Eli skyped this morning (boy does that slow down the morning routine)and we chatted for about half an hour. They've finally gotten their trunks that were shipped ahead about a month ago. That means Eli will have his USB cable for his camera and I'll start getting some pics to post on the blog. We got a blow by blow description of how they are rearranging their room to allow more space including a blow up love seat they're thinking of getting. It's always facinating talking to the boys as they throw all these acronyms around expecting us to know what they're talking about. Most of the time I just nod my head and say something appropriate. Sometimes I just have to ask "what did you say?" Today, Eli was talking about getting some plastic drawers to keep their pogiebait in. He said they like to take extra poptarts, drink mixes and other pogiebait from the chow hall to keep in their room. I couldn't resist and just had to ask what pogiebait was. A "pog" is a person other than a grunt. These are people on the base that never go outside the wire. These are the office workers, the communication people, the people who work in the motor pool. Pogs sit around the base eating junk food and getting fat. So, by definition, pogiebait is junkfood.
Eli talked a little about his trip to Baghdad. The trip was about 8 hours and jammed into an ASV with all your gear makes for a long, uncomfortable trip. Eli talked about his gear including all his body armour, night vision goggles, communication gear and a myriad of other things. They even have a place to plug in their Ipod so they can listen to music while traveling. Along those lines I read an interesting article in the local paper the other day talking about the cost to outfit a soldier. During WW II it costs about $170 (adjusted for inflation) to outfit a soldier. Of course, they got a uniform, bedroll, canteen and a weapon. The WW II soldier carried about 25 pounds of gear. Today it costs between $28,000 and $60,000 to outfit a soldier. The wide price range is due to equipping soldiers differently depending on their assignment. Today soldiers have advanced body armor, anti-ballistic eyewear, fire retardant uniforms, night-vision eyewear, thermal weapon sights and other hi-tech gear. All in all, they put on roughly 75 pounds of gear. Eli carries an additional 30 pounds or so of medical gear.
Eli had a couple of briefings today and training on traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Most of you probably received Seth's email today. For those that didn't see it, here it is:
Dear Family and Friends,
Things here in Al Asad continue to go well, the weather is hot, but it is supposed to begin cooling down in the next couple of weeks. The unit that we are replacing has informed us that there is a winter over here, and it is not much fun. They said the temperature will get into the 30s and 40s during the day, but the worst part is that it rains a lot. The rain turns all this sand and dirt into mud. I'm not looking forward to the rain, however I am looking forward to a little cooler weather.
Eli recieved a package in the mail from Katy with some Haloween decorations, some candy, and some movies. One of the movies is a scary one, and Eli and I have decided that we are throwing a Haloween party. It won't be much of a party, but we've already let our friends know that we are going to eat candy and watch a scary movie in our little room, everyone said they will be attending, so our room could get a little cramped. When we are at home Eli and I love to entertain people, so we decided it shouldn't stop over here. We have taken out our bottom bunks to make more space for ourselves, and guests, and today we are going to purchase a TV to enable us to have people over to watch movies. The time you spend with your "battle buddies" (as we call them) is some of the best time you have over here. I look back fondly on my time with all my friends in Afghanistan and all that we went through. I know it will be the same here.
As for training and our mission, things continue to go well, I'm sure you all heard that Eli took a trip to Baghdad. It was a good experience, and not a bad trip. We will be spending lots of time driving and we will have some very long days. The unit that we are replacing is still here, so we are still in the transition phase. We have not fully taken over command, and our unit is still doing a lot of training on all the new equipment we are getting. Thats all the news for now, I hope this e-mail finds everyone doing well and having a good week, take care,
Love, Seth
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