June Update from Camp Arifjan

I wanted to say very quickly...Thank You, Thank You, Thank You to all that have sent me packages. It seems like a small thing, but believe me I look forward to opening the smallest piece of mail. My admin section is amazed by the amount of mail I get. SFC Moore, who handles the mail for our G3 section gets tickled. I've developed a nice relationship with her because of all of you guys. It's good to have your admin people know who you are! They handle my mail, finance, leave requests, etc.

I've had 30+ days now to get a better feel for the things I need month in and month out here. Many of you have asked, so here's the newest list. Nothing is every expected. A simple card, letter, or postcard (Thanks Brad) is enough to brighten my day. However, many has asked what they can send, so here goes.

- Irish Spring (blue) soap
- Colgate toothpaste
- 30 SPF sun screen
- Gold Bond body powder
- Dental floss
- iTunes gift cards
- AAFES gift cards
- Any candy in individual wrappers so I can share
- T-shirts (Yes, I didn't bring enough civilian t-shirts to work out in. You want to advertise, I'll wear your shirt while I run or work-out. Nothing "questionable" please.)

That's all for now. BTW, if anyone would like to send a care package to another soldier here, let me know. I've got some good friends sprinkled throughout Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Iraq, who I know would love contact from home.

I'll have an update on the last 30 days out before long. For now, I'm wanted to share my work-out schedule. With not much to do but work, most all of us work-out at least once a day. I've created a work-out schedule for myself 6 days a week. So far, so good. I usually work out every day during lunch. I'm actually starting to see results. Imagine that....no alcohol and working out every day. Guess what happens? :) I'll have pictures out in another month or so when the results really begin to show.

A work-out week in the life of a deployed soldier.

DAY #1: Chest & Triceps [45min – 1hr 15min]
Notes: Do 3 sets of each weight training exercise 10-15 reps per set. Gradually increase weight each time to increase resistance. Try to use free weights as much as possible, but the machines are just fine.
- bench press
- triceps press
- incline beach press
- dumbbell or curl bar triceps press
- decline bench press
- dips
[2 Mile Run]

DAY #2: Shoulders & Abs [45min – 1hr 15min]
Notes: Do 3 sets of each weight training exercise 10-15 reps per set. Gradually increase weight each time to increase resistance. Try to use free weights as much as possible, but the machines are just fine.
- shoulder press
- incline sit-ups (as many as possible in one try)
- shoulder pull-downs
- ab machine or crunches with weight on chest
- single arm dumbbell shoulder lifts
- 3 sets of crunches (75+ per set)
[15+ min on Elliptical]

DAY #3: Back & Biceps [45min – 1hr 15min]
Notes: Do 3 sets of each weight training exercise 10-15 reps per set. Gradually increase weight each time to increase resistance. Try to use free weights as much as possible, but the machines are just fine.
- upper back press
- bicep curl machine
- lower back press or rows
- bicep pull-down
- lower back exercise (3 reps. Inverted, right side, left side
- single arm dumbbell curls
[1.5 Mile Sprint Run]

DAY #4: Kegs & Abs [45min – 1hr 15min]
Notes: Do 3 sets of each weight training exercise 10-15 reps per set. Gradually increase weight each time to increase resistance. Try to use free weights as much as possible, but the machines are just fine.
- squats or leg presses
- sit-ups (simulate the PT test)
- leg curls
- 3 sets of crunches (75+ per set)
- hamstring curls
- groin press
[15+ min on Bike]

DAY #5: Joints – Neck, Wrists, Ankles 45min – 1hr 15min]
Notes: Do 3 sets of each weight training exercise 10-15 reps per set. Gradually increase weight each time to increase resistance. Try to use free weights as much as possible, but the machines are just fine.
- push-ups
- neck press
- single wrist dumbbell curl
- shrugs
- calf raises
[5K Run]

DAY #6: Sport / Aerobic Activity [1hr]
Notes: The goal is to get the heart rate up while doing something fun!
- swim
- basketball
- etc.

DAY#7: Rest

I'm also going back to my refereeing roots. I'm refereeing intramurals here on Camp Arifjan. Right now we're doing volleyball. I've got a basketball tournament coming up this weekend, which I'm excited about. Thanks Ang for sending me my referee stuff!

That's it for now. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.

My First Week at Camp Arifjan

My trip began by reporting to Atlanta Airport at 12.00pm to check in on Wednesday, May 20th. 8 hours later we climbed in a plane. Thank goodness for the USO and WiFi. :)

http://www.uso.org/

We flew on a DC-10 charter flight with Omni an airline I'd never heard of till then. The nickname of the flight is the "Freedom Bird". It's the flight that takes soldiers to and from the states for leave/RR. I was lucky enough to get a first class seat. These seats were based on first come first serve by rank. They started at Colonel (O-6) and had seats all the way down to O-2 (LT), E-8 (Master SGT), and W-3 (Chief Warrant Officer). I fall about in the middle as an O-4. We flew 6 hours to Shannon, Ireland, took a break to refuel and change crews for 2 hours, and then flew 5.5 more hours to Kuwait City, Kuwait. Combine that with the 7 hours we lost from Atlanta and that's a 18.5 hour trip. Not to bad. :)

We loaded up on buses at the Kuwait International Airport and headed over to Al Al Salem Air Base for our initial inprocessing.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/ali-al-salem.htm

It was a strange ride in that we weren't allowed to open the shades on the bus or listen to personal music players. Strange rules in a much, much different country.

We unloaded at Ali Al Salem Air Base and grabbed a bite to eat at McDonalds. (Yes, they had McD's even in the middle of the desert.) Here we caught a really nice break. We were supposed to take a bus from the Air Base to Camp Arifjan. Each of us had 3+ bags filled with all the wonderfully heavy equipment the Army had issued us. Our compadre with Space Ops, Major Phil Speth, acquired an SUV to pick us up. No small feat when you consider he had to borrow the vehicle (not easy), get someone to come with him as VC (vehicle commander), come armed with ammo (you can't leave post without being armed), and get a mission letter from a LTC (O-5) or above. Great job Phil!

The trip to Camp Arifjan was about 1 1/2 hours. Crazy trip. No real speed limits. Kuwaits pass on shoulders and many times there were 3-4 lanes of traffice doing 120K (about 90 mph I believe) with no lines.

We arrived a Arifjan about 0030 (12.30am) Kuwait time. Now keep in mind that this is 7 hours ahead of est and 8 hours ahead of cst. We checked into the open bay transition barracks in the dark. Thanks to Phil again and to MSG Stewart (VC) for travelling with us and helping us lug our stuff to our bunks (2nd floor). I finally crashed about 0130.

That was the trip. I'll be back to talk about the 1st week later. :)