Speicher, Spackle, et al. I've discovered that this FOB is also home to Mt Rushmore - East. How could that be you ask? It does seem unbelievable. Yet it's true. Refer to the photo if you don't believe me. All Joe has to do is go eat at the brand spankin' new DFAC. Inside he'll find a huge rendition of this famous landmark. I almost lost my lunch when I saw the thing. It's not a memorial of any kind. Apparently, the staff of the new DFAC wanted to have something memorable to display. So, according to the plaque at the base of this monstrosity, they spent like a billion man-hours, a hundred tons of plaster, fourteen thousand two-penny nails, ten tons of virgin timber, and five hundred cans of spray paint (numbers may be exaggerated). Now Joe can go to Iraq instead of someplace far away like South Dakota to see this national treasure. I would say I've seen it all but it's too early in the deployment.
At this point of my current travels I do feel the part of the tourist. When we go to a FOB in transit there's really nothing to do but explore. Our first time of duty is manifest at the pax terminal. Today it wasn't until 2215. I woke up with a seriously stiff neck. Thanks to my improvised pillow my body was as tense as a banjo string. We all slept past breakfast. By the time I got up, got dressed and shaved it was time for lunch. Since I was billeted in an entirely different part of COB Speicher than my previous visit I had to find my way around. That's when I discovered the new DFAC. It's a splendid facility if you discount the Mt Rushmore facade.
My team and I were limited to foot mobility so our radius of operation was minimal. With temperatures pushing 110 the safest bet was back to the billets for a nap. I made a futile attempt at getting online. Realizing that it was operating at "Pony Express" speed I threw in the towel and headed back to the air conditioned hooch. The waiting game really sucks.
At 2100 we were given a ride back to the pax terminal. There was a soldier on the bus with us from Nacitoches, LA. He was headed home on R&R. I talked it up with him the whole way. His plan was to lay low and eat his momma's food. I was reminded that it's crawfish season. Man it would be wonderful to have a real, Cajun crawfish boil! That's going on my "to-do" list.
For the second night in a row we didn't have to wait long at the pax terminal. Around 2330 we loaded on Blackhawks for the return to LSAA. Both helicopters were full and it was yet another uncomfortable flight. It was interesting though. Four separate times the pilots released flares and they were doing a lot of hard banking. At one point both door gunners on our helicopter started blazing away. The streams of tracers disappeared into the dark desert below. I have no idea what was going on. It could have been just a show for us or, perhaps, there was a real threat. Whatever the reason, we never found out. Our helicopters arrived at LSAA at around 0200. Another mission complete. I told my soldiers to take the morning off and headed back to my hooch. It actually felt great to get back. LSAA is my pseudo-home.
At this point of my current travels I do feel the part of the tourist. When we go to a FOB in transit there's really nothing to do but explore. Our first time of duty is manifest at the pax terminal. Today it wasn't until 2215. I woke up with a seriously stiff neck. Thanks to my improvised pillow my body was as tense as a banjo string. We all slept past breakfast. By the time I got up, got dressed and shaved it was time for lunch. Since I was billeted in an entirely different part of COB Speicher than my previous visit I had to find my way around. That's when I discovered the new DFAC. It's a splendid facility if you discount the Mt Rushmore facade.
My team and I were limited to foot mobility so our radius of operation was minimal. With temperatures pushing 110 the safest bet was back to the billets for a nap. I made a futile attempt at getting online. Realizing that it was operating at "Pony Express" speed I threw in the towel and headed back to the air conditioned hooch. The waiting game really sucks.
At 2100 we were given a ride back to the pax terminal. There was a soldier on the bus with us from Nacitoches, LA. He was headed home on R&R. I talked it up with him the whole way. His plan was to lay low and eat his momma's food. I was reminded that it's crawfish season. Man it would be wonderful to have a real, Cajun crawfish boil! That's going on my "to-do" list.
For the second night in a row we didn't have to wait long at the pax terminal. Around 2330 we loaded on Blackhawks for the return to LSAA. Both helicopters were full and it was yet another uncomfortable flight. It was interesting though. Four separate times the pilots released flares and they were doing a lot of hard banking. At one point both door gunners on our helicopter started blazing away. The streams of tracers disappeared into the dark desert below. I have no idea what was going on. It could have been just a show for us or, perhaps, there was a real threat. Whatever the reason, we never found out. Our helicopters arrived at LSAA at around 0200. Another mission complete. I told my soldiers to take the morning off and headed back to my hooch. It actually felt great to get back. LSAA is my pseudo-home.
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