a chance to work on their lungs, we took the bus ride in darkness, windows with the required curtains drawn shut. When we arrived, it was clearly day time, but the sky lacked sunshine, just a dusty haze that seems to linger all day long. When they say it’s going to be “sunny” here, they don’t mean a pretty blue sky with wisps of clouds, they mean a dull, gray glary haze that refuses to be bright enough for sun glasses but so harsh on the eyes you have to put them on anyway. It’s like that drizzle in the car that you use your intermittent wipers on, but just can’t seem to find the right speed to clear the windshield while still avoiding the screech of the blades on glass. That’s the sun here, a screeching occluded windshield, a blinding haze that I doubt I’ll ever get used to.

The heat is something else all together. When we landed it was quite pleasant, but for 0400 it was clearly warm. In the upper 80s and with a breeze, it was easy to enjoy the morning, but as the day wore on, the temp climbed into the 100s, likely peaking at around 110 degrees. I’ve learned what it feels like to be a lobster slowly cooking in a pot of tepid water warmed slowly until the heat consumes it. It’s a dry heat, so you don’t really sweat, or if you do, it evaporates as you walk through the air. But the dry heat wreaks havoc on your sinuses, and the relief from the heat is air conditioning, no better on the sinuses and a recipe for a stuffed up nose and heavy, heavy snoring.

Our tent is a 25-man tent that comfortably sleeps the nine of us, leaving room for maybe one of two more people. The  number 25 must be for midgets or something, for no 25 normal sized men could possibly fit. We do have AC in the tent, but since it only cools around 20 degrees below the outside temperature, it means it’s 90 degrees during the day, not real conducive for sleeping or even just “being.” We sleep on cots, not the best for your back, but not totally devoid of comfort. Bathrooms are the latrines, two types here at Camp Virginia. Portapoties, dot the landscape, which may seem like a gross way to relieve yourself, but they are surprisingly clean and devoid of stink. In fact, I’ve never experienced such a clean portapot. (totally unlike at Ft. Jackson, where the stand-alones were so disgusting that you could smell the stench as you drove of the road toward them, and woe-betide the day you’re trying to shoot down-wind; YUK!). The other kind of latrine they call a Cadillac, with running water and porcelain sinks and toilets. They have them outside our sleeping tents. A short walk down the road and you get to the showers, also surprisingly pleasant. They are essentially containers with around a dozen individual showers with GREAT pressure, plenty of hot water (not all that desired here) and sinks for shaving. Getting around reminds me of camping, especially the showering. After getting completely clean you walk back in your sandals only to dirty your newly cleaned feet. The roads are hard, packed stone, but everywhere else is like walking on the beach. Sun and sand, but no surf.

Believe it or not, I’m typing this from a Starbucks. Yes, they have an SB with windows and cushy chairs, in eye sight of the PX, Taco Bell, a Pizza Place and several other food establishments, right down the street from other American crutches like MacDonald’s. They really do try to take good care of you here. I’m off to chow at one the nicest dining facilities I’ve ever experienced on a base.