Army Sailor -- War in the Sandbox...
The Adventures of a Sailor in Afghanistan...

Well I got to go home for the holidays, and now I am back in Fort Bragg for the final stint of my training. It was bitter-sweet being home. It was great to see my beloved Yasmeen, my mother, my neice, my cat and my friends, but at the same time I was unable to forget that it would be the last time I see any of them for at least one year. That is an incredibly depressing thought for me.

I had a great time, especially at New Years Eve. We went to a bar in Philadelphia called North-by-Northwest, and listened to a live zydeco / R&B / Cajun band.

We returned last night, and we had today off to settle back into our routine, unpack and get our 'heads back in the game', and tomorrow we will hit the ground running again with 18 hour training days. I actually hope that they keep us busy while we are here, as it will help the time go by quickly and prevent me from dwelling on my separation from Yasmeen.

I still have a lot to get done this evening to make sure I am ready for the rest of the week, and I want to get to bed as early as possible so I will be fresh in the morning, but later this week I will post some vacation photos, and some New Years photos... So keep an eye out.

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We were given a three day pass this weekend. We trained hard, and we earned a few days of down time, which was much needed and well timed. Since we had the time off, and we did not have to wake up at any particular time, a few of the guys and I decided to go out and investigate some of the local night-life. And boy was it worth it. We had a great time while we were out, and the locals were more than welcoming. Needless to say a great time was had by all, well into the wee hours of the morning... There are some very sexy women here in Fayetteville & North Carolina, and they all seem remarkably friendly.

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I spent the week in school learning tactical driving of the Humvee, and mounted land navigation. In short, it was a week of driving Humvees off-road, and having a good deal of fun.

I did not sleep well, nor did I get much sleep at all this week, combined with the fact that I had a minor argument with Yasmeen maid for a week that was substantially more stressful than it should have been, but I think we are all a bit on edge and it's only getting worse as our deployment date speeds forward. I am just grateful to be getting one more opportunity to go home, so I can spend the holidays with my family.

The best part of this week was proving that Humvees are not indestructible. In fact we managed to completely kill two of them while we were on the course. At least one of which I am certain will need a new transmission and some serious engine work. But boy did we have fun...

I have a few photos below, two of them were taken with a cell phone, which is why they are so small...

So far life here at Fort Bragg hasn't been that bad. Lots of training, and a lot of Stress Exercises, but the housing conditions, and chow are not too shabby. The Housing has improved since our first visit, they painted the barracks and got us some real lockers, but they still are still the same barracks that the 82nd Airborne lived in in World War II... So we can't expect much.

A lot of our training is long and tiring and at the end of the day most people want to just relax, call, text or e-mail home, or just go to sleep. Our morale here seriously depends on the support we get from those we love at home. None of us would be able to do this if it were not for the support from our friends and loved ones.

Constant Communication with the Woman you love can be hard, but is imortant...

The Training is a little harder for some...

We have had tons of fun out on the gun ranges, and we got a lot of good training. A few of the younger guys stopped talking shit when they realized that shooting isn't as easy as it looks, and they were not all as good as they THOUGHT they were, and those of us with more military experience, and more combat experience were able to shine, and show off our skills. We all came home pretty muddy.

Of course, after we fire our weapons, we have to clean them. We may not all like to do it, but it's a good opportunity to sit back and relax for a moment, train the younger guys, and take care of the weapons on which our lives will rely.

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I got a call from Yasmeen last night, telling me that my car had been towed by the city. I immediately assumed it was due to some unpaid traffic tickets. Turns out it was because my vehicle registration had expired...

The good news is that it is being held by a private company, and will not go to a sherriffs auction unless they have it for more than 4 months. When I get home for my Christmas Leave, I will have to get the vehicle re-registered, and then go pick it up from their yard. I called the bank today to add Yasmeen to the title, so in the future she will be able to handle any such business on her own. You can imagine how my heart sank when I got that call from her. It's almost as if fate has decided that I am not under enough stress as it is.

Well it can only get better right?