It Does get cold in the desert!!

I never thought I would see temps in the 30's in the desert!! Isn't the desert always hot? It was 35 degrees last night.

Well, we have been in our current exercise almost eight days now. We are living in quanset huts with sand floors, sleeping on cots, using many baby wipes as our shower getting aclimated to how we will be living in Iraq. The most surreal thing to me? Going to the chow hall, getting your tray of food and sitting down next to your other Marines with everyone carrying an M16 or M4. If we could carry that much firepower on the civilian side of the house I think we would be much safer. Who the heck is going to do someting when everyone is armed? That's my Second Amendment speech. All is good. Trying to stay warm and counting the days to come home and visit before we go on the big leg of our tour.

For these next two weeks I will be one of the trainers for our MOC drills. I was chosen among some others to be a trainer for CASEVAC. That is the term used for evacuating medical patients out of the field by helos. I am also training mass casualty, litter carries and basic life saving skills to the Marines. Our training cadre will be training two battalions, almost two thousand Marines will pass through our lane. There are five other lanes the Marines go through. Training has been a great experience so far, the best part is knowing that what we give to these guys will make a difference in the real deal. Seeing them take to what we teach them and apply it in scenarios is a pretty good feeling.

After that our training group will fall back into our companies and finish out the last couple weeks here in the desert doing some more ranges, moc drills and so forth. I will be on my way home just after Christmas for a much needed shower, real food, a nice comfy bed, some satellite TV and quiet. We take for granted all the little things.....