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Showing posts from October, 2018

Commpound

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I've been here for just over a week, and am starting to get the lay of the land. It might be something they're putting in our kool-aid, but it's honestly pretty nice over here - especially considering it's a deployed location! I've only deployed once before, and compared to that location, this is like winning the lottery. We have our own dedicated comm compound (aka "The Commpound") where we spend the majority of our days and nights, away from the rest of the base. We sleep here, work here, and play here. Literally the only thing we need to leave our compound for is food, since we don't have a dedicated dining facility ... and I don't want to survive 6 months off pop-tarts and rip-its! We're actually working on an outdoor patio/kitchen setup in our free time, so we may be totally self sufficient very soon! If nothing else, being able to grill our own grub now and again will be an awesome addition to the quality of life here. My room is o...

Transient

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Once I landed in Baltimore, I rode the shuttle to my hotel for the night, checked in, then went wandering amongst the endless rows of hotels and restaurants in the area, eventually finding a tasty hibachi lunch – yum! I spent the rest of the night relaxing and triple-checking my luggage, making sure everything was ready for all the upcoming travel. The night wrapped up with an overpriced (but tasty!) falafel and portobello burger from the hotel restaurant, the Packers on the bar TV, and finally a luxurious night of sleep. I woke up at 6am for one last decent shower, and to do some more exploring around the hotel before it was time to go. I found myself in the National Electronics Museum, spent a few hours strolling amongst the vacuum tubes and gadgets. A bunch of hands-on exhibits, Jacob’s ladder, laptops with built-in printers (dubbed “typewriters,”) and some great military tech too. Imagine the tech that goes into a ship’s anti-missile defense system: all the sensors and calcu...

A new adventure: Departure

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After a few months of recess, the pine is ready for adventure once again. This time, it's a six month quest to Afghanistan, so get ready to cross another country or two off the list! I signed up for this deployment what seems like forever ago, and the departure date had always seemed so far away - until now! I'm looking forward to some adventure, challenge, culture, and perhaps even some renewal. Thanks to everyone who showed up! I tried to keep the departure as low-key as possible, y'all didn't need to spend your Monday at the boring airport (especially after the long and exciting weekend) but it was nice to see you, I'll miss you, and be back before you know it. MKE airport was awesome as always - quiet, quick, and clean. The hop to Baltimore was easy and short, and now I wait 24 hours for my next jet. It's gray and rainy here, more rain than I'll probably see for the next six months. Tomorrow's travel promises to be a doozie, I'll g...