First Posting!!

Camp Buehring, Kuwait
February 25, 2007

It would be hard to imagine a more desolate and forbidding landscape. If not for the sizeable base out here, there would be nothing. The horizon is flat and blends into the white of the cloudless desert sky. The ground is flat, featureless sand and gravel. Nothing grows here. In spite of the conditions, the Pakistani and Filipino contract civilian staff have tried to keep some greenery in pots around the entrance to the USO. In the morning they empty several bottles of water into the thirsty soil. Nearby is a two-hole miniature golf course that nobody uses. The artificial grass has popped up and rolled over in places, sand has drifted mounds into the corners, and the 2 x 4 barriers have split apart...but it is green. We saw a beetle today scuttling across our path while on our way to the PX. A whole groups of soldiers passed by, and parted so that nobody would accidentally tread on it. A buddy of mine mentioned that he saw an infamous camel spider in the port-a-john. I've yet to see one.

This base is built to serve an awful lot of soldiers, but it feels like our little task force is the only one here. We have yet to wait in line for anything. The camp's landscape is empty tents of white and 'coyote' tan. This place must really bustle when a major rotation comes through.

The USO is rapidly becoming the favorite place on base. It is air conditioned with soft mood lighting, white carpets, comfortable lounge chairs and big screen televisions. You have to take your boots off to enter the place. A buddy and I went in to use the Internet there. When I finished, I found him stretched out in one of the big, overstuffed leather recliners snoring away while 'Mission Impossible 3' played out on the screen in front of him.

Our quarters are a big white tent that houses about 60+ cots. The air condition always runs. The doors on either end open periodically allowing entrance for dusty soldiers and harsh blasts of desert sunlight. The fun thing about them is the acoustics. The arched shape of the ceilings create an effect where you can easily hear somebody whispering on the other end of the tent. Last night somebody's snoring woke me up several times. I accused the soldier in the next cot, but it turned out to be somebody thirty feet away. We are even able to get wireless Internet in our tent, although the service is sporadic with frustratingly weak signals.

The food is excellent. The dining facilities are very large with an abundance of choices. This morning I had an omelet cooked to order, bacon, coffee, biscuit and gravy, and mango juice. Lunch consisted of an Indian food special; curry chicken, beef, rice and vegetables. Many different choices to accommodate all tastes. Bottled water is everywhere. It seems that a huge pallet of bottled water is stationed outside almost every other building/tent. You simply break open a case and grab a bottle as you walk by. It is very important to stay hydrated in this environment even when it isn't hot.

Through a long and arduous process, our little team has settled a team name, or call sign: CENTAUR. (Sergeant Schettler wants to be clever and spell it "SIN"-TAUR because he wants it to look more "SIN-ister". ...sometimes I get headaches...) Limited edition t-shirts and ball caps may be on the horizon. Here is your opportunity, Reid! Miss you all. Enjoy your freedom!

Lee

On the latrine wall: "What ever happened to Kilroy?"