LAND HO

We made it to Kuwait. The flight wasn’t too bad, but the bus ride north made up for it.


I am at Camp Buering, which is in the middle of the Kuwaiti desert. Buering is one of the staging camps for units moving north. While it’s a camp and therefore supposedly fairly primitive, we live pretty good. It is a lot better than when I was here in the summer of 1997. We have some shower trailers, a huge gym with lots of stuff to throw around, three big chow halls, bottled water like there’s no tomorrow, internet cafes, and lots of other amenities one wouldn’t think would be in the middle of the desert. It is in fact a small city, out in the middle of nowhere. In fact, I am typing this from my cot in my tent, on a wireless internet connection available from a local vendor. It ain’t exactly fast, but it’s working. Everything is available, for a price. Good to see Capitalism still has a corruptive viewpoint and competitive impact on the Arab world…


I live in a tent with 70 or so guys. It does have AC, though, which is nice, but it still is a bit ‘gamey’ and odoriferous. I think they try to make it uncomfortable in order to make us want to go north. Truth be told, it’s not too bad. It could be a lot worse.


Weather isn’t bad; Highs in the 90s, lows in the 60s and 70s. It is actually somewhat pleasant. If you are planning on a vacation to the Middle East, apparently now would be a splendid time.
We will be here for a short period of time, long enough for us to complete some more training and get acclimated, and get issued some new equipment.


Tomorrow we start our training bright and early. I’d write more, but the jet lag is kicking in. Check back later in the week and I’ll have some comments and maybe some pics of the training.


Hope all is well with you and your families. Take care.


Ron