Camp Clark at sunrise on Rodeo Day
A perfect morning for a "Rodeo", yee-haw!
If you haven't already figured it out from previous blog entries, mail is extremely important. Part of our "rodeo" is not only picking up care packages, but also bringing a postal worker who inspects and handles outgoing mail. With Christmas coming, these postal folks are going to have their work cut out for them!
What's a person to do without cold hard cash! Even out here in the middle of Afghanistan, cash is still king. ATM and credit cards are non-existent at the bazaar so how else are we going to buy those hand-sewn Afghan rugs and imitation Rolex watches? It's Military Finance to the rescue! With a simple signature and an ID Card, I am able to obtain cash which will then be taken out of my next paycheck...genius!
The military wouldn't be the military without a barber. This is probably the most sought after service of them all. Some people will wait in line for 2 hours, eagerly anticipating that clean cut fade, flat top, or shaved head that typifies us as military members. Can't let those side burns get out of hand!
The other group of people that we will bring are the chaplains, our experts in spiritual warfare. Most bases will have a chapel and regular weekly services, but since we're too small we don't have that luxury. We usually bring a Protestant Christian minister and Catholic priest depending on the availability and demand. I decided to attend the short Protestant "service", which ended up being a congregation of ONE!
Hopefully, this has given you a small glimpse into how we, as deployed military members, prevent ourselves from going insane or worse! Stay tuned...more to come!
In your head you are probably asking, "so who do you bring?". If I had it my way, I'd bring some designers from HGTV to rebuild and furnish our wooden B-Huts and chefs from the Food Network to take over our dining facility. As much as Bobby Flay would be cool to have out here, the people we bring out are just as equally, if not more, important.
If you haven't already figured it out from previous blog entries, mail is extremely important. Part of our "rodeo" is not only picking up care packages, but also bringing a postal worker who inspects and handles outgoing mail. With Christmas coming, these postal folks are going to have their work cut out for them!
What's a person to do without cold hard cash! Even out here in the middle of Afghanistan, cash is still king. ATM and credit cards are non-existent at the bazaar so how else are we going to buy those hand-sewn Afghan rugs and imitation Rolex watches? It's Military Finance to the rescue! With a simple signature and an ID Card, I am able to obtain cash which will then be taken out of my next paycheck...genius!
The military wouldn't be the military without a barber. This is probably the most sought after service of them all. Some people will wait in line for 2 hours, eagerly anticipating that clean cut fade, flat top, or shaved head that typifies us as military members. Can't let those side burns get out of hand!
The other group of people that we will bring are the chaplains, our experts in spiritual warfare. Most bases will have a chapel and regular weekly services, but since we're too small we don't have that luxury. We usually bring a Protestant Christian minister and Catholic priest depending on the availability and demand. I decided to attend the short Protestant "service", which ended up being a congregation of ONE!
Hopefully, this has given you a small glimpse into how we, as deployed military members, prevent ourselves from going insane or worse! Stay tuned...more to come!
2 comments:
Hey Mike,
Looks like you are having an amazing experience. Hang in there man. We are proud of you and it is awesome that you are serving your country. Life on Guam is good. Will write an email later. you are missed. You are in our prayers.
Eric and Dixie
i hope that congregation of "one" didn't fall asleep during the sermon. ;) Happy Sabbath, Honey! We miss you!
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