Monday, June 27, 2005

Schedule

Prior to my going home on leave, our schedule was pretty crazy. We rarely ever received a day off and our days on used to entail up to three three-hour (or longer) missions. Since returning though, things have been quite a bit nicer.

Since we have X number of guys on leave at any given time now, we don't mount all the patrols that we used to. So it's not uncommon for us to now occasionally get days off, thank goodness. While it's been far too hot to hit the climbing wall, I've been working out more (still trying to lose some pounds… but with not much luck yet), actually getting in an occasional nap, and reading lots.

Curled up near our AC unit, I finished the excellent book Kite Runner (about a well-to-do Afghani child who emigrates to the U.S. then returns to the country during the time of the Taliban to find an old friend), then tore through Barbara Kingsolver's also excellent Animal Dreams, and now just started America's Secret War, which thus far is a fascinating break-down of what led us to our current involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan (thanks to Josh for sending me that one). Prior to those books, I burned through Black Hawk Down (which was surprisingly even more intense than the film) and also tore though Brendan DuBois' New England-based thriller Betrayed (Brendan is a friend of my buddies Mike and Lynn Thornton and he was kind enough to send me a signed copy – not to mention several great care packages!). I've put aside Dante's Inferno as it's just too damn hot out for reading that.

When we do get a day off, I try to get up at 0630, before anyone else is up yet (most often all our squads have different night schedules so someone is almost always sleeping at any given time) and first write a bit (when I can, on those rare but glorious days when I have a little quiet time) and then do some cardio before things get too hot. After a late night guard shift the other night, I tried running at 1100 and it was already 95 degrees – in the shade. I ran for 30 minutes and that almost did me in. I then usually shower, shave, eat, and then email Sally or read. In the late morning, I do some more abs then hit the weights. If I'm lucky, I might watch a movie on my laptop after that. Those days off are wonderful.

All that being said though, our company still patrols every day and night. We still load live ammo and still roll outside the wire into sector, looking for bad guys, or at least letting the bad guys know we're here, in case they were dumb enough to actually try something.
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