sobo Posted April 19, 2012 Author Posted April 19, 2012 Quiet today. We had one more attack after last night's frivolity, at about 0130 this morning. Drug myself out of bed and down to the shelter, waited around for the AC siren, then back to bed around 0200. Nothing at all today. Pretty pleasant, with a high of 81F and an expected low tonight of 64F. Chance of rain, believe it or not! Got my suitcases delivered today, so now all the stuff that I brought for the entire year has finally caught up with me, even my climbering shoes and chalky bag. The Grand Adventure continues... Quote
Pete_H Posted April 19, 2012 Posted April 19, 2012 Maybe you can start the first chapter of the Kandahar Climbing Club. Quote
sobo Posted April 19, 2012 Author Posted April 19, 2012 It would appear that someone has already beat me to it... Quote
sobo Posted April 20, 2012 Author Posted April 20, 2012 (edited) Having tired of the DFAC (dining facility) food by the end of the week, I decided to take in dinner on the Boardwalk tonight. It being Friday and all, the choice of venue seemed obvious... What I hadn't counted upon was "beer" from Saudi Arabia, of all places. Well, it looked like beer, it smelled like beer, it tasted like... Well, I don't think it really had any taste at all, other than being bubbly. Dinner was pretty good, and I certainly appreciated the change, but I guess I'm gonna have to get used to O'Doul's... Non-alcoholic beer in Islamic countries Islam prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages. However, there is disagreement among scholars of Islam about the consumption of non-alcoholic beer.[25] Possibly because of this disagreement, alcohol-free (0% ABV) beers, (e.g. Holsten, Barbican and Moussy) are often available in stores and restaurants that cater to an Islamic customer base. They are also popular in countries that enforce alcohol prohibition, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran. They are often available with added flavors (apple, strawberry, and peach). Source Only one pic today. The up/download speeds are so horrendously slow here that I just don't have the patience to upload much. The only place that's really cool around here is the flight line, but since taking pictures of activities there is strictly verboten, there just isn't really much else here that's worthy of immortalization in digital media. Oh, and no rocket attacks today. Take care and stay safe, y'all! Edited April 23, 2012 by sobo Quote
dougd Posted April 20, 2012 Posted April 20, 2012 I guess I'm gonna have to get used to O'Doul's... Sobo, I regret to inform you that is not possible. I'll tip an IPA for ya tonight, the least I can do... d Quote
ivan Posted April 20, 2012 Posted April 20, 2012 why not just set up your own operation, a la hawkeye? when i was a lad we made "southern wine" w/ fruit juice n' yeast Quote
denalidave Posted April 20, 2012 Posted April 20, 2012 why not just set up your own operation, a la hawkeye? when i was a lad we made "southern wine" w/ fruit juice n' yeast Or just go to one of the many fine breweries that are on every corner. Oh wait, that's here at home. Quote
sobo Posted April 21, 2012 Author Posted April 21, 2012 dougd, Thanks for the sentiment. Appreciated. dd, Piss off, ya blighter! ivan, ivan... uhhh, just keep being ivan... Quote
akhalteke Posted April 21, 2012 Posted April 21, 2012 Having tired of the DFAC (dining facility) food by the end of the week, I decided to take in dinner on the Boardwalk tonight. It being Friday and all, the choice of venue seemed obvious... What I hadn't counted upon was "beer" from Saudi Arabia, of all places. Well, it looked like beer, it smelled like beer, it tasted like... Well, I don't think it really had any taste at all, other than being bubbly. Dinner was pretty good, and I certainly appreciated the change, but I guess I'm gonna have to get used to O'Doul's... Non-alcoholic beer in Islamic countries Islam prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages. However, there is disagreement among scholars of Islam about the consumption of non-alcoholic beer.[25] Possibly because of this disagreement, alcohol-free (0% ABV) beers, (e.g. Holsten, Barbican and Moussy) are often available in stores and restaurants that cater to an Islamic customer base. They are also popular in countries that enforce alcohol prohibition, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran. They are often available with added flavors (apple, strawberry, and peach). Source Only one pic today. The up/download speeds are so horrendously slow here that I just don't have the patience to upload much. The only place that's really cool around here is the flight line, but since taking pictures of activities there is strictly verboten, there just isn't really much else here that's worthy of immortalization in digital media. Oh, and no rocket attacks today. Take care and stay safe, y'all! Might want to crop out that guy's ID badge . Sniper's eye misses nothing. Quote
sobo Posted April 21, 2012 Author Posted April 21, 2012 Might want to crop out that guy's ID badge . Sniper's eye misses nothing.Ya know, Scott, I noticed that after I posted the pic. I have no skillz regarding PhotoShop, so mebbe a mod can blur that out... Quote
ivan Posted April 22, 2012 Posted April 22, 2012 ivan, ivan... uhhh, just keep being ivan... done. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1065697 Quote
sobo Posted April 23, 2012 Author Posted April 23, 2012 ivan, ivan... uhhh, just keep being ivan... done. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1065697 NICE!!!1 Quote
sobo Posted April 23, 2012 Author Posted April 23, 2012 Might want to crop out that guy's ID badge . Sniper's eye misses nothing.Ya know, Scott, I noticed that after I posted the pic. I have no skillz regarding PhotoShop, so mebbe a mod can blur that out... Kurt fixed the photo for me. Anonymous diner's identity is safe once again. Quote
rmncwrtr Posted April 23, 2012 Posted April 23, 2012 Enjoying your updates. Be careful. :kisss: Quote
sobo Posted April 24, 2012 Author Posted April 24, 2012 Thanks, Mel! It's been pretty quiet for the past few days, although we did all have a pretty good laugh today at lunch. We were in the DFAC eating when the attack siren went off, so we all dropped our spoons and forks and hit the floor. Not two seconds later, we get an "all clear" signal. We all busted a gut laughing. Apparently, the person on duty "butt-dialed" the warning siren and sent out a false alarm. I wonder how that went with his/her superior officer later that afternoon... Quote
JosephH Posted April 24, 2012 Posted April 24, 2012 One day we were doing some engine repairs to our antique, 1938-vintage cruiser about a 1/3 of a mile of a sleepy section of North Vietnamese beach. The entire crew was a pretty beat after a couple of nights doing harbor raids further north and from just being out at sea for going on sixty days which makes everyone a bit more than cranky after the ship's store runs out of cokes and cigs, lifers run out of alcohol, and everyone else out of dope. The gun crews I was part of were all particularly frazzled and having [a shitty] 'lunch' when the general quarters alarm sounded yet again - "general quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battle stations" and everyone goes flying for the exits. We get halfway to the hatches when we hear "Dive! Dive! Dive!" and all go WTF!?!? Turns out one of the guys on bridge watch thought it would be funny as a joke to play a submarine general quarters tape he had. Unfortunately for him, the Captain was one of the guys trying to get some rest after a long night and didn't think it was very funny. Quote
Couloir Posted April 25, 2012 Posted April 25, 2012 Hey Sobo - Just discovered this thread. Stay safe over there and make the best of it! And keep the dispatches coming, great reading. Quote
sobo Posted April 25, 2012 Author Posted April 25, 2012 Couloir! So nice to see you again! Hey, bro, you need to upload some of those hawt avatar pics of yours, cuz that's the only pr0n I'm gonna get over here! Seriously now, I got to my permanent FOB early this morning, and spent the day touring FOB Walton with my new “underling.” Everywhere we went, he introduced me as his “new boss.” Technically, that’s entirely true, but in reality he’s been here in theatre for almost 2 years, and knows infinitely more than I do about how things work/get done around here. But he just finished giving me a 1-hour crash course in that after dinner, so I'm getting up to speed on the program. And that leads me to the next thing... This place is da bomb! The chow is most awesome! Tonight I had Mongolian grill and cherry pie a la mode! We’re one of the only FOBs in theatre that has REAL ice cream! Ben & Jerreys, no less! And even though I don’t have a private CHU anymore (I’m now going to be in a large tent that sleeps 8, with blankets hung from the ceiling to create “walls”), the smell has improved markedly from KAF. At KAF, my CHU was about 100 yards from the Poo Pond (that’s what everyone calls it), an open sewage lagoon that takes in shit from the entire KAF base (about 20,000-25,000 people). It wasn’t too bad at night, because I was living upwind at night. But the wind shifts to the opposite direction every morning at KAF, and when I would open my door in the morning, my nostrils would be assaulted by the most hideous stench you could possibly imagine! There is no sewage treatment at the Poo Pond to speak of that a civil engineer like me would demand. No, shit just gets piped there and it fills up, the turds settle out, and the heat evaporates the liquid portion of the “mixture.” In the winter and spring (like now) when it’s not hot enough to evaporate, it just overflows into a ditch that runs through camp and out into the desert. Now I understand why so many people get sick at KAF – they are breathing dust that contains such a large percentage of fecal coliform that you can’t help but get ill from breathing it. Glad I made it out of there before I got the screaming shits! Everybody says I’ll be fine here at Walton, now that I’ve escaped KAF. Oh, and no rocket attacks at Walton! But they had another rocket attack today at KAF. Haven’t had an incident at Walton since about a year ago when a suicide truck bomber detonated at the base’s main entry control point. A bunch of Afghani locals were guarding the gate (don’t ask me why they do that here – it’s like the fox guarding the henhouse), and they let the truck inside. Then he detted and killed all of the Afghani guards (and himself, of course), and wounded two American soldiers who were rushing over yelling at the Afghanis to stop the truck from coming in. Our guys wear body armor and helmets, and the Afghan National Army guys don’t. They see it as “more honorable” not to wear protection and if killed, they’re martyred. Bottom line: the Americans lived. The Afghanis didn’t. Anyway, it’s getting late here and I have to go set up my “room” in Tent 10, Berth 7. Need to get that done before everyone turns in for the night and I’m the FNG turning all of the lights back on. Hoo-ah! Quote
gruntpltleader Posted April 26, 2012 Posted April 26, 2012 Be safe Sobo.. Im living vicariously through your reports and not missing the place one bit. well .....Maybe a little. Quote
ivan Posted April 26, 2012 Posted April 26, 2012 Be safe Sobo.. Im living vicariously through your reports and not missing the place one bit. well .....Maybe a little. your likely favorite memory, 30 years hence, no doubt when the whole place looks more or less like it did before even the soviets arrived? Quote
pindude Posted April 26, 2012 Posted April 26, 2012 You go FNG! Don't stay that way for long. And I'll say it too: be safe! Quote
gruntpltleader Posted April 26, 2012 Posted April 26, 2012 Be safe Sobo.. Im living vicariously through your reports and not missing the place one bit. well .....Maybe a little. your likely favorite memory, 30 years hence, no doubt when the whole place looks more or less like it did before even the soviets arrived? Ivan, I hope it is a better place. I really didn't care for most of the middle east, but the actions there can make you feel absolutely alive. Quote
sobo Posted April 27, 2012 Author Posted April 27, 2012 Prime Rib Night last night, suckas... And tonight was Surf n' Turf Night! Real Alaskan king crab legs, golden prawns, and ribeye steaks with all the trimmings. Plus, real Ben & Jerry's ice cream! A guy could get large living here at Walton... Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted April 27, 2012 Posted April 27, 2012 Prime Rib Night last night, suckas... And tonight was Surf n' Turf Night! Real Alaskan king crab legs, golden prawns, and ribeye steaks with all the trimmings. Plus, real Ben & Jerry's ice cream! A guy could get large living here at Walton... Hey now Sobo, I am counting on this trip getting you back into climbing shape so we can knock out some PNW classic upon your glorious return! Quote
JosephH Posted April 27, 2012 Posted April 27, 2012 During the year I spent on the cruiser we always ran out of 'fresh' food withing two weeks and both our enlisted and officers messes were repeatedly condemned upon inspection. And anytime we were out more than 30 days it pretty much came down to cold cuts, peanut butter, stale bread, and various tasteless liquids and starches dyed and sugared to 'taste'. Logistics and supply chains have obviously taken a turn for the better... Quote
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