I'll be getting on some sort of flying thing - UH-60, STOL, C-130 - sometime in the next 8 hours, heading to Bagram en route home for R&R.

Some of the things I'm looking forward to on R&R (besides playing with the kids, playing with the Mrs., and drinking beer):

- a bed that's long enough for me. Army bunks aren't kind to those of us belonging to the over-six-foot set.

- milk that is not shelf-stable. Last time I had any of this was May 6th, in Manas.

- clean air. The air in Kabul in winter gets so bad that sometimes you can't see the mountains. For those on the East Coast, these are serious mountiains, not those little Appalachian/Adirondack hill things. They're several thousand feet higher than the city, and Kabul sits at around 5900 feet.

- not having to wear boots. I've worn mine pretty much all day, every day since May 3rd. I need some new insoles, too.

- not having to sign the accounting sheet, or scan my ID, every meal I eat.

- having more options for my morning run than clockwise, or counter-clockwise

- showers that don't run out of hot water. You wouldn't think this would be a problem on the night shift. Actually, night shift means we get into the shower right after the day shift (90% of the people in the barracks) have finished draining the tank in the morning.

- being able to leave my soap, razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, etc, in the bathroom, instead of having to tote it all back and forth

- toilets that are not in stalls, and have seats made for American sized butts.

- going shooting. I carry an M4 everywhere I go, but I haven't fired it, or any other firearm, since we did pre-deployment qualification back in April.

        -Heartless Libertarian