As remarkable as it sounds, the temperature difference today between Providence, RI and Balad, Iraq was 50 degrees Fahrenheit. At least that’s what it was as of 1600 Iraq time (0800 Providence time). It is wicked hot here. Just walking outside can become a struggle. August is the hottest month of the year and it hasn’t even started. I left my room keys inside the Admiral while I was at the gym and I paid the price for it later. Even though they were in the shade, when I returned home I picked them up and immediately felt the searing heat on my fingertips. It felt like I touched a burner element on the stove. Like a goofball, I yelped and instantly dropped the keys onto the floorboard. I don’t believe there was any permanent damage.
My day was just a continuation of the one previous. We’ve been tending to all the moving pieces that demand our attention of late. That’s going to be the story for most of the week. At the end of the day I made a trip to Green Beans to see what was going on. The crowd was very sparse. There’s a term used to describe the process of one unit taking over for another unit. It’s called RIP-TOA. RIP stand for relief in place. TOA stands for transition of authority. For example - a brigade that’s been in Iraq for fifteen months undergoes a RIP-TOA with a newly arrived brigade. Then the old one goes home. Well there’s been a RIP-TOA of the karaoke at Green Beans. Apparently, it hasn’t been going very smooth. The old regular crowd has all been leaving for home. However, they haven’t done a very effective RIP-TOA with their replacements because the new guys aren’t coming out to karaoke. I guess it didn’t matter. The heat of daytime continued into the night in the form of a hot breeze. After sitting with a couple of friends for about an hour I’d had enough. I rolled on home. Besides, there were helicopters everywhere and it drowned out the sound system.
There will be more of the same tomorrow. I could go for the weather in Providence right now. Well, that weather and some beer.
My day was just a continuation of the one previous. We’ve been tending to all the moving pieces that demand our attention of late. That’s going to be the story for most of the week. At the end of the day I made a trip to Green Beans to see what was going on. The crowd was very sparse. There’s a term used to describe the process of one unit taking over for another unit. It’s called RIP-TOA. RIP stand for relief in place. TOA stands for transition of authority. For example - a brigade that’s been in Iraq for fifteen months undergoes a RIP-TOA with a newly arrived brigade. Then the old one goes home. Well there’s been a RIP-TOA of the karaoke at Green Beans. Apparently, it hasn’t been going very smooth. The old regular crowd has all been leaving for home. However, they haven’t done a very effective RIP-TOA with their replacements because the new guys aren’t coming out to karaoke. I guess it didn’t matter. The heat of daytime continued into the night in the form of a hot breeze. After sitting with a couple of friends for about an hour I’d had enough. I rolled on home. Besides, there were helicopters everywhere and it drowned out the sound system.
There will be more of the same tomorrow. I could go for the weather in Providence right now. Well, that weather and some beer.
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