rain

i'm only happy when it rains
i'm only happy when it's complicated
and though i know you can't appreciate it
i'm only happy when it rains
- garbage

we saw our first rain a few days ago. i was starting to wonder if that ever happened here. i see plants around so i figured it had to happen every now and then. apparently, when it rains here, it really rains. a full day of rain is what we ended up with; almost 24 hours worth. total accumulation of 1.3 inches. the ground was not ready for that. it rains so scarcely here that when it does, there isn't anything to keep it around. 2 days later the only way you could tell it had rained was it wasn't as dusty as before. it was an overall positive thing. the farmers get to try growing something, the taliban get a little less support from the locals, and the soldiers don't have to breathe in as much dust.

people with sinus or breathing issues definitely shouldn't come here. friends have been hacking up dirt, and ending up with a brownish mess when they blow their noses. i'd think it was pretty horrible if i hadn't experienced worse dust in kosovo. there it was the result of too much gravel being put down though. believe me, you can throw down too much gravel.

i hate to use you guys as a supply line but...i'm starting to run low on shampoo. i don't use much due to the army not letting me have hair, but it is nice to scrub what little i can grow. i could also use a new pair of shower shoes (cheap flippy floppies). the gravel is really hard on them so they don't last as long as they normally would. i don't dare head for the shower without them though; that floor is nasty in spite of being cleaned 3 times a day. so if anyone feels like sending me something i could use, there's a list.

well, it's my 'day off' so i'm going to try finding something fun to do. that probably means scrounging up some food, playing some volleyball, and taking another shower...ah, showers. is it sad when showering is the best part of you day?

life goes on

it's been a while since i've dropped a line or two here. the primary reason is lack of interest in the internet (crazy i know). that combined with it (the internet) not always being readily available have kept me silent for a while. so what's happened since i was on here last....

the fob got rocketed; that was interesting. the incoming siren sounded in the dead of night. i'm really glad we sleep in hardened structures, because getting up in the middle of the night and heading for a bunker is not my idea of fun. i woke up long enough to realize where i was then rolled over and went back to sleep. or at least i tried to...that siren's loud! louder than that outgoing artillery depending on where you're located. in the morning, we discovered the taliban are lousy shots. 3 rockets and none of them hit anything (important). later in the day we discovered a rocket that wasn't fired. so we went out and blew it up.

there are so many explosions around here, you start to lose track of them. 1/2 the time i'm not even curious enough to try figuring out what it was. i'll know if something seriously threatening happens.

wow, 15 minutes for verizon to load so i can pay my bill...this is why i don't do the internet so much. i really need to call them and tell them to stop billing me. maybe this sunday....

while i'm on random thoughts, gratz kathy on the new job. i'm sure most of you don't know her, but just in case someone does, give her a pat on the back for me.

ok, i'm starting to digress so i should wrap this up. one more night with the random explosions...one more night trying to ignore my roomates that are skyping (hello unintentional eavesdropping)...one more night listening to paramore while i blog...

now i've got a feeling if i sing this loud enough
that you would sing it back to me
i've got a feeling if i sing this loud enough
that you would sing it back to me...

sunday

we've been here over a month now, and we're starting to settle into our groove. it's nice. sundays are our sort-of days off. that is as long as nothing big happens. we're mostly through the day and nothing big's happened. of course, now that i've said that....

anyway, it was a fun day. i got to sleep in, take my time in the shower, play some volleyball....

the living conditions here are the nicest i've encountered (when deployed). we get to stay in nice mortar proof buildings. they make long hallway looking rooms that we use plywood to separate. my room houses 6 people and we've divided up the space 6 ways. that leaves me with a nice 10' x 10' box. considering how un-picky i am, that makes this pretty close to my ideal room.

if there was one thing i could change, i'd try finding a way to make it darker. the lights are controlled by 2 switches on either end of the hall. the 'walls' of plywood don't go all the way to the ceiling to allow the temperature control units (also on either end of the hall) to do their job. so the lights shine down into the room regularly. nothing kills your night vision like those lights. on moonless nights, i either have to take a light, or wait a couple minutes before going anywhere. it's rather annoying, and makes me feel less secure being 'blind' like that. for a while, i tried using my night vision goggles, but then there's this big bulky thing on your head and there's no peripheral vision on those things.

well, it's almost dinner time so i'm gonna run.

ouch

some guys in my unit saw some locals get blown up today. it was pretty traumatic. we're all physically ok, but it might be a few days before some feel 'normal'. post traumatic stress is very real, and i'm afraid some of us will have it before much longer. i know a lot of you pray for me every day; i ask you to extend that to the soldiers i'm here with.

second and third order effects

so the big wigs in charge of me like to talk a lot about 'second and third order effects'. it refers to the (often unanticipated) obscure results of a course of action. i've got a great example for you. queue story time:

a lot was happening in our area the base commander didn't like. so they decided to be extra cautious and not allow any locals on. well, it worked great for keeping us physically safe; first order effect was a smashing success. but wait! those people did a lot of useful stuff on base. things like digging ditches, constructing shiny new mortar proof buildings, running a to-go dining facility, and our laundry. that's right, our laundry. second and third order effects: FAIL!!

i'm not sure about some of you, but i happen to like clean clothes. it's right up there with showering (something i wish my soldiers enjoyed as much as i do). i'm glad that mess only lasted a little over half a week, cause i was about to have to start recycling my dirty cloths. i know from experience that wearing dirty cloths is not fun.

so there's my story for the day, and the lesson. try to consider all the angles before you make a decision.

moving on...i got the package susie (aunt type) sent today. i love the miniature dominoes and playing cards. they're cute and portable. wait a minute, i'm not supposed to like cute stuff; being a tough soldier: fail. but seriously, i like them. and how did you know i like the curiously addicting mints (altoids)?

anyway, the blog seems to be a huge success. people are actually reading it; thus proving i'm not a narcissist. i was kinda worried for a while there, but it worked out. i'll try to come up with interesting stuff to write every few days.

one more night on a dark fob (the moon's waning)...one more night feeling strangely happy...one more night writing smart ass comments in my blog...

the revolution

can you hear the drums of revolution beating? when i was home, the sound was deafening. the tea parties; the news obviously avoiding stories they don't want to cover; the daily health care reform debate; freedomwatch on fox; the plethora of non-politician candidates running for office; the 12 sep march on washington the state run news tried to ignore; the siege of philadelphia during the g-20 summit....

but here there are only whispers. out here, isolated from the american media; cut off from friends; where afghani events drown out what's going on in the states.

so far from home with the best trained, best outfitted, and best funded military in the world you'd think i'd feel like i was fighting for freedom. and sure, i guess we are fighting for afghani freedom from the taliban, but who will replace them? the strong central government we're installing? the same system of governance the people back home are revolting against? have we learned nothing?

the afghans have had a system of local governance in place for millennia. and it worked. sure there were issues, but they're surely a smaller evil than the rampant corruption inherent in any large scale system of governance. let us not forget large, powerful, central governments have brought about nazi germany, the union of soviet socialist republics, the people's republic if china, the mess now known as great britain, the beast we're fighting in our own land.

how do the sayings go? a government large enough to give you everything you ever wanted it powerful enough to take everything you have. and. absolute power corrupts absolutely.

our founding fathers believed there would need to be a revolution in every generation. well, we haven't had one of those in quite some time. so here it comes. ironically, it's a revolution intent on returning to something resembling what the founders initiated. back to a system of local governance. where the people have firearms to protect themselves from the government; the biggest crook of all.

way out here, i feel like i'm on the sidelines of this fight. just a distraction to try and get the public to fight someone else. how i long to be home. i want to exercise my right to assemble peacefully and petition my government for a redress of grievances. my friends, my countrymen, their freedoms are being snatched away, and i'm stuck all the way out here.

will you fight for me? will you demand the power be given back to the people? will you help tie the hands of big brother? will i return to a country that's better or worse than i left it?

trouble of our own making 2

well, the missing item turned up (and there was much rejoicing). the down side is it looks like someone planted it; meaning they grabbed it and held onto it long enough to cause a big stir and get the guy who's equipment it was in trouble. i understand no liking someone, but common. of course, there's no way to prove anything so i guess i'll just have to be happy knowing it won't be used to kill us.

things have slowed down considerably. i actually have a few hours in the evening now to decompress. as long as no one tries attacking the base, things should remain this way for a while...but then, we are in their 'slow' season.... i'm not looking forward to their busy times.

so i've been asked about the food. well...there sure is a lot of it. i've also discovered most things can be made to taste better with some salad dressing. i think my favorite is cheeseburger with caesar...though potato with blue cheese is pretty good too. a good portion of the time in the chow hall is spent staring at food trying to decide if i really want to eat what i'm looking at. strangely enough, the whole situation has turned out rather well for some of our heavier guys who are now in the 'i don't want to eat what they're serving us' diet. hello weight loss program.

if anyone feels like sending snacks, i wouldn't be opposed to the idea. i generally shy away from sweets, things that melt, things that spoil quickly, things that require an oven or microwave, and edible underwear. i know that doesn't leave you much to play with, but a cleaver bunch like you will probably find a category i missed to ship over.

the only stuff i really need are the hygiene supplies i'm stockpiling. because i LOVE being clean. clean is the new hotness!!

one more night typing out a quick blog. one more night still working on that bottle of sparkling grape juice i snatched up from the chow hall. one more night contemplating how nice showers are...mmm, shower.

trouble of our own making

every now and then a soldier will lose something. on even rarer occasions that something will be an item you never want to fall into enemy hands. one such device came up missing, and there was no end to the trouble. 1/2 a day for everyone was spent searching. 1/2 a week is being spend doing the paperwork. they put cords on things for a reason; one this soldier apparently didn't grasp. i just hope it doesn't fall into the wrong hands, because it would be used to kill us or our allies. now the damage is done, and we wait, and wait, and dare to hope...hope and pray it was picked up by another soldier....

but on to brighter topics.... i got the postcard jon sent me from budapest today. that makes it exactly 1 month to get here. i'm guessing that'll be about how long anything shipped from outside the u.s. takes to get here. things shipped from the u.s. take about 2 weeks to arrive. ah, the joys of being in the back end of the world. so the mystery of how long it takes mail to get here is solved. as the for the mystery of how the chocolate didn't melt? i guess some things were meant to remain enigmas... or maybe it was magic chocolate...mmm, magic chocolate....

i got around to posting a pic of me for my profile. i know it's hard to tell that's me. the friend that took it said i look like some soft of insect with no face and all eyes. so if you were ever wondering what i'd look like with no face, there it is. one of these days i'll get around to snapping a photo of myself with all my body armor on. it weighs 1/2 what i do. not that that's saying much as i weigh less than most girls my height. it seriously weighs 70-80 pounds though. imaging trying to run with all that crap on, and you'll get pretty close to what it would feel like to be in combat...except that you'd also be scared shitless. that's one memorable event i'll be happy to miss out on.

one more night in the world's butt crack...one more night being grateful for the little things (like taking a shower..so nice!)...one more night nursing my bottle of sparkling grape juice i swiped from the chow hall. what i'd give for a glass of champagne...

happy new year

i don't think anyone here has really had a chance to celebrate the new year. between the attack at FOB chapman and the missions we've been running, everyone's pretty tired. at least things seem to have gotten back to 'normal'.

i got my package from dad and mom today (thanks guys). i never thought i'd be so happy to see new razors. also, if you were timing how long it took to get here, there you go. speaking of mail, a few of you have asked for an address. here you go:

SSG Johnson, Stephen T.
2-19 ADT
FOB Salerno
APO AE 09314

so back to the pseudo celebrating, it's the end of new years day and the most i've done is steal a bottle of welch's sparkling grape juice from the dining facility. it's not much, but i'll drink it and act like it's a big deal. i tried to eat the dark chocolate i got in the mail today, and managed to get a bite in before it was enough. i'll pass it out to my guys; they should enjoy it :)

anyway, i've got an early day tomorrow, and lots of boom, boom-ing to try sleeping through (the down side of being co-located with the artillery). one more night with a full moon lighting everything up...one more night wishing my roomates would shut up and turn the lights off...one more night hoping i don't wake up in the middle of the night having to go to the bathroom (it's a hike)...one more night, and so many more to go....