HI All,

Sorry I haven't written in a while.

I was on the Pakistan border up in the mountains for a bit, and then I was doing operations for a couple weeks.

I have now been relocated to the middle of Afghanistan, somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

The military is manning up for the big surge out here. I guess this is supposed to be the hotspot of the country.

The FOB I am now on is going to be very large and full of marines ready to fight.

They launched a rocket tonight that scared the be-jeezes out of three of us in the office.

When we heard it, we all dove under our desks thinking it was inbound.

After finding out it was one of ours, we proceeded to check our shorts.

This rocket was one of the largest I have ever seen. It looked like the space shuttle taking off.

NATO has been running the operations in the south, and we are now taking it back under American control.., thankfully.

I thought that the UN was bad, now I know that it is any group of multiple nations.

Maybe when I am not as tired, I will get on my soapbox and spout about NATO for a bit. It is worth hearing, trust me.

I am working with another team now, and they seem okay. Most of the guys have been in the military for 20 years, so they know their business and are very professional.

We are still working very long hours, so we get almost no time to relax...,

but the food has gotten much better. Probably because the Americans on this base are running things.

We still work from about 6 am to about 9 or 10 pm. Then we go to our cot and watch a dvd or just pass out. Every day is groundhog day here.

The military lets the Haji's come onto the camp once a week and sell a bunch of crap to unsuspecting young soldiers.

They even sell bootleg DVD's, most of which are really bad.

I mean, you can see the people in the theater walking in front of the camcorder right on the dvd and hear them talk over the movie.

But at 2 bucks apiece, it is worth it if you get 1 out of 4 that are good. Especially since the PX is no longer a friend to the soldier.

The px charges more for goods than most stores back home, and they even charge for haircuts now.

I wonder what snake oil salesman bribed a congressman to allow the PX to be taken over and run for a profit?

For all the bluster from our elected leaders about supporting the troops, they sure find new ways to take another bite out of their ass.

Well, I am getting very tired, since it is now 11 pm and I have to leave the office and get a few hours of sleep.

The weather is breaking and is up to about 75 or 80 degrees during the day.

At night is gets pretty chilly, but the tents are heated, unlike the last FOB.

During my stint in operations, I heard gunfire all night long.

it reminds me of a song I knew a long time ago,

It is called life during Wartime by the Talking Heads and I am living the life right now.

Sometimes it seems so surreal that I wonder if I am dreaming some of this stuff up or not.

Heard of a van that is loaded with weaponspacked up and ready to goHeard of some gravesites, out by the highwaya place where nobody knowsThe sound of gunfire, off in the distanceI'm getting used to it nowLived in a brownstone, lived in the ghettoI've lived all over this townThis ain't no party, this ain't no discothis ain't no fooling aroundNo time for dancing, or lovey doveyI ain't got time for that nowTransmit the message, to the receiverhope for an answer some dayI got three passports, couple of visasdon't even know my real nameHigh on a hillside, trucks are loadingeverything's ready to rollI sleep in the daytime, I work in the nightimeI might not ever get homeThis ain't no party, this ain't no discothis ain't no fooling aroundThis ain't no mudd club, or C. B. G. B.I ain't got time for that nowYou oughta know not to stand by the windowsomebody might see you up thereI got some groceries, some peanut butterto last a couple of days

I get out of the rack every morning now and dream of my upcoming R+R.

I wonder where I will go.

Maybe Dubai.., maybe Italy.., who knows?

I was investigating going to North Africa to Casablanca, and then traveling by train to Marrekech and on to Tangier.

It sounds different enough to pique my interest, so maybe I will do it.

If anyone has any suggestions of something really different, I am all ears.

More Later,

Jimmy B.