Been awhile...

Wow its been over a month since I was able to post. Things definitely got busy! Finishing up the deployment was great. I was exhausted and ready to get home and out of the jet for awhile. We had some great last trips there that I will try to post on FB. I really loved the Med when I was there, but turkey itself has some cleaning up to do. I think that if they did, it could be the next greece. The people are nice, there are beautiful things to see, and its still very inexpensive.

Getting home was such a relief. I spent two weeks roaming around the west and east coasts with one of my favorite people and completely unwound. We had some crazy adventures involving a deer we hit, a rental car we secretly drove out of the state, cars that wouldn't start and several airplanes we almost missed. All in all it was quite a good trip.

Now I'm back on the road and seeing the world-well the middle eastern portion of it mostly... But i'm hoping to get more time in germany and see some friends there, I'll try to keep ya posted...

Tired

Its beautiful outside. I should be going downtown, but I'm exhausted. The consistent 15hr days and revolving sleep cycle are beginning to take their toll. Its been 4 months of flying. I want to go out and see the sights, but my body is wearing thin. Turkey has been beautiful, but my mind is already back home. I'm excited to see family and friends, to sleep on my own schedule, and to cook my own food. I have just under two weeks left. A few more flights, and we are done. Its so close, but I'm now separated by the furious tediousness that accompanies packing to move. There are still a few gifts to be purchased and boxes to be packed for the mail, but then, i'll be coming home. for now... perhaps a nap is in order.

Postcard life

So I finally made it to the Med, and yes, its as beautiful as the movies portray it. A few of us had a day off recently so we decided it was time to take advantage. After organizing a bootleg trip with some local taxi drivers, we were set to jet. We just told them we wanted to see some cool stuff, and they said, 'Ok, we take you dair', in turkenglish. We started our day at 0900, well more like 0930, as a few of us had been out late the night before. We jumped in the cabs and put our our day completely in the drivers' hands.

After a 45min cab ride reminiscent of a James Bond car chase, (with no seat belts I might add), we arrived in Tarsus. We saw this really beautiful glacier fed waterfall right in downtown. Apparently it was were the river had been diverted and flowed over an old roman burial ground. It was interesting to be at a Turkish tourist spot-we were the only americans, but there were a bunch of turks filing off of tour buses. It was neat to see an attraction the locals came to as well. Then, after paying for one of the most disgusting bathrooms i've ever seen, we were off to find some more sights.

we stopped at St. Paul's well after asking 10 people for directions, one of which, a 5 yr old kid, asked for money and then pointed in the completely wrong direction. After finding it, we took some pictures and decided to head for the coast as we were running out of day. While walking to the cab, I spotted a cart selling this mysterious red liquid from hand-corked bottles and thought, what the heck. Three of us bought a glass, and tried the mystery drink (which came with a dark red root looking thing sticking out of it), only to find that it tasted like sour, salty armpit. We tried to drink it all, but couldn't without gagging, so we told the seller we had to run off to catch a cab. Apparently its a local favorite, but you couldn't convince my tastebuds if you tried.

We finally made it to the med and stopped at this big hole in the ground that you could hike into. It was like 300ft or more down and there was an old chapel at the mouth of a cave. It was quite breathtaking. Not however, as much as the med.

We ate lunch on the water overlooking a baby blue water inlet and surrounded by hills covered in flowering bushes. The fish had been caught that day and the appetizers were mouth watering and plentiful. After this wonderful lunch, we went to the beach and rented a paddle boat. There was a castle out in the ocean that we paddled out to and explored. The view of the shoreline from the top of a parapet was amazing. we paddled back and finished the night with a turkish coffee and home-made strawberry cake at a small cafe. All in all, it was quite a wonderful trip. My post doesn't do it credit, the pictures are better, hopefully you can all see them someday.

Lonnggg Day

Today was very long. We flew all the way to afghanistan just to be turned away by a wall of sand. It was so thick you couldn't see more than a half mile and it rose to 9000 feet. When we finally landed, it was awful. Sand everywhere. I was stuffed up in under a minute. we spent about an hour on the ground and it was way too long. However, as we departed, there was this surreal sight of the full moon juxtaposed with the sun. The moon was on my left, full and extremely bright, just above the horizon. The sun on my right was just setting and was in the exact same place. It was quite a sight to burst out of the sand and see the moon and the sun having a staring contest. Amazing.

Its been too long,

Turkey has been a very nice change of pace. The weather on the med is amazing and I've been trying to enjoy it as much as possible. This base is so beautiful right now, it has flowering trees and roses blooming everywhere. I went into downtown Adana, but will have to save that trip for another day. Its too late tonight, I'm flying tomorrow, off to my beauty rest.

Turkalicious...

Well, I made it. I'm here in the lovely Mediterranean. The first thing to stand out was the green grass, palm trees and clean fresh air. It was such a contrast to the sand, sand, sand of Kuwait. I just got in last night so I dont have any stories yet, but I hear the haircut experience is quite something and I'm due for one so I'll let you know soon.

Not a bad weekend

Well I'm still down here in Kuwait. Going on 3 weeks now. Its not too bad, the heat hasn't become quite unbearable yet and the pool has been really nice. Plus, there have been a lot of broken jets recently which leaves a lot of people hanging around to do stuff with. This last weekend, we commandeered the pool for a bit and played some pool volleyball. It was almost like home, laying in the sun and then jumping in the pool to cool off. Pretty sweet actually.

I've also started lap swimming. That is one of the hardest things ever! I usually only swim for survival purposes, but now swimming for distance, I cant believe how difficult it is. I can only swim 500 meters as of yet (it is my second workout of the day usually), but hope to get to a mile before I leave. When I finish, my heart is pounding and I'm gasping for breath. Ive always heard it was a great cardio workout, but man, its harder than I thought. Oh well, word is I will be off to Turkey at some point this week. We'll see....

Honor

The other day I had a chance to perform an extremely special mission. Its called 'Human Remains', or 'HR'. We were called in flight to change our mission and headed to bagram AB. When we got there we parked in a special location for the ceremony and were briefed by the colonel in charge. This being my first HR, I was very curious to see how it went down.

When the time came, we all lined up in front of the jet facing the back where the fallen soldier's company was lined up, forming two solid lines like walls leading from the back of the jet. The Humvee pulled up and the very solemnly 8 of his friends carried Jeremy Lynn Brown's casket past his company and onto the jet while a band played 'Amazing Grace'. I am not ashamed to say that I fought back tears as I saw the casket, draped with the American Flag, be ushered up the ramp. A service was said in the cargo hold and when it was finished, a 2-star general and several other attending officers came out to shake our hands and say thanks for taking him home.

The service lasted all of 15 minutes, but was extremely moving and powerful. Here, physically in front of me, was an example of my beliefs. This man fought for me and my family, just as I am fighting for his. He made the sacrifice that I hope to never have to make. We flew him down to Kuwait where there was a smaller, yet still respectful ceremony, and then it was over-for me. Jeremy Lynn Brown's body was headed home and his family would now have at least some measure of closure. I hope to never forget the ceremony I saw and think everyone should see something like it to remember that there are still men out there who are making that great sacrifice today. My prayers go out to Jeremy Lynn Brown and his family, and my thanks to both for the sacrifice they've made.

May Day

Well, May in Iraq is kinda like Florida. Minus the nice beaches and greenery. There have been ridiculous thunderstorms here daily and its made flying really interesting. I never thought I would land at an airfield in Iraq in a torrential down pour. Its been raining off and on for days and the sky reminds me of Oregon. Kind of a neat experience.

On the flip side, I just found out that instead of going to luxurious Turkey for the second half, I will be staying in 'hot-as-heck' Kuwait for awhile. Not really happy about that as I was supposed to get a trip to the med, but me complaining about that wont help anything. So I went online and bought some sweet electronics for myself as a present and now am ready to go. I think the kindle and new sennheiser headphones should really help me not hate this place as much. haha

Well the accommodations here are much worse, smaller rooms with a roommate. But there is a common room that everybody hangs out in so you see a lot of friends here that I didn't in Manas. All in all, I'm trying to make the best of it, that's all a guy can do.

Facilitating our own demise...

The chow hall is full. The line stretches out the door and all the tables are full, I guess I'll get my food to go.

The Gym is full. Every weight station in sight has a line and the basketball court is reserved for the next 10 hours by two soccer teams and a volleyball marathon. I guess I'll come back later.

The bar, Pete's, is full. The line to get the allotted two beers stretches all the way across the big tent and out the door. Looks like no beer tonight.

How is this happening? I find myself stuck in my room because there is simply nowhere else to be. The beloved isolation of our tiny base has vanished. Who is responsible I demand? Who could have possibly done this to us? Maxed out the precious little resources we had. Then I think about my last mission. 162 people came here on my jet. Ironically, the more 'work' I get done, the less I get to enjoy my time off. Oh well, off to go fly again.

Spring

As I sit down to write another post, I'm afraid of repeating myself. My days over here are like that movie groundhog day with Bill Murray. Eat, sleep, fly and workout. I'm trying to spice it up with my master's class, (as spicy as learning about finance can be) but generally its getting pretty monotonous. I did find out recently that I'm going to turkey for the second half which will be a wonderful change of scenery. I'm expecting to get seriously acquainted with the Mediterranean.

Spring is officially here now. Not sure if I already said that, but its for real now. Its a beautiful 80 degrees out. The skies are blue and the mountains are pristine. The snow is finally releasing its death grip on them. The last couple days I've been off so I have gotten to spend some time sitting on the patio in the sun and working on HW. Its a nice change, although its still frigid at night. All in all, its been a couple of nice days out here.

Catching up

Wow, a lot seems to have happened since I last wrote. I think I had one of my favorite days out here so far. We were assigned a mission to the country of Georgia, which is a nice change. The flight and arrival were uneventful, but I was surprised at how nice the countryside looked on approach. Tbilisi is situated right at the base of a decent mountain range and works its way around some of the foothills as the town sprawls out. It was evening and we were on a timeline, but there were some things that really stuck out in our short visit.

First, the smell. It was a really clean, spring smell with a hint of lavender or some other sweet scent. Not overpowering, it still had the power to overcome the stink of Afghanistan sand, and soldier sweat that pervades every jet we fly. The sun was setting over the hills and a slight breeze swept the grass between runways from side to side. It was generally, pleasant. Later, the Officer in Charge of the US detachment ordered us some local cuisine from downtown and had it brought to the jet. There were some sort of Gyro/Panini/burritos filled with chicken, cucumbers, onion, tomatoes and a type of tzitski sauce. They were delicious. Accompanying them were pieces of flat bread that had a layer of feta cheese baked into the center. Possibly one of my favorite things I have EVER eaten. All in all, it was a great change of pace.

Focus on the small things. Enjoy them. The smallest of things can bring immense joy if it comes at the right time and is rightly appreciated. This is something I'm learning out here. Things as simple as a sweet smelling breeze, or a unique flavor can be enough to enjoy. Enough to be happy perhaps. Hopefully this will follow me back to the states.

On the flip side, yesterday we flew an incredibly long and painful mission. It was a 20hr day, but it was for Aeromedical evacuation so in the end it was really rewarding, despite the exhaustion. With only two pilots and flying into and out of the combat zone repeatedly, it was very tiring. But in the end, missions like that are the reason I joined. To help others and use my talents for 'good', I guess. I cant see a whole lot better than getting our wounded to medical attention. Someday ask me about the Tactical arrival into Bagram I flew, it was 'sporty' haha, and one hell of a good time.

Last note, I finished my master's class midterm today. 95% not too shabby. Hopefully I can ease off on the HW now cause the midterm is worth so much. Remember, work smarter, not harder...

Desert rain and a taste of home

Well, a lot has happened since the last post. The revolution ended, we kind of got back to flying, I had a combat Gyro, and saw a rainstorm in the desert. Maybe this should be more than one post, but I'll try to summarize. A few days ago, we flew down range and decided to checkout a rumor that this base in afghanistan had gyros for sale. So we landed and another LT and I set off into the night in search of something different. we wandered about the dusty gravel roads for a bit until we saw this big lit up square. We were amazed to find not just gyro's, but pizza, Burger King, Ice cream, and a outdoor floor hockey rink. We were both immediately envious. We found the gyro shop, ordered 8 (we had two crews on the jet) and watched a bit of floor hockey. The rink had bleachers full of people and it looked like the place to be on a Tuesday night in southern afghanistan. The gyros were delicious, although we werent sure if we would get sick off them. We didnt really care, it was something a little different that didnt come from a chow hall.

Our final destination was Kuwait and we had to stay the night, to fly back the next day. Nobody likes going to Kuwait because the air is full of sand and the landscape looks like death valley-with tents. however, this time was a little bit different. The second day, we were out walking around in the very mild and pleasant 90 degree weather, when it seemed as if a brown hill appeared off to the east. This hill however, was the forming dust/thunderstorm headed our way. We all headed for the tent just as the giant desert rain drops began to fall. It rained hard. I was amazed to see rain in such a hot and desolate place. It sort of made it seem like a real place in the world for a little bit. Even this place gets rain. It was quite a sight. It seemed like mere hours after the rain stopped that plants had grown. Maybe they were there and had merely been washed from dusty tan back to brilliant green, but it really changed the look of the landscape. Similarly, Afghanistan is beautiful right now. Lush green trees and bushes fill the towns near water and give the impression of a mediterranean oasis. The middle east is a whole different world in spring time. Almost like home....Almost.

Unrest

As most of the world news agencies are reporting, Kyrgyzstan is in civil unrest. There is a long history for this recent conflict dating back to before 2005. Apparently people have become fed up with the corruption of the new government and when it tried to raise energy prices, protests began. These were angry mobs and quickly over powered the police forces and turned violent. You can probably find a lot more on NYTIMES, BBC news, or Christian Science Monitor. They have all been covering the events and most websites have some pretty intense videos.

The base has effectively shut down. All the planes except one C-17 have left to other bases. Our fuel supply has apparently been cut off (we have enough for the one jet though). We are all on curfew to our rooms and so its getting pretty boring. Luckily, the chow hall is still open, and the internet still works so its not really bad here.

Bishkek is about 20min from here and because this didnt have a whole lot to do with us, it hasnt been dangerous here on base. Although, there are a lot of Kyrgies that work on base in the chow hall and what not, and I wonder how it has affected them. This morning for breakfast, there were a lot more locals in the chow hall that I had never seen. It makes me wonder if we are letting people bring their families on base to get food. I'm not sure what the impact is on commerce outside the base, but I dont think its good. Even though the Russians are supposedly supporting the new opposition gov't, I would bet its been difficult to find normal supplies in the downtown area.

There's no word yet on what they will do with the last of us flyers who are left, or the ground personnel still here. But for now it is safe on the base and we have all the provisions we need, even if it is becoming exceedingly boring.

Had to tell..

OK so two posts in one day may be two many (get the pun?), but there were a few things I forgot. First, a story.

Everyday, we move stuff that is packed on pallets. These pallets are about an inch thick and made of solid aluminum. There is however, no space when they are laid on the ground, (this is an important fact). Usually, these are brought to us on forklifts who set them on the back of the aircraft's ramp and we push them over rollers onto the jet. Last night, we were supposed to pick up three pallets. There were only two forklifts, so each had one pallet, and the third was on the cement a ways behind the aircraft. The first two loaded easily and it was time for the third. The forklift guy couldnt quite get the two tines (the forks on the front of the forklift) under the pallet due to the aforementioned lack of clearance. so his idea was to get a running start at it and use speed to ram the tines under the pallet. As we saw him back up like 40ft, we all looked at each other like, 'no way is he gonna do this'. Sure enough, he kicks it into high gear and slams the gas. The forklift was surprising like fast and reached the pallet at about 15mph maybe a bit more. Unfortunately, the tines were not quite flat on the ground, so when they hit the pallet, it pushed back and they jumped up, ramming straight through the bags, boxes and cases loaded on the bottom of the pallet. He had enough speed that he buried the thing to the hilt before he could stop. Slowly, he did the back of shame and successfully retried at a slower speed. We couldn't help but break out laughing. When we got the pallet loaded, sure enough, there were two big holes in the boxes on the bottom. Wow, what a bad idea, but it was a nice change of pace for us.

Almost April..

Well, its almost April. Spring in Kyrgyzstan is very fickle. It snowed six inches the other day, then was 65 the next. Its actually quite a beautiful country when the grass starts to grow and things turn green. I really wish I could explore more here. Everyday we fly over this huge mountain range, (I think its the northern end of the himalayas actually), and there is one road that twists and turns its way from the valley of green all the way up and over to a basin still covered in the white blanket of winter. Its so foreign to see just one road cutting its way for miles through the white snow. It goes north up to another town which is only visible when we fly at night. I wonder what life is like in these little towns that sit 30,000 ft below me. Is growing up there anything like in America? Do they have awkward highschool years and do they dream about seeing the world? I would love to get a car and just drive around to see what its like at 3:00 on a thursday. Oh well maybe someday.

Life here on Manas is good. Lots of flying still. There's a lot of talk about what we will do for the second half in terms of location. They want to mix up the crews to avoid complacency so I will probably be moving. Hopefully to turkey. Keep your fingers crossed. haha. Operation "get huge" is going pretty well. Still hitting one or two protein shakes a day, but the cookies at the chow hall have slowly worked their way into my diet which cant help. Gotta re-steele myself, after all, its only month two!

The new-ness is definitely starting to wear off. I'm enjoying it still, because I worked so long to get here, but I am definitely starting to look at this life from a more objective perspective. No conclusions yet, I'm just beginning to see it as a job more and am trying to see what direction I want to go with it. Otherwise, I do love flying, and think I will be a pretty decent A/C...someday.

Night into Day

Last night on my way in to 'The Ghan', I noticed a bright light on the horizon in an otherwise pitch black night. I wondered, as we flew towards it, what it could be all the way out here. We had flown over numerous decent sized cities and they weren't nearly as bright. Then I thought, maybe the moon is rising from that direction. But as we approached the surreal sight, I realized that it was an American airbase. Lit up so brightly that I saw the hue from 100 miles away. It was pretty crazy to think about the impact of our presence here. So much technology and resources that this area of the world has never seen. It was impressive to see the strength of our country this far away from home. A full up city, built in the middle of nowhere. Hundreds of planes flying in and out everyday. I'm beginning to see a similar impact here in Kyrgyzstan.

Today we had some local talent come on base for st. Patty's day and we got to see some of their traditional outfits and hear some traditional music. It was actually pretty fun. But on the flip side, the people who do get to come on base get to see american culture, from espn on tv to the shop that sells clothes from the states. We have flat screen tv's and computers everywhere. Every tent has heating and a/c. It must be somewhat awe inspiring to see for the local Kyrgy. On a side note, there was a woman performing tonight who was one of the most talented people I have EVER seen. This woman started off playing Vivaldi's four seasons on the violin, perfectly, then played a traditional song on some sort of native guitar, and finished by singing Whitney Houston's 'I will always love you' note for note. Needless to say, it was impressive. it was so nice to hear such great music, and I really don't think i've ever seen or heard anyone play Vivaldi that well live. It was amazing.

And don't worry, I did get a green beer for St. Patty's day. As well as a cigar with a general and a full bird army colonel at this little officers party tent. It was pretty fun. All of the bases commanders were out behind the tent smoking stogies, drinking green beers and telling stories. Ahh the deployed life. Tonight, was a good night.

Back 'home'

So I made it back 'home'. I guess this place is starting to feel like home a little. Or maybe its just a heck of a lot better than being stuck in a tent sleeping on mattresses that are still wrapped in plastic. The weather here is getting a lot better. It snowed last thursday, but today it felt like it was up in the 60's, not too shabby for ol' mother russia.

The daily life is really starting to set into a groove, minus the always changing flying schedule. I started my masters class (basic finance for managers), which should be fairly interesting and give me something to do that is a bit more stimulating than watching another movie I have burned on my laptop-again. The flying schedule, which was nice and regular, has recently turned to chaos. Our jets keep having maintenance problems and we get cancelled at the last minute or pushed back a few hours. Needless to say this reeks havoc on our sleep schedules. The other day I'm pretty sure I was up for like 30hrs. I'm not sure because they all seemed to blur together at the end. Hopefully it'll return to a more predictable schedule soon or everyone is gonna get burnt out.

My big focus while I'm here (and everyone's because its really the only thing to do) has been working out. Everyone is taking this supplement called N.O. EXPLODE. Which is pretty awesome. Somehow it basically makes you have to workout whether or not you or your body wants to. I'm sure that it comes at some sort of cost to my liver, but hey it could use a work out too right? So it is that I have a small drug lab in my room of supplements, protein powders and vitamins. Every day I feel a little bit like a mad scientist mixing all my drinks up in precise amounts at specific times-anything to keep the mind focused. So far, I'm not the hulk, but I'm workin on it.

Its only 4 weeks in and I find myself already thinking about home. Seeing family, friends, and hopefully oregon in the summer. I'm really excited to spend summer in NorCal too because there is so much to do there. I'm wouldn't say homesick, but definitely more appreciative of what I have back there. I keep thinking about going sailing, even though I've only been like 4 times. I really enjoyed the purity of just me, the wind and the water. There's something very organic about constant push of the water against the rudder in your hand as the wind guides you across the bay.

Another task I've taken on while out here is to read Dostoevsky's 'The Brothers Karamazov'. Its about a million pages so I hope all this time off will give me opportunity to finish it. I have tried several times before, but never gotten past half way. So far, I really enjoy it. I seem to be getting a lot more out of it than I have in the past.

Otherwise not a whole lot is new here. The blazers are really close to a playoff berth, and I will have to find a way to watch their games if they make it in. The Braves have a lot of old guys on their roster, so I'm pretty sure its gonna be another season of being in contention till about 3/4 way through then they will all break down and we will slide into obscurity. Only time will tell.

Stuck.

Well, here I am stuck in Kuwait. Its not too bad at night. The weather actually reminds me of palm springs a little bit. Even during the day, if i werent surrounded by rocks, sand and tents, I might think I were there-if there were more mountains I guess. We were only supposed to be here 24hrs, but our jet didnt show up so we cant fly it back. So here I am, with nothing to do in a place where nothing to do is the real enemy. So I read. I surf the web. I facebook stalk people I havent seen in years. I go to the store and do ANOTHER shelf check, nope nothing I need showed up in the 3 hours since I was last here. Off to the gym. Another workout? why not. Kill one more hour. now to the chow hall. How amazing, the lunch food has been magically reconfigured into dinner food. yes! I really liked the mystery meat anyway. Well now i've used up all my time killers....I guess its off to bed....again.

The start...

Well, here's my blog. I'm not sure what to say, or if anyone cares, but I get a lot of thinking time out here and thought it might be good for my own records. So far, I've been here about 2.5 weeks. It's been really interesting living out here for sure. It seems like a lot of things have been evoking feelings that I didnt expect. How beautiful the snow covered mountains of Afghanistan are, or the million stars you can see with night vision goggles just prior to a tactical arrival down range. The real-time hard fact sight of dropping off 150+ marines in full battle gear to a rugged dirt covered airbase and the feeling of being in 'it'.

I'm currently at an old soviet base. It has been really interesting to see the history of the cold war all around me. The structures all have a similarity to the US, but not quite the polish. We are safe here. But we are also definitely in helping the cause. The food is ok, once a week we have a pasta bar and that is delicious, otherwise, pretty basic cafeteria food, (thank god its not MRE's tho). I live in a dorm room size room that I was able to bunk the beds in, which gives me a lot more space. The internet isnt bad. So far Ive got a pretty good routine going: Fly, workout, eat, sleep, repeat. Pretty simple life, which is enjoyable and we are flying everyday which is also nice. I'm getting a lot more comfortable in the jet and becoming a pretty decent co-pilot.

I guess that'll do for now, I'll try to post every couple days or so, cause I have not a lot to do.

-A