Pags in Bahrain

Bahraini drivers and rain

2006-11-27T09:28:00.000-08:00

Bahrainis are hands down the worst drivers. Ever.

We've all said, "the drivers here in ____ are awful. the worst i've ever seen." well, you've probably never been to Bahrain. Everyone here drives like a coked up 16yr old girl talking on a cell phone. There don't seem to be any standards for drivers. People will make left turns from any lane. People will park in the middle of the street. It's pretty absurb the things you see on the street. I thought I had seen the depths of the craziness here.

Until it rained.

I thought southerners did crazy stuff when they saw snow. It doesn't hold a candle to Bahrains driving in the rain. I wish I could write something to convey the madness, but words fail me. so here's some pictures:

Happy Thanksgiving and THWUGA

2006-11-24T11:34:00.000-08:00

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Our thanksgiving actually ended up happening today. The dinner the Navy put on for us would be sub-par for a soup kitchen, so we decided to rally and have a proper thanksgiving. Needless to say, I'm now stuffed full of turkey, ham, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. And, at the same time dinner was ready to be served, ESPN's international branch finally stopped playing futbal, and played football. Texas vs. Texas A&M. Good stuff.

Somehow I doubt ESPN will play the GT vs. UGA game over here. This year, GT actually looks like they're in a good position to make up for the past 5yrs. As long as Good Reggie shows up and they remember to utilize the weapon that is Calvin Johnson. Either way, I'll be sleeping with my fingers crossed tomorrow night, muttering, "To Hell With Georgia" in my sleep.

Here are some pics of something other than Navy stuff:

view from the back porch

starbucks

mosque

on the way to work

Post Gap

2006-11-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I guess there appears to be a significant post gap here. Of course, this means I'll have to intensify my posting or the Russians will gain an insurmountable advantage. Or something. Unfortunately, this blog ranks pretty low on my list right now, behind getting all my daytime work stuff done, getting all my studying done, and sleeping. Since there hasn't been a whole lot sleep, there's been even less posting. But I digress.

Last week a few of us went and had a couple of beers with a British Helo det that was in the area. They were nice enough to invite us to a cookout they were holding at the Bahraini Rugby Club. The BRC (more acronyms!) seems to be a haven for all the local British expats. While they do have a couple of rugby pitches, the star attraction is the clubhouse, with it's expansive bar and restaurant. Even though the British Empire is no more, there are still remnants, like the BRC, of the days when Britian was the world power. They sure knew how to do imperialism with style. No Connex boxes outfitted for rapid deployment for them. Nope, a clubhouse with all the warmth and coziness of that pub you left back in London.

Unfortunately, American imperialism is of the connex box flavor. Which means I spend a lot more time sitting in front of a computer than I do sitting on the veranda drinking gin and tonics.

Thoughts on lunch

2006-10-31T08:37:00.000-08:00

It's a decently long flight up to where the boats hang out that we deliver for, so by the time you get on their front door, you tend to be a little hungry. So when you first talk to the boat, you let them know that in addition to the usual services, you'd also like some box lunches for the crew. Box lunches are pretty much the make or break of the flight. And it will also make or break a boat's reputation. Sometimes the boat gives you a sandwhich with a couple slices of meat and some cheese, some chips, a couple of cokes, and maybe a cookie or some candy to finish the whole meal off. Those are good days and good boats. On other days, you can tell that the mess cranks just threw whatever was in the galley in a box and sent it out to the flight deck (hey, the helo's here! now we can get read of the stale bread and old bologna!). Other days you get something like stewed beef and rice. Invariably, whenever you get something with a lot of sauce or a rice plate, you don't get untensils. And then there are days when you get two slices of bread wrapped in saran wrap. Awesome! I hope all the mail we just brought you was filled with Dear John Letters.

A few pics

2006-10-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

Been flying a lot the past couple of days, so not a whole lot going on other than flying, stuyding, sleeping and eating. But, I have managed to take some pictures.

A night out

2006-10-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

Since we had today off, a couple of us decided to hit the town last night. Being thirsty JOs who were looking for something a bit more familiar we went to the worldwide standby of western expats: the irish pub. Had a couple beers that you can't get stateside; some Kilkenny and a couple of Tuborgs. I'm always game to expand my beer resume. After a couple of hours of dated music (MC Hammer? Are you kidding?) we decided to move on. A quick aside on the music note: The King of Pop still reigns supreme here. Huge MJ fans here. Word on the street is that he's taken his freakshow elsewhere. Next, we took our drinkex over to a club that was more of the locals scene. Lots of Bahraini dudes hanging out, smoking hookas, drinking beers, shooting pool. And not a single local woman to be seen. But there was no shortage of Thai hookers. In fact, I would say the thai hooker presence was strong to quite strong.

In other thoughts, before I left, I was fitted CBR gear. CBR gear is what you wear if there's a threat of chemical, biological, or radiological weapons. It looks something like this:

Underneath all that there's a suit you wear under your flight suit that's kind like a big garbage bag. It's apparently hot if you're sitting in an air conditioned room. As you can see, it doesn't do good things for peripheral vision. Not exactly a good thing to have to fly in, but it beats the alternative. The Marines had to fly assault missions in this getup during OIF. To top it off, they had to wear body armor on top of it. Doesn't sound like a fun prospect to me. Just make sure you bring a couple of refills for the camelbak.

Happy Id!

2006-10-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

Finished my first week in Bahrain. Typical first week on a new job stuff. Getting the email account set up , getting a new nametag, trying to get my feet on the ground, etc. Not too much flying to be had in the first week. The detachment mandates that I not fly for the first 5 days to make sure my circadian rhythm is back in order. I spent last night on the deck of a big deck amphib getting that elusive NVD Ship qual done.

I didn't get to see too much of Bahrain in the first week. Ramadan was in it's last week, so all the locals were fasting during daylight. The fasting was made a tad easier since the restaurants were shut down because no one was allowed to eat or drink in public. So, dining options were rather limited. But, Ramadan ended the other night and now everyone is celebrating Id (the end of ramdan feast), so all the eateries are back open. To celebrate I went to Starbucks. Next time I'll have to bring my camera and take a picture of the arabic Starbucks sign.

But now I need to go so I can go play some basketball on the roof of our palatial dwelling.

Safe in Bahrain

2006-10-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it to Bahrain safe and sound, if a little tired. The internet has been screwy here the past couple of days so I haven't been able to update anything here. I have to be in at work early tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have some time to update this properly tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully.

Come fly the friendly skies

2006-10-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

Today is the day. In a few short hours I'll begin my agonizingly long series of flights to Bahrain. I wish I could put into words how much I'm looking forward to being crammed into a coach class seat for 24 hours, but somehow words like: screaming babies, fat people, crappy food, no take-on water, lack of leg space, and neck crick; to name a few, just seem to fail right now. Oh well. Join the Navy, see the world. Or at least the inside of a couple of international airports. Thank god for the airport bar. Now there's a true mark of civilized society, because without it, airports would just look a tad too much like refugee camps. Refugees in sweatpants reading Dan Brown novels. I'd like to think that the Bahraini Airport would have some livestock wandering around in it, but I have a feeling all I'm gonna see is the arabic equivalent of Ruby Tuesdays.

Oh Well

2006-10-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

So much for the NVD DLQs before I leave. The ship didn't have the necessary gear so we took our toys and went home. Looks like I'll just have to get it done sometime over there. And speaking of over there, the departure time is rapidly approaching. Got some last minute leave to take care of everything before I disappear over the horizon. I'm sure I'm overlooking something, but I think I've hit most of the major stuff.

A cool sidenote is that my buddy Ferg will be over there doing his thing for a month or so when I'm over there. We'll have to enjoy some cubanos together. And his big jet will be an easy way to get some rugs back home.

Beginnings

2006-10-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight I start my NVD syllabus. All 2 flights of it. 1 flight to warm up and 1 flight to get my NVD deck landing quals. After that I'm fully qualified to be sent to Bahrain, post haste. I wouldn't mind a few extra weeks, and neither would the better half, but I guess the guy I'm replacing would probably like to come home sometime. So, as of yesterday, looks like I'm heading out sometime in the next couple of weeks. Subject to change, as everything is around here. Semper Gumbi.

note: this isn't me in the helo. these are some guys from HSC-25 out of Guam. But you get the idea.

Why am I going to Bahrain you ask? Fifth fleet logisitics support. PMC flights to ships in the NAG. Or, to translate: Taking Passengers, Mail and Cargo (PMC) to ships in the Northern Arabian Gulf (NAG). Bascially, I'll be the fleet's mailman. So, that's what I'll be doing for the next few months. In case you were curious.