Entry #17: November 29, 2005

Camp Buehring, Kuwait (somewhere near the Iraq border)

Well, it’s still sandy here. At least it’s not blazing hot like I expected. It’s hard to determine what would be worse, miles of sand or the scorching sun. I think it would be both, which is what I can expect in about four months. The fun in Kuwait never ends.

My policy for putting out information on this is gonna be, if Stars and Stripes (the military newspaper) can print it, I can type it. It appears that my brigade will be an in-theater reserve element. This means we’ll go to Iraq if a situation requiring extra troops pops up. We call ourselves the fire brigade. The fire flares up and it’s our job to snuff it out. This is a clever political move. You lower the total number of troops in Iraq, yet still keep a reserve for the worst case scenario. I’m just disappointed that the whole brigade gets left out for right now. Being the reserve element is particularly tough for intel guys because it’s difficult to know where you’re headed or up against until you crank up the Humvee and go. Nonetheless, my guys and I won’t be parked in a tent here at Camp Buehring. We’ll be floating around Kuwait and perhaps going on a few forays into Iraq. But don’t worry, just test-fired my two personal weapons yesterday (I carry an M4 carbine and an M9 9mm pistol. They work, so don’t worry Mom and Dad.

Also, I finally have my mailing address. Here it is:

LT Preston Long
B/501st MI BN
2BCT, 1AD
APO AE 09330

I do have some good news. Today, I got promoted to 1st Lieutenant. Goodbye butter bar (slang term for a 2nd Lieutenant’s rank), hello tax-free pay. To put this promotion in perspective, a 2nd Lieutenant is the private of the officer corps. This promotion means less private equivalent officer duties. Needless to say, I am looking forward to it. And so the Soldier’s life continues…