It was my first helicopter ride, which was cool. Regrettably, all the seats face the interior, and I had to wear my armor, so I didn't get any good pictures. I was surprised at how smooth the ride was; because of the two rotors, it's a bit like flying in a cradle. There's a little side to side rocking, but that's it. I didn't even realize we'd landed until people started getting out.
The mission sounds cool. We'll be escorted by Australians as we provide logistics support for the outlying bases. Apart from that, we'll have quite a bit of free time.
That's fine with me. I was looking into teaching with one of the colleges that have a presence on Kandahar; hopefully, they can line up enough students for a low-level business class. The timing's right -- I have nothing better to do with my evenings, and I don't have to worry about sacrificing time with my family.
The only problem is that things are a real mess right now. The equipment we were planning to send is wholly inadequate for the mission, so we have to rethink everything less than one week before our crew is supposed to leave.
In addition, we need to bring a different set of people than we were planning. We need a fueler and more mechanics; we need less actual truck drivers.
In the meantime, the other guy and I are stuck in transient housing. It's not the worst thing ever, but we can't settle in until the unit we're replacing leaves. It looks like it will be OK by the time the rest of the crew arrives, but we have to fix the equipment mess first, and there's really no telling what day that will be.
Personnel, housing, and equipment. Once things get settled, things will be a breeze, but for now, I have these three headaches to handle.
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