30 Days in Pakistan

So here we are...

30 days since I left Alaska...

50+ days since I left the house, the wife and kids, the Xbox and Playstation...

Still no light at the end of the tunnel...

I wish that people in charge were able to commit to the type of information they expect from thier subordinates. A simple timeline is all I want. I had a pretty big 2011 planned. 2010 seems to want to jack that schedule up. I was hoping to get to go to Afghanistan in the spring but this clusterfoxtrot might get that canceled. It sucks being away from the family for that long but deployments are actually pretty good if you use your time wisely. Most of the extra B.S. that comes with being a member of the finest flying force the world's ever seen melts away and you get to focus on doing what you raised your hand to do.

I'm not saying doing a humanitarian relief mission isn't satisfying in it's own right. The part that makes this so sucky is that we're confined to a very small section of the country..city..base..airfield. It feels like a prison. Max security lockdown. 'They' say we'll be here for a few months. 'They' also say we'll be gone in a few months. It kind of seems like rushing into things without a endgame is becoming the norm. That's why I like videogames. The goals are clear, but in real life, notsomuch.

I personally don't think this space we're set up in will last too long. It's okay right now because people packed for a couple months, but 4 months down the road, I expect hard times. At least in (most bases in) Afghanistan, they are built up and have facilities and recreation. It took 3 weeks to get a toilet by the hangar so you didnt have to walk (literally) a quarter mile to drop a deuce. I still haven't been able to take a hot shower in 30 days.

It's funny that a lot of people say that even getting on the internet is boring now. There literally isn't anything to do out here. Big Army likes to use the excuse that this is 'how the Army is' but they don't do a lot to fix it. And everytime they set something up somebody spoils it for everyone. They set up a MWR tent and got it shut down in 1 day. That's why we can't have nice things.

        

I'm just looking forward to getting back to my friends and especially my family. And my liquor...