Sour Swinger Predominantly follows my Army & Iraq Deployment. Also has some Geek, School, and other talk.

My last mission, help clean all the stryker vehicles in my brigade before they are sent back to the states. We’re talking hundreds here. Shouldn’t be hard right? Just line them up by a wash rack and start spraying. That’s what everyone thought. How wrong we all were.

Week one was by far the worst. The humidity was sky high along with the over 100 temperatures. So even though I started at midnight, I would be drenched in sweat in 5 minutes flat. The shift hour was tough too. Midnight to noon. I never did get used to it. Getting wet from the washers kept you cool, but after 12 hours of being drenched from head to foot it wasn’t fun. Since we could leave early if we completed the vehicles early, everyone was highly pumped for the first few days. Unfortunately that didn’t last.

The custom agents were all over the place. There was no set standard between each inspector. Where one cleared a vehicle, another would fail. Vehicles almost done suddenly became no where near completion because custom’s did a shift change. It was horribly depressing. Most vehicles took almost 36 hours to wash! I remember one taking 3 days. In addition, a good chunk of each stryker had to be taken apart before any washing was to commence. That could take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours alone. By the end of week 1, motivation hit rock bottom. There was no way we could finish the strykers early….let alone on time. We only had a dozen or so complete with several hundred still to go.

Week 2 went better for everyone. The humidity started to drop and custom’s started to level out. They finally implemented a set standard between all the custom’s agent. This made it easier to clean the strykers right the first time. In addition, everyone got better at cleaning in general. A rhythm was developed. By this point we could get a stryker cleaned in about 24 hours. By the end of week 2, higher managed to obtain 100 civilian workers to aid us in washing. Which was a huge sigh of relief for everyone.

With week 3 underway, things were rolling ten times smoother. The civilians allowed us soldiers to get some rest. Instead of 12 hours daily, we rotated 12 and 6 hour shifts. The humidity all but disappeared too. It felt like a regular day in Iraq. Everyone had this down pat. It took about 16 hours to churn out a stryker. With this new pace, we managed to finish all the strykers just in the nick of time.

This wash rack detail was mostly a nightmare for me and most of us on it. After washing and taking apart so many strykers, I hope to never see one for a long time. Now its just a matter of waiting and sitting around for my flight home. Next time I post, it’ll be from the good old USA.

Wanna receive email updates to new Army postings? Register with my site.

The fresh Pennsylvania air. The green grass. Seeing family for a first time in 8 months. Delta company finally has come back and is relaxing in their homes. Done with deployment…finally. Wish I could say the same. Meanwhile, back in Kuwait I find myself on the worst detail ever. With me are over 200 soldiers from the rest of the 56th SBCT. Our mission, wash all the vehicles in order to clear customs before sending them back to the states.

Before I continue with my Kuwait talk, I’d like to mention more about Delta’s reunion with family but since I wasn’t there, I don’t anything to say. Fortunately I was emailed some video links of the news broadcast. My internet is too slow so I’m yet to view these videos. Hopefully they’re good. Here’s the links:

News Video 1
News Video 2

Back in Kuwait, this wash rack detail finds me in Camp Patriot. Camp Patriot is an American naval base found within a Kuwait Naval base. Camp Patriot is tiny! It takes longer to walk my home residential neighborhood then this base. Everything is squeezed in but all needed facilities (like a Green Beans) is here. This is my first on a Navy base and seeing so many sailors. Of course there’s also a good deal of Kuwaiti soldiers. They remind of the 80s. Seems like all the Kuwaitis wear those big sunglasses and walks around with their mustaches and beards.

Temperatures are about the same as Iraqi with one major difference. The humidity is through the roof. This is by far worse then Iraq and Mississippi. Imagine 110 degrees with 90% humidity. Its insane! On the plus side, this base is very relaxed. Civilian attire is authorized which means for the first time in 8 months I get to wear something other then military issued clothing. Its great! I had to buy a civilian shirt and the only thing they had was Coast Guard stuff. Oh well. I don’t mind though. Unless I’m working, its all I ever wear.

Camp Patriot also has the best MWR I’ve ever seen. With a mini movie theatre, 20 some computers, couches and sofas golore, 15 some 52″ plasma TVs, DVDs to rent, pool tables, ping pong tables, board games, free coffee and all the video game consoles you could want….there’s little reason to leave. Even better, its open 24 hours. In fact, when I’m not working I’m spending all my time in the MWR. Its either that or hang out in a barracks that can’t keep cool.

As for what this wash rack entails, I’ll save for another post.

Wanna receive email updates to new Army postings? Register with my site.

For being a baron desert, Kuwait is quite beautiful. Looking out for miles at open, flat sand brings about a sense of peace. The open blue sky yields the brightest sun I’ve ever seen. Wish I hadn’t packed my sunglasses. Cloud coverage isn’t all too uncommon and when they form just as the sun sits, it makes for an amazing site. The clouds perfectly divide the sky. Below a radiant orange with a red dim sun while above the blue sky persists. Though photography isn’t allowed here, I couldn’t resist the urge to snap a picture.

The weather is almost perfect. During the day it gets to a warm 60 degrees. There’s always a slight cool breeze coursing through the air. I’m almost reminded of a warm spring day. Just missing all the green and water. During the dusk and dawn the temperature drops to a colder 40 degrees. At night the temperature takes a nosedive to freezing. I’m sure the night sky is beautiful, but unfortunately the base puts off too much light pollution. You’ll only ever see the moon and some lone bright star/planet below it.

The base is far from any civilization so I’m sure there is plant life and animal life to be found just not here. I’m literally in the middle of a desert. On the road, you’ll see random groups of tents with a few dozens camels strolling around. I imagine its some sort of “Sheppard tending to his flock” though there is nothing around them for miles. Not even a cactus.

Internet is not the best. Its about a mile walk round trip for me to utilize. I set up outside on some picnic tables under a pavilion. This is considered the “down town” area. Around me is a Taco Bell, barbor shop, Green Beans Coffee, Harley Davidson store, AT&T call center, C-Zee gaming center, alterations shop, and an outside auditorium. Other sections of town have a PX, Burger King, a massage parlor, KFC, and a Starbucks. Hanging out next to me are a bunch of finches scavenging for food. Guess we just brought all aspects of America with us.

The finches look just like our American counterparts. Question is, are they native or did we inadvertently bring them over. Aside from the camels that’s it for life. Finding insects is hard. Thus far I only found one ant (in which I ate) and a beetle. Flytraps are set up at the chow halls; though ever day they stay bare.

The Harley shop sells some paraphernalia and motorcycles. Yes actual motorcycles though you’ll never see it here. You can order a bike and have it imported into the states. Not only is this cheaper, but you avoid taxes. Nice! Most the fast food tastes the same. Only difference is a less diverse menu. Though for some reason BK’s burgers tastes like it was made off an actual back yard grill. It’s missing all the grease and tastes way better then back at home.

Living conditions aren’t that great but nothing to complain about. They’re your typical 50 man tents. Nights aren’t too quiet, as it seems like soldiers are always arriving from the states. Not hard to spot either. Just look for the mile long convoy with trucks and buses rolling in through the barracks area. Showers are surprisingly warm but must be short. I’m sure a fortune is spent getting water out here though it certainly doesn’t seem to be in short order. No matter which direction you walk, every 400 meters you’ll find big palettes of bottled water.

This place is certainly not what I expected. An entire deployment served in Kuwait would seem…pleasant. At least I have an idea of where a good chunk of our taxes are going too. Question is, how much is too much? I just can’t believe I’m getting combat/hazard pay right now.

Wanna receive email updates to new Army postings? Register with my site.

Hard to believe but I’ve finally arrived to Kuwait. Its just how I thought it would be…a desert with one bright ass sun. The flight here was long and treacherously….long.

First was a 5-6 hour flight into Germany. We off loaded and hung out in a sectioned off portion of the airport. This marked my second “visit” to Germany. Granted it wasn’t for very long. The airport pretty much looked like any other airport save for all the German language. The biggest difference was in the bathrooms. The urinals looked like a giant soda can popping out of the wall and the toilets were tightly enclosed. No cracks around the door and no opening along the bottom or top.

Internet terminals could be used at a somewhat decent price. A German keyboard is not quite the same. Such as additional letters and a slight rearrangement of other keys. IE the “y” and “z” key were switched.

The wait in Germany was quite short and I found myself back in the plane for another 4-5 hour flight down to Kuwait. We came in at night and the city we flew over was just beautiful. There were a plethora of colorful patterns in what looked like their downtown section. They had a few impressive skyscrapers. Honestly I didn’t think cities would be this big in Kuwait. Seriously, who wants to live in a desert?

It was several more hours before we actually arrived to our base. A shame it was at night as I would have liked to see the landscape and the surrounding town more. Between the long flight and the 8 hour time difference, I and everyone else totally messed up our sleep. By the time we settled into our barracks and were going to sleep, the sun was just starting to rise.

Now, step one will be to check out this base and see what it has to offer.

Wanna receive email updates to new Army postings? Register with my site.