Independent Consultant with a Hawaiian Shirt

This morning I slept in until 6:03am. (Yes, 6:03am - I remember looking at the cell phone.) Tomorrow I have to get up at 5:00am and I haven't heard may alarm clock go off in a couple of days. Oh well, I'm sure an F-18 or a convoy will do the job... I went about my morning routine of having breakfast and checking e-mail. The joy this morning was going to the Enduring Faith Chapel, where the ChapelNext service was held at 10:30am. The singing is a contemporary mix, and the message was this chaplain's last as he rotates back home. He preached a powerful message from 1 Thessalonians 2 about the work of a pastor. As moved as I was by the message, I was more moved by his call for all the chaplains to come to the front and receive a blessing/laying of hands from any who were in attendance that were leaders in their church. What an incredible opportunity to pray for the only "unarmed" soldiers whose battles are fought with other than flesh and blood. After a simple lunch ...

After eight days of non-stop activity, I had my first day with no major obligations. No work, no travel - just a day to rest. I couldn't believe how badly my body and my mind both needed it. I slept in until 5:30am (yes, that is sleeping in around here) and slowly made my way to breakfast. After breakfast I sat down with a book and my schoolwork and made some significant progress. Calls home were highlighted by my connecting my laptop to a satellite-powered WiFi hotspot. For $3/day I won't be using it for much more than teaching my Sunday School class tomorrow. In testing it out Benjamin was thrilled to do a screen grab of me posing in front of the Burger King here. Yep, we also have a Pizza Hut, Popeye's, Dairy Queen and Orange Julius. For lunch in the middle of all that activity I found the legendary "BBQ DFAC". The DFAC at the farthest end of the post is only open from 1100-1900 (11am-7pm), and serves only Bar-B-Que. I had a grilled Italian sausage and a grille...

This morning I woke up and stepped out into the cool pre-dawn air. As I walked to the MWR building, I noticed something I hadn't seen in a few days - the mountains. Here in Bagram the mountains form a circle around the entire area. The brown foothills give way to majestic, snow-covered ridges. Two days of rain and the subsequent mud layer knocked down all the dust and haze and unveiled what, in many other countries, would pass for a great place to be a ski resort. Simply gorgeous. If only... After class I set out for my tent. With all this walking my toes are beginning to rub uncomfortably against each other. I stopped in at the PX (Post eXchange = convenience store for the military folks) and bought some cloth tape. With two toes wrapped, the pain in each step has subsided significantly. Hopefully the little toe at the end will calm down quickly... To my delight, tonight at the DFAC they served ribeye steaks off the grill. I'd been smelling them all afternoon. When I asked my ...

Today was the first day I felt really good. All the travel bugaboos - jetlag, funky stomach, sleep - have thankfully worked their way out of my system. Class ran smoothly for the first time this week. If I could possibly refer to a day out here as "normal" this would be it. After class I headed over to the MWR building next to Camp Dragon. The building has been dubbed, "The Dragon Palace." (cute) I popped in and checked my e-mail, made some calls on Skype before my 30-minute time limit was up. Afterwards, I headed down the road for the last of the 4 miles I promised myself to walk each day before calling it a night. By 8:30pm I was asleep. MWR stands for "Morale, Welfare and Recreation." It is like a community center for soldiers and others who need a place to kick back. There's always a movie showing (Avatar played here this week, but only in 2-D), and popcorn to munch along with. The computers are available for Internet access, and some have a webcam...

Last night I heard the raindrops steadily hitting the tent. I'm thankful that the super-cool tent fabric kept all the moisture off of us. When I woke up this morning, I stepped out into terrain that was transformed overnight from dry and dusty to damp and muddy. As much as this dust has gotten into every ridge of my fingertips I was so happy for the rain. The air was fresher, cleaner and crisper. I was so excited for sunrise because I thought for sure I would be able to clearly see the mountains that surround us on all sides. Sadly, as the sun rose it never penetrated the cloud cover. Worse, the fog and low clouds made it impossible to see the beautiful snow-capped mountains that were but a hazy outline on the dry days. On the plus side, the rain did wash off a lot of the dirt on many of the buildings, and it has done well to keep the dust down throughout the day. Even now, at 3:30pm it is still drizzling outside. The forecast calls for this rain to persist through Friday, with a c...

Last night on my way back to the tent for that sleep I blogged about last night, I bumped into two friends from Kuwait who were out here for temporary duty. It was great to catch up with Major Becknel on the sidewalk before his flight back to Kuwait. And being able to talk with Keith over dinner at the DFAC before calling it a night for good was refreshment for my soul. Now the DFAC, or Dining FACility, is the place to get something to eat. For all the jokes about the "mess hall" or the "chow line" (all synonyms for "dee-fac"), I must say that the food is quite good. I would compare it to a college cafeteria or a really good summer camp. There is always ample variety, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and a good selection of beverages. Hairnets and servers with wide-ranging personalities complete the effect. It's a good thing that my tent is at the far end of the post. With a nearly 1-mile walk (16 minutes) from my tent to the office I've alread...

Last night I went to bed in a tent. As you may know, a tent is made up of some super-cool cloth that keeps the elements out and the warmth in. This is a wonderful thing to have in the winter, when the temperature plunges below freezing at night like it does here. I had a top bunk; the bottom bunks were all taken. On the bright side, I didn't have to worry about smacking my head if I sat up straight. Up there I was able to stretch out my 74-inch frame on a 72-inch mattress. With a borrowed sleeping bag and a makeshift pillow consisting of my coat and my towel, I was off to la-la land. Now that super-cool cloth that makes the tent walls is not soundproof. And the tent is right next to the main road on post. That means that every convoy on a night mission, every maintenance vehicle running around, every bus, tractor, transport and Gator (think ATV but nicer) left an impression on my ears. And just when I thought it couldn't get any noisier...WHOOSH! Bagram Airfield is the main air...

This morning my brother and I had breakfast before he took me to the airport. Since the flight to Bagram leaves from Terminal 2, I needed a ride to the far side of the airport. I checked in and boarded my flight. Being at the back of the check-in line meant that I was given a middle seat. No problem; the flight was less than two and a half hours. As we boarded the chartered 737-200, I could tell the airplane had seen better days. Clearly, this was a single-purpose airplane. After an uneventful flight we landed in Bagram. Once we moved off the runway, we were escorted by a pickup truck with a big "Follow Me" sign on the cab. The pilots taxiied the plane right behind that little pickup. Once we deplaned we were escorted to the passenger terminal for inprocessing and luggage pickup. Now I've arrived at dozens of airports all over the place. This was the first time I saw someone holding a piece of paper with my name on it. I felt special that I could hop out of line and walk...

It's a bit awkward to write about what happened "today." It started when I left Atlanta at 8:30pm Friday night. We were in the air for about 14 hours and, with the time change, arrived in Dubai just before 8:00pm local time. So I can account for a 24-hour gap in my wristwatch by saying I was in seat 31D watching movies and eating airplane food. My one complaint about the food is that there was only one full meal - dinner served after takeoff. Shortly before landing we had a pizza-based meal. No breakfast, no lunch, no sunlight for that matter. Yes, the flight attendants asked everyone to close the blinds to minimize the glare of the sun for what few hours we would pass under it. Naturally, on one of my bathroom sorties I went up to an emergency door and opened the window shade to catch a glimpse of the sun somewhere over Romania. As usual, upon landing in Dubai I proceeded to walk/run through the airport to clear customs and walk over to my brother's house. There I gr...

...with a flight from Detroit to Atlanta. Thankfully I got a bump up to First Class, which was a welcome event for my wide frame. The Atlanta-Dubai leg is in Coach - all 14 hours of it. And I forgot my neck pillow at home. Could this get any better? I am in the SkyClub, the Delta lounge, waiting for my flight. It's been good to catch up on e-mails, FarmVille and a chat with the family. Once I get to Dubai I'll have a 12-hour layover before the final 3-hour leg to Afghanistan. Talk to you all later!