Hell's annex

I'm guessing that Hell is full. It must be, because what other need could there be for this much heat in another place if not to torture the poor souls who find themselves in it? The only potable water here is in plastic bottles, available just about everywhere on base to keep people from passing out. I've only been here 9 hours and I've already had over a half gallon. But, I digress. You (no doubt) would rather hear about my experiences this past day, so allow me to oblige.

We last left our hero as he sat at the Navy Air Terminal in Norfolk, so let's pick up from there. The plane boarded and departed on time at o'dark thirty. We were on a North American Airlines 767, and only about 90 passengers. That meant we each had a row of 2 or 3 seats to ourselves. I chose a middle seat up front, so I had lots of room to stretch out.

We had a short layover in Leipzig Germany to change aircrew and flight crew. I spent 4 Euros to pay for wifi to call home on Skype. Then we loaded back on the plane and off we went again. We landed just 45 minutes after midnight in Qatar. Had we landed before midnight, I would have gotten credit for one more day in the AOR, which might have helped get me home before Christmas. I still might, but at this point, it's too early to start thinking about coming home.

Once we landed, we immediately started processing into the AOR. We got our chem gear, and got a bunch of video briefings. They grouped us by final downrange destination, and selected the highest ranking person in each group to be the Troop Commander (TC). For my group, I ended up being the TC for 14 others, which means I'm responsible for ensuring they all get the info they need, and get on the plane when they're supposed to. (I'm not seeing the upside to being the TC.) After that, we checked in at billeting, got our linens and went to the tent (yes, another tent). This time, we had 32 bunk beds. Since we are transient (not stationed here, or TDY here), we don't rate getting separate rooms. I felt like I was in a hostel.

By the time we got through all processing, it was nearly 0530, so I found a wifi spot (at The Bra) and called Julie. I eventually got over to the chow hall and found a good number of our crew already there. Pretty good spread, I must say. I recommend the omelets.

Now, I'm just hanging out in the learning center (read: library) wondering what in the Hell I'm going to do to bide my time. I'm trying to adjust my internal clock, but I'm not sure I can stay awake all the way until 8 p.m. when I find out if we're leaving tomorrow. I think I might get some rack time before dinner, then see what happens from there.

Sorry, no pics...the connection's too slow. I'll post some when I can...if my camera doesn't melt first.