So this is what a desert looks like...

Hello from Kuwait!

I arrived hear late yesterday after travelling nearly 18 hours from Columbia, SC. We have been getting settled in to our tents and acclimated to the time difference and weather. Today it is in the 90's with a nice breeze and light overcast sky and almost no humidity. It is actually bearable.

I grew up in the Northeast Louisiana delta where it was flat. But LA has nothing on the flatness of this place. I guess what makes it moreso is the fact that I haven't seen a tree since I arrived. The tallest plant I've seen here is the 8 inch center piece in the dining facility (DFAC) which is fake of course.

Interestingly, a lady bug landed on my uniform this morning. I guess it thought the green on my uniform was a leaf.

The camp here has many amenities: McDonalds, Starbucks, a PX, AT&T call and internet centers, and USO and MWR (morale, welfare and recreation) facilities.

I'm now in the USO tent using one of their computers. I'm very thankful to the USO and its dedicated volunteers for their support of those in uniform, providing us opportunities to reach home.

Walking over, I stopped by a line of uparmored humvees to look at the counter-IED equipment on board the vehicles. This equipment included many items with which I became very familiar working at Joint IED Defeat Organization, such as the Rhino and CREW (electronic jammers).

An Army sergeant showed us around his vehicle. This sergeant has been here for a year and just volunteered to continue leading convoys in country for another tour. May God bless him and those like him who continue to serve when they have the opportunity to go home to safety.

The next few days are "acclimation" days. We will have a few briefs during the day, but mostly get our bodies used to the temperatures and time change. Then we head into the desert for more training. Then its off to do the jobs were called to do.