Oh yeah, there's air conditioning. Unfortunately, the top bunk is a full 10 degrees warmer than the bottom bunk. I don't spend any time in my tent from 0700 to 8pm anyway, so my biggest problem is flippin' freezing my nuts off when it goes down to 80 at night. I have a winter sleeping bag I sleep in. Weird, eh? Like I said before, I hang out with Iraqis most of the day, in the semi cab if possible, and most of their trucks have A/C. Shade is important if one is outside. Everywhere else has A/C too. So thats a blessing for sure. I will tell you what, when its 120, a beer would be out of this world. However, even getting caught with an empty alcohol container in my locker would cost me 4 pay grades and a months pay, making it about a $4,000 beer. Uff da.
I never have to worry about a cold shower, they truck all our water in and it sits in big tanks outside. Getting a tan takes about 10 minutes. I always look cool, cuz I always have shades on. Like I said the food is good. We had Lobster and scallops last night and they do that at least 2 times a month. There's an ice cream bar, a desert bar, a main line with your normal meal, a short order with corn dogs, ravioli, onion rings, fries, burgers, etc. There's a "healthy line" which consistenly has chicken breasts, noodles, rice, fish, veggies. There's a salad bar, all the soda, juice, and gatorade you can drink for free, and things of that nature. So food is good. Oh, and there's a stir fry bar that is like a downsized Hu Hot. The Army doesn't mess with bullets, food, or pay if they can help it. Everything else is up in the air.
GM has a hell of a fleet salesman because there's hundereds of Trail Blazers and 3/4ton Suburbans around here. Lots of explorers, Mitsubishi trucks, and a bunch of different types of middle eastern mini trucks. And they're all falling apart at a very fast rate. Think rental cars with lots of dings from rifle barrels hitting the doors as you get in them. I can't hold my hand above the engine with the hood up because I'll burn it. The underhood temps are astronomical. Nothing runs right after awhile for various reasons and there isn't a local GM dealership around here. The fuel sucks. Its called MOGAS. Don't know what that acronym stands for. Maybe "motor overhaul gas?" The speed limit around here is a blinding 20 kph, so less than 15 mph. Poor engines are so full of carbon I bet.
We have weapons to counter incoming rockets and mortars. We have radar that detects the rounds when they leave the ground. It tracks its flight path 15-25 times in the air. Right after the round is recognized as a bad deal (takes about a second), it sounds an alarm and gives us about 3-5 seconds to jump somewhere relatively safe. Its amazing. Oh, and thats a Loonnngg 3-5 seconds!!! Some bases have gatling guns (tens of thousands of rounds per minute) that literally chew up the rounds in midair and are guided by the same radar. They're about 80% accurate, so thats cool.
I'll chat later, we're having a bbq tonight and playing volleyball. Good times! And don't you dare feel guilty on my account. If you're going to feel guilty about something, feel guilty if you realize you're not using your American priviliges and opportunities to their fullest. I'm not here to save the world or anything, this is just a means to another end. Have a good day!
