Entry #18 December 3, 2005

Camp Buehring, Kuwait (somewhere near the Iraq border)

It’s about time. We finally move out of our cramped tent and into real buildings. I’ll be sharing a room with Shawn and our HUMINT warrant officer Mr. Gieffer. He goes to bed at around 2000 (8:00 pm ) every night and wakes up at around 0500 so Shawn and I can’t keep up our usual late night hours. But that’s fine by me. Unfortunately the rest of my platoon will be 6 to a room. However, my room will also serve as the platoon office.

It’s the holiday season, but it sure as heck doesn’t feel like it. It got up to 87 degrees yesterday. Not exactly bar-b-queing weather in my book. I will miss waking up at around 6 am and getting ready for a full day of eating and smoking meat, telling jokes, having a few beers, all of us huddled in a circle in our chairs around the fire. I’m taking bets on which Long brother will pick up the slack and wake up early to help. The odds are 50:1 for Matthew and 75:1 for Joseph. Any takers?

I had my first encounter with the natives the other day when I was running a MOUT (Military Operations, Urban Terrain) range. A group of Bedouins came racing through the range area in a beat up black and red (at least they had the right colors) Suburban looking for our brass shells to collect and sell. Range Control chased them off the range in their own vehicles. Driving back to the camp, I saw all kinds of camel and sheep herds. Apparently the desert does grow grass starting in late December through March and the Bedouins herd their flock north following the grass. It’s such a different lifestyle.

I have little clue as to what this next month brings. The uncertainty of it all is gnawing at me. And so the Soldier’s life continues…