It's Like The Beach-- But Not

Well, I'm settled in at Camp Virginia, Kuwait now. The redeployment process has begun and I'm here with SPC Buckley and MAJ Roberts to assist with the medical mission while the rest of my medical company goes home to Fort Lewis, Washington.

Camp Virginia is a small little base in the middle of no where, with nothing around it, and nothing to do while on it. There is nothing but sand with the occasional sand colored building to break up the horizon. MAJ Roberts put it just right when he said, "It's like the beach-- but not."

The tent I'm living in now is not haunted. So that's a definite plus from the transient tent I just came from at Victory Base Camp. And I have a real mattress in a real bed frame, which was totally unexpected. I'm trying not to think about how many different people have slept on these mattresses. I put a mattress condom over my bed so there would be no chance of skin on AIDS-infested-mattress contact.

The Navy is everywhere here. It always blows my mind when I see Navy people doing things that do not involve boats and water. I know there is a lot more to the Navy than that, but they just seem like fish out of water here in the middle of the desert. Camp Virginia also has a lot of Army National Guard and Army Reserves. Active Duty Army looks down on those part timers. We both may have US ARMY on our chests, but we are very very different organizations. We know we're the real Soldiers with the real mission. People here walk around without their weapons. Apparently they turn them in once they get here. So it's really strange to be the only people in the chow hall packing heat. It makes us look like Special Forces bad asses who've been places and seen stuff. It sets us apart-- in a good way.