The past few weeks of my life have been kind of a blur. I now know what Bill Murray’s character, felt like in the movie Groundhog Day. I’m going to attempt to explain the average day for me here in Afghanistan. Keep in mind that I’m a 10 inch bear living with a 67 inch human so; my schedule is pretty much whatever his schedule is.
Wake up is 0415 in the morning. Now, don’t get confused not everyone wakes up at this time. This is the time that Gunny and I get up. I’m not really a morning bear but, Gunny is definitely a morning person.
0415-0435: Hygiene
0435-0500: Attempt to call Gunny’s family via Skype. (The internet service is not top notch and often times will not work at all) Every now and then Gunny will hold me up to the camera and show me to his daughters. One of his girls, the smaller one will usually laugh at me and claim that I belong to her. She says to Gunny “Papa that is my bear”! I can assure you that I have never been that little girl’s property. I have no idea why she assumes that I belong to her.
0500-0510: I put my uniform and boots on.
0510-0530: I use a Roman Catholic Daily Missal (1962) to say my morning prayers.
0530-0545: I have small talk with Big Red; it’s usually about sports or video games, two subjects I really don’t give two hoots about anymore.
0545-0550: I walk to the chow hall with the members of my platoon. We are always the first ones in line. I usually knock out my first set of 25 pushups while we are in line. (Note: Gunny, Big Red, and I are doing 25 pushups and 25 setups every hour for 13 hours a day) Our goal is 500 of each per day.
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| Big Red |
0615-0625: We walk back to our tent, grab our gear (kit), and head to the trucks.
0625-0640: Board the trucks and make our way to the ECP. This is one of the worst parts of my day. The truck is always freezing cold and the dirt road we drive on is full of holes and rocks so the ride is extremely uncomfortable. To make things worse it is always really dark out. We conduct a quick change over with the night shift crew and our day at the ECP begins. (Note: On a later post I will cover my complete work day at the ECP)
0640-1825: Carry out ECP operations.
1825-1845: After a quick brief to the night shift guys. We load up in trucks and depart the ECP. This is another, worst part of my day. Once again it is dark and very cold out and the ride back is just as rough as the ride there.
1845-1900: Walk to our tent, drop our kit, and then walk to the chow hall.
1900-1930: Evening chow.
1930-1940: Walk back to our tent.
1940-2000: Conduct small talk with a few of the guys and reminisce about the craziness of our day.
2000-2030: Attempt to read but this undertaking proves to be difficult because my only option is to read Gunny’s books. The balk of his collection contains religious books. Gunny is under the impression that any catholic book written after 1965 is probably no good. So, I find myself trying to read old religious books. To make matters worse Gunny is always reminding me that as a bear, I do indeed have a soul however; my soul is not an eternal one so he does not fully understand why I even bother with the books. (A couple of the guys tell Big Red the exact same thing)
2030-0415: The funny thing about sleep is, even when you are extremely tired, it is still hard to come by. I try to say my evening prayers but sometimes it is hard for me to stay focused. At night my mind usually wanders. I initially fall asleep but after about 20 minutes I wake up. Once, I’m awake I find it extremely difficult to fall back to sleep. The sounds I hear in my tent are the same every night. Helicopters, jets, airplanes, controlled or uncontrolled explosions, distant gunfire, and last but not least the sound of the generator that attempts to heat my tent. All these sounds play a role in keeping me awake. Every now and then the thought of a rocket hitting my tent comes to mind as well. I take about 10mg of melatonin every night but I don’t think it works very well. I usually toss and turn for at least 3 to 4 hours. About once every hour and a half or so I reach over to ensure my rifle is still next to me. It’s not that I think I’m going to need it in my tent; it’s just that it is something that is with me every minute of the day. I often have dreams about losing my rifle I guess that is why I always find myself reaching for it in the middle of the night to make sure it is still there. In the end my rifle and Gunny’s crucifix are the only two things that make me feel safe in this land so far away from my home.
g/b
Pvt 1st class and 1/2
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