The countdown is on!

With only a few more weeks remaining, I finally had my "Going Away
Lunch." Apparently, there were so many people interested in seeing me
go home, they had to take turns "roasting" me. I was described as a
gifted orator "who can make dirty things seem clean....and make clean
things seem dirty." What a compliment!

Someone got anxious with the Advent Calendar

It was opened on 2 December....and completed on 7 December. Its good
to be ahead of schedule...right???

The Holiday Season is Upon Us

The weather has shifted considerably. The daytime temps are in the
50s/60s....but the evening and early morning temps are usually below
freezing. No snow yet, but each morning starts off with a decent
layer of frost on most things.

In one of the attached photos, I captured a recent sunrise from a good
vantage point.

In the other, you can see some of the Holiday Cheer that is being
spread across the base. I was impressed....the Xmas Tree was
decorated 48 hours after Thanksgiving dinner!

Thanksgiving 2011

Just a snapshot of my "Crew" while we feasted on turkey and other goodies. YUM!

The "eyesore" is removed

The culmination of winning the SAF/AQS Lightning Bolt Award ("For
being at the center of a storm whether you caused it or not") from
6000 miles away...and the fact that my organization was able to raise
money by having people from within (and outside of) my deployed unit
bid money to shave of the 'stache....hearkened the end of my
mustache's ephemeral life. It was a good run, while it lasted. I'd
like to extend a special thanks to Tom Selleck, Richard Roundtree, and
Ron Jeremy for their support. With 60 more days remaining in my tour
in AFG....I think I may grow it out again....or.....not. :)

My Living Space and Work Place

Many of you have been asking about my work and living spaces. The
attached photos are of my office/desk area and of my bedroom. It took
me 3+ months to get a phone at my desk....and then I got 2 phones!

I had dinner with Congressional Representative from CT

There was a mass-email to the entire base looking for folks to have
dinner with their respective Congressmen. When I saw CT on the list,
I threw my name in the hat.

The food was good, but the conversation was great!

I was joined by a few other folks who were/are natives of CT.

One of them brought a classically retro pennant from many moons
ago...GO WHALERS!

Snow on the Mountains

It finally started getting cooler over here. The nights have started
dipping into the 50s and 40s. It reminds me of Colorado in Autumn.

It's official!

The promotion ceremony was a success! My coworkers all came out...and
also threatened to hold me down and shave my mustache. Pizza and
near-beer were consumed in mass quantities....and a few cigars were
smoked. All in all, a great day.

A hairy proposition

A few months ago, I found out that one of my good pals in my deployed unit was severely annoyed by mustaches (and specifically USAF "Deployment Mustaches").  Naturally, I began plotting a scheme to REALLY push his buttons.  So, the day he departed for 3 weeks of R&R (back to the U.S.), I convinced a bunch of guys to join me in growing a caterpillar on our upper lips!  When he came back to the unit, he was totally disgusted (and impressed) with our dedication to annoy him!  The results are in the photos below!

It finally rained here

It only took 6 weeks before I saw rain.  It had threatened rain about a dozen times....but this day it finally arrived. After the rain passed, the sky started to clear up.  The attached photos show the less-austere side of AFG. 

A rare tour!

Being deloyed has a few perks.  One of them is having a VERY active Flight Line.  Someone in my unit knows someone in the local F-15 squadron and a tour was arranged!  The very gracious F-15 pilots showed us around and answered all of our questions. They also let us climb onto the top part of the aircraft...a real highlight for all of us!

The Quarterdeck

One of the great things about my deployed unit is the fact that we have multiple branches of service represented within it.  The US Navy members have lovingly titled this camouflage-netted area the "Quarterdeck."  We often come out here in the evenings to smoke cigars, chew sunflower seeds, and debate current geopolitical affairs.  In many respects....its kinda like a big tree-fort!

Intervention

 

In this photo, you can see one of my peers conducting an "Intervention" for me.  There has been much concern expressed amongst my office-mates that I am eating WAY too much food (I have been exercising daily).  Shortly after I was chastised for my vast consumption of food, I was annointed with a new callsign: Tapeworm.  

 

 

 

Office Space

My coworker and I are hard at work in our palacial office space.  In other news, I took great pleasure in watching two NFL teams battle on TV while I ate my breakfast today.  Its the little things that sometimes make you almost forget you are 6000 miles away from home.

What an "average" day looks like

No blue skies.  High heat.  Lotsa rocks to walk (and trip) upon.

Where I live

As I have previously mentioned, most of the weather here is hot and hazy.  I'm not sure what causes the haze, but I believe that it is a steady mix of dust/sand and wind (not humidity or clouds).  Yesterday was very windy.  As I walked down the street, I was chewing gum.  At some point, I realized my gum got a little "crunchy," probably b/c the constant wind delivered a few tasty dust particles into my mouth and stuck to the gum.  And....it was not really "sand," but finer....almost like a powder.

 

The attached picture was taken on the ONLY day (so far) where you could clearly see the surrounding mountain range.  On most days, its just a gray blob....with the outline of the mountain in the distance.  

 

The other picture is of the "main hallway" of my living quarters.  This is the path I walk down to get to the latrines and showers.  You can see how tighly spaced we are....but consider myself very lucky my private shoebox to sleep in.  You can also notice the A/C units attached to each room....they run almost nonstop.  The windows are also visible....but they are rarely opened....primarily b/c the wind/dust that will cover anything and everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lt Dan could have his own parking space!

Yup!  Contrary to popular belief, the role of the USCG extends well beyond our borders!

 

This vehicle was parked in front of a sign that said "Reserved for the USCG Detachment OIC."

 

Lt Dan - Deploy to AFG and we can drag-race this beast on Friday nights!

Army Change of Command cermony

Making friends

I'm back on the blog!

Well....it took me little while to internet access....but I am back!

More details to come over the weekend!

And...perhaps even a few photos....if I can squeeze them through these tiny data pipes....

In transit...

Flight from BWI to Ramstein was long....but uneventful.

Actually, the food was quite good...and I saw Tron and some other movie.

Flight to Kuwait was equally good...and I slept pretty for a few hours.

Kuwait is HOT....but no surprise there.  There is free bottled water and gatorade at every turn.

I forgot it was Independance Day...until I saw the big cake (with a large American Flag) at the DFAC

Packing for Deployment

Wow...so many things to bring on the deployment.

Its a good thing Daisy has volunteered to accompany me!