Day 49

Yea, I think I got about 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night. Why? Well, I had a 2:30am wake-up call and had to be at the PAX Terminal on base (the "airport" here) by 3:45am for a 6:45am (local) flight to my first "theme park"! Don't you love how you find out about these things AFTER they happen?! Well, I was up on schedule, my body armor ready for the trip and little else in my flight bag. For some reason, they insist we get to the terminal 3 hours before flight time which is ridiculous. They call the 3:45am time "Show Time." Yea...show up and wait is more like it. Anyway, my flight was uneventful but beautiful, too. We flew over mountain peaks that were 12,000 feet high and at the closest point, were only 2,000 feet above the highest peak...according to the pilot. Snowcapped and jagged are perfect ways to describe it. As I snapped multitudes of pics, we eventually came across the northern ridge and everything turned to desert and zero color. Below were "houses"...over here in Oz, they have nothing and their houses are made from dirt and mud. What an amazing view to see it from above. Not a lick of green anywhere to be seen. It is extremely arid here and very little grows at all. No electricity, no running water...nothing. Oz is a very poor country.

After we landed, we quickly learned that at this particular "theme park," the Germans own it. When the U.S. first entered this country, the Germans took this part and we sign agreements with them to use it. There is a German side to it and a U.S. side to it. Hands down, the German side is much nicer. They have decent housing, a local bazaar, a super nice dining facility, and asphalt roads. The U.S. part? Well, lots of gravel and dust and nothing but tents. In fact, I'm sleeping in a tent with about 500 other soldiers tonight. Not exactly my private accommodations like back at WDW! That's OK...it's good for me to see how others are living out here on the outskirts. It's a soft bed, I brought my sleeping bag, and the USO here on this installation is providing some free internet...thus the way I am blogging this evening. THANK YOU, USO!!!!

So today, we sat down and met with key leadership who are running the northern part of the country in terms of vehicle maintenance/repair, supply logistics, and construction. I am involved in all of those areas in some way and/or can help them when the pipeline gets clogged and they need assistance. In the end, it's all about building relationships, putting a face to an e-mail, and seeing how I can help them. One person was kind enough to take us on a round-about tour of the entire compound. It really was great and much appreciated.

Tonight, my two colleagues and I headed back over to the German side for some German pizza.  It was awesome...so very good to get some home-cooked food. Relaxed and very clean atmosphere and sharing the space with our German counterparts. Pretty darn cool. While I was waiting for the pizza to be done, I went rooftop and caught a photo of the range at sunset. Those tents you see are where everyone sleeps. Not a whole lot of color in the photo but nice, regardless.

Back here at the USO, I'm writing to you then heading on back to my tent, getting a shower then getting some shuteye. My eyes are burning from so little sleep last night.

I miss you all. Memorial Day is always a fun weekend of cookouts, friends, family, and my town's Memorial Day parade. I am really missing it!

Goodnight, everyone.