Have Arrived

I have finally made it to my final destination. What an experience. The final minutes of our flight were very interesting. As soon as we passed 10K feet inbound we were directed to turn out all cabin lights and close all the window shades. I couldn't help but wonder what the reason for that was, but I guess I do know. We touched down just after midnight local time and were hustled off the airfield. The historian/civil war reenactor in me could not help but notice the defensive fortifications of our base. The same concepts used in the war of northern aggression are still in use today. Fascine were present in abundance. Instead of woven baskets filled with earth they were large cardboard boxes Reinforced with metal mesh filled with earth. Concertina wire has replaced the chevaux de frise but the concept has not changed. In fact, I can say that the fortifications around our camp must be very similar (only improved by technology) to those that surrounded Petersburg in 1864. We finally finished in processing at around 3 am local time. I was shown to my tent and there I tried to catch a nap before the day began. That was a mistake, by the time we got up to go to work I got maybe an hour or two of sleep and all it served to do was highlight how tired I actually am. I share a tent with 4 others and it is not bad. The racks are too short for me but that was to be expected. Given a little time, it could be quite homey.

The camp looked a lot different in daylight. It can be described in two words: desolate and dusty. We have a pretty decent shower tent with in a 100 yards of my tent and their are a couple of "Cadillac Toilet" tent with in a quarter mile. Unlike the nasty stinky porta-pots (my middle son calls them porkypotties) these have real flush toilets and air conditioning. I think the trick is to time your business so you can be near a Cadillac toilet when you need to go.

TO THE TYRANT NEVER YIELD