Blogs from Al Jahra, Kuwait, Middle East

I got up early this morning to go get issued another set of body armor. I was issued a set at Ft. Hood but the set I received today is designed to be dropped in the event of a fire. There is a rip cord that you can pull if you become trapped in a vehicle on fire. When you pull the cord the armor falls to the floor and you can step out of it. This new armor covers my whole trunk and sides. We are supposed to get deltoid armor to cover the tops of the arms but it is still missing. The vest is lighter by 3 pounds but still weighs 55 pounds. I will have to maintain both sets of armor until I return home. Since it is memorial day the base ... read more

Had a slower day today. I had to attend a class on an Army computer system today. It was a 4 hour block but the computers were not working well so we spent most of the class attempting to log on to the system. It was really a waste of the afternoon. Mark and I worked out for a couple of hours today. I feel really good now that I have had time to work out. When I came back to the tent I spent a few hours drawing. I am trying to get back into it - the guys think I am really good but I feel I need lots of work. I will share as I improve. ... read more

Today we woke up at 1:30 AM to go to the firing range. We had to test fire our weapons to ensure that they work. We drove about an hour into the middle of the desert to get away from any civilization. I say bedowins with 2 herds of sheep. I also saw my first camels. There were two of them several hundred yards off in the distance. I fired my weapon as did 400 of my closest friends. It sounded like a huge fire fight. We arrived back at camp in enough time for breakfast. I decided to take a short nap. I woke up at 1530 realizing that I had slept half of the day away. Mark and I went to the gym. Who knows what tomorrow will hold.... read more

Today we had our first classes. We learned about Force Protection and IEDs. Our first trainer was from the Navy. He was a knowledgeable guy but a little rough around the edges. The second trainer was a British Engineer. What a riot. He taught us about fratracide. He showed us a video clip that had a guy getting his in the testicles with a golf ball. He said, "No matter what culture you are from or how civilized we become seeing someone getting hit in the testicles is funny." He class was witty but informative. His parting discussion was to list all of the various coalition forces in theater. He listed the Americans, Brits, Aussies, Pols, etc. The smallest contingent is the Moldovan Army with 4 troops. He said, "that is 4 more than the French." ... read more

The weather is terrible. There is a light sandstorm the wind is voracious and the sand is in everything. My uniform is buttoned up all the way. I have a boonie cap, sun glasses, and bandana tied over my face. Picture a soldier robbing a bank. There is pallets of bottled water in front of every tent. I think that the water has sand in it - all I taste is grit and dirt. Maybe it will whiten my teeth. We stay in large tents made of plastic. The floor is plywood which is nice as my feet don't get to dirty when I get up to go to the bathroom (the bathroom is a little walk from the tent). We had our first experience with 220 voltage. The ourlets here have a funny shape. They ... read more