These last two weeks have been remarkably long. Mostly because of the heat, but also because we are on the backside of the deployment so time has decided to slow down. One of the other squadrons here has already had the advance party for their replacements show up. It was funny seeing all these new people walking around looking a little lost. I guess that is what we looked like only a few months ago. It all changes pretty fast. But time has definitely slowed down. The other factor is the heat. I was turning an aircraft a few days ago right at sunrise (about 5:30 am) and the crew chief and I were commenting on how nice the morning was and how it was cool and the slight breeze was good. We looked at the temperature gauge and saw that it was only 40 deg Celsius. (For those, like me, who have to look it up, that is 104 deg Fahrenheit!) And that is the coolest part of the entire day. I thought the heat was bad before but it has been astounding these last few weeks. It is a strange feeling to walk around outside for a few minutes and feel wetness on your pinky and ring fingers. I look down and realize that it is the sweat which has accumulated so much that it is a stream down my arm around my hand and dripping off my last two fingers. After only being outside for a few minutes! I was working out as part of the Marine Corps Martial Arts program (another way for the Corps to officially torture us) from 7-9:30am and when I was done not only had the sweat soaked all my clothes it had even soaked through my boots. I did not have a dry t-shirt or skivvies for the rest of my shift. Let alone the wet socks! I still hurt from that workout and it was two days ago! (Getting old is no fun.) Needless to say/repeat/emphasize but I am going to anyway, IT IS HOT! We are all looking forward to the end of the month when we are all assured that it will get better. It is so hot that flying is not relief. The air that flows around the helicopter is not a cooling air flow of 100 knots air that blows the heat away. Instead it is 100 knots of air that is as hot, or hotter, than the air that is already in the cabin! I actually shut my outside air vents when I go flying now. There have been a couple of flights when our windscreen defrost system has accidentally come on and we did not notice! (For those that are concerned with my lack of attention to checklists, it is a lever that loosens over time. Normally we notice if it comes on because of the sudden flow of warm air over the windscreen. That does not work so well these days!) Then there is the wildlife. There are these crows out here that you do not see that often but every once in a while they appear. Physically they are built like regular crows, but their coloration is rather interesting. They are black headed and have fringes of black on their wings and tails – fringes that are about one to two inches long – but are otherwise grey. They are the same grey that you see on morning coats. So these crows fly around our flight line all dressed up for something formal, but we can never figure out what event it is. The other day one of these crows was taking a remarkable interest in himself. On our helicopters we have a piece of gear that we call a "disco ball" because that is exactly what it looks like, a shiny, rose colored disco ball that sits on top of our helicopters. It is part of our defensive systems and so the glass has to be kept very clean. This particular crow was fascinated with his reflection in the disco ball. He flew up to one of the helicopters and stared at his reflection. He did not just stare, he studied his reflection. I got closer because I was walking past the helicopter and he shifted so he could stare at himself and keep an eye on me at the same time. I stepped just close enough that he took a leisurely hop, flapped away, and gently glided over to the next helicopter to study himself some more. I left him alone after that, figuring that the vain little thing had enough on his mind. Other birds have built nests in our helicopters, stolen loose wires, rubber, anything. It is amazing how these creatures survive out here. I am sure that this place looks like a paradise to them. Between all the new and fascinating things to look at as well as the plethora of food, water, and general stuff for them to take the wildlife is enjoying themselves. On the flying front, I have managed to keep myself sort of busy. Right now is the month of Ramadan and we are not flying a whole lot. Both because we are trying to not disturb people so much and the Iraqis have taken over control of al Anbar Province so they are starting to run the show. The Marines are stepping back and watching to see how things go. We are still conducting missions and still doing things here, but the Iraqis are starting to lead missions. It is interesting so far, we shall see how this develops. I have attached a picture I took of my helicopter in a landing zone that is between the crossed swords that Saddam used to hold all his parades through. To the left of the picture (that you can't see) they still have the reviewing stands where Saddam and his favored used to sit to watch the parades. We do not land their often and we had to grab these pictures when we could. The second picture is of me and my co-pilot at the same place. Since I always take the pictures it is rare that there is actually a picture of me. That is about it at this end of the world. I hope everything is going well with you and yours. Until next time!
