Mid Month December...Wow

Well, time is really cruising by! It doesn't seem like I have been here for over 2 weeks. The unit we replaced is trickling back to their home station in Europe, and we are taking over the mission. When you deploy, there are some mandatory training events that must take place like shooting our weapons and learning how to roll over in an armored vehicle and escape out of it.

Currently, the operator has the vehicle tipped over onto the drivers side, and we learn how to undo our 4 point harness and safely exit the vehicle. If you look at the control panel, there are two cameras inside so they can watch us and ensure we are doing it properly. One of the most dangerous things in any accident is all the stuff we have inside the vehicle that isn't secured.

This is me after the training wearing all of my body armor, less my helmet. The training is a valuable tool to give you an idea of what it feels like to be 30,90, 180 degrees turning inside of a tight space. When you undo the harness, you have to control your fall onto the ceiling or side.

This is the sun rising up over the lake that I run around in the morning. It's been a bit cool for Hawaii standards, but a great run around the lake gets the day off to a good start. I also enjoy running the treadmill so I can watch sports on the TV!  The gyms is pretty decent, though Afghanistan had a better one. The food is great and several options to eat healthy and stay fit. I usually grab enough instant oatmeal and fruit for a week, so I don't have to go over to breakfast. I found a coffee pot today that wasn't in use, so it's going to my room. I was gifted a TV, chair, table, mircowave, and fridge....pretty good stuff that has been passed around through all of the other warrant officers.

Cheers untill next time!

Jeremy