One Hundred Ten Degrees

Let the record show that today, 27 May 2011, was the first day of the year that the thermometer passed (yeah, I said passed) 110°F here at Camp Lemonnier.

One Hundred Degrees

Let the record show that yesterday, 30 April 2011, was the first day of the year that it hit 100° here at Camp Lemonnier.

More Pictures of Camp Lemonnier

 Above is the turf field where everyone seems to be shocked and amazed that 90% percent of our sports related injuries happen.  In the background is the new fitness facility that's half built because only then did someone figure out that the contractor was not following the proper seismic construction guidelines.

 And we have another shot of CLUville and a gravel road, looking east from the turf field.

 This place needs to get some kind of award for clever use of shipping containers.  To the right is the free laundry service.  At my back is the MWR building that has a phone bank, big screen TV room and a library/game room.  The 'library' is about five or six shelves of paperbacks that hold a disturbing amount of cheap romances.  I think someone just boxed up some random shelves from a local Goodwill and sent them over.

This is the brand new chow hall that I'm pretty sure will never actually be finished.  It's looked just like this for five months.

Camp Lemonnier Update

This place changes so often I should give a quick update.  I was told when I got here that the camp was one big never ending construction project.  Since then, we've got a new wastewater treatment facility, which you don't care about except that there are no more threats to shut down the self serve laundry sites.  We've got a new electric grid with bigger generators, which you don't care about except that the power doesn't mysteriously shut off for no particular reason anymore.  I think I mentioned commercial internet in all the CLUs is now available and it's pretty good but not what anyone would call cheap.  30 to 45 bucks a month depending on the bandwidth you want.  The most interesting improvement that will save you time and effort (which is a big bonus in the upcoming hot months) is the new barber shop and expanded PX mini-mart down in CLUville.  The gaggle of people in my way when I go to get a haircut now should be reduced.  That's a very good thing.

West End CLU

Although they're beginning to look a bit dumpy on the outside, the West End CLUs are a much better deal than the double occupancy dry CLUs at the other end of camp.  Field grade officers rate their own room with personal latrine.  They're about 9 feet across and twenty long with bed, desk and wardrobe.  Mine also has a base phone and a small TV but only a couple of AFN channels come through.  Commercial internet is wired directly in.  The previous occupant left a couple of those white plastic storage systems but I'm not sure I'll ever accumulate enough stuff to fill them.  (I came with four bags and I'm leaving with four bags.)  The bathroom is small and functional with some space next to the shower to cram a seabag full of field gear.  The A/C seems a touch on the small side and I've yet to see how it handles 110 degree weather.  Added bonus: The laundry and chow hall are right across the road and the movie house, gym, and PX are about a hundred yards away.  I've heard tell of some officers staying on the waiting list for four months before moving in here. My wait time was about two and a half months.

(Oh, and the blanket is provided by the base, I didn't pick that dreadful thing out.)

The Laundry

I should tell you about the laundry situation here.  There are containers with free self service laundry machines as part of every block in CLUville.  So you can spend hours of your time every week doing your own laundry.  Or you can walk over to one of two full service laundry drop off points and have someone else do it for you.  CLUville has it's own drop off/pick up point and there's a bigger one up by the PX.  Turn your laundry in and pick it up two days later.  That's a good deal.  It's also free and they do a good job; I've never lost anything and if I came up short by a couple of socks, I wouldn't really care anyway.  With the long work days, I can't see why anyone would want to bother with doing their own.

The Old Cantina

Next to the Combat Cafe is the Old Cantina.  It's a large patio type space, about 50' x 100', covered by a suspended tarp/awning system.  There is a big screen TV and a scattering of tables and chairs.  Up until very recently they served alcohol in the evenings but that's been stopped due to 'staffing issues.'  The issue at hand was that the bartenders were Chief Petty Officers stationed here and working in the evening, getting a paycheck from the contractor responsible for base operations, and getting tips as well.  Lots and lots of discussions ensued regarding words like 'conflict of interest' and 'inappropriate senior/subordinate relationships.'  The decision was finally made to stop the chiefs from being bartenders.  It is very unlikely that the Old Cantina will open back up for alcohol.  Now, since the weather is reasonable, it's a popular place to sit and eat noon chow.

The Running Trail

The running trail here starts at the far end of CLUville, down by the flightline where SOCCE has their compound.  (Special Operations Command Combat Element, pronounced sock-see.  These are the guys behind heavy concertina wire with Predator drones and top secret sat-comm dishes.  When you ask them what their mission is they just wave their hand in front of your face and say, "These are not the drones you're looking for.")  The trail goes off along the fence line and is lit by standard light towers. It's 1.8 miles to where it dead ends and you turn back.  I'm still turning around at the one mile mark but will run out to 1.5 later this week.  As far as a trail goes it's in pretty good shape; compacted gravel and dirt about ten feet wide with a few water coolers along the way.  There is nothing much to see out there except some brush and a tall chain link fence.  Sometimes in the morning, if you're lucky, you get to run through rotor wash from an MV-22 or grimace as a C-130 powers up and taxis off the pad right next to you. This is life at the tip of the spear.

The White House

The White House is the small complex that contains the Admiral's and the General's quarters, as well as several rooms and CLUs that are reserved for O-6 and above and Distinguished Visitors.  It's centrally located between the JOC and the exchange and it has a lounge area and a nice screened patio.  This is not a place where you can just wander in and hang out, it's invitation only.  Last night there was a Marine Corps officer's call out on the patio.  Dinner was served and the alcohol policy was relaxed and I had my first glass of wine since coming here.  Nice comfy chairs, a relatively cool breeze, cigars, and classic rock on the sound system rounded out the evening.

This place has its moments.

11 Degrees North

11 Degrees North is the bar slash pool hall slash general hang out area.  It's a basic metal building with a 50 x 100 ft open area.  There's wi-fi and a few pool tables and lots of little square tables and chairs.  There's also a stage and a big screen for occasional movies.  Alcohol is served after 1900 and they track your daily allowance by scanning your ID card.  It's sort of in between CLUville and the rest of the base, which means that wherever you are you have a little walk to get here.

Right now the place is decorated for Thanksgiving.  It's nice and all and I appreciate the thought and effort, but c'mon, it's not like this is a real holiday with homes full of family and love and the scents of dinner roasting away in a steamy kitchen and scenes of the Dallas Cowboys losing to whoever they may be playing this year.  That's what awaits us when we get back.  Today is really just another Sunday for us.  It's a day off and civilian clothes are authorized.  And that's how life is a little different out here.

CLUville

This is taken from C block, right in the middle of CLUville, looking back up towards the rest of base.

Combat Cafe

The chow hall is a bit of a walk from the JOC compound where I work. Not too far, but in 90 degree weather it becomes a slight deterrent. When it gets to 110 I'm sure it will be worse. Luckily, there's an alternate facility very nearby. The head shed and the Joint Operations Center are right next to each other and around the corner from them is the Combat Cafe. It has everything that the main chow hall has, just a little less of it. Next to that is the Old Cantina which used to serve alcohol in the evenings but has been closed due to staffing issues. Typically we grab our lunch in a to go container, stuff some cookies and a Gatorade into our cargo pockets, and head back up into our workspace since the seating area is so limited. It makes for a handy dinner as well.

More About Containers

A quick note here about my workspace and the workspaces of most of the staff. We have what are called Containerized Working Units, CWU (pronounced 'chew' for some inexplicable reason, probably because 'swoo' would just sound stupid). These CWU's are usually two containers put together to form more of a square with the middle walls removed. The insides pretty much look like regular office areas; linoleum floors, fluorescent lights, desks, computers, and maps all over the walls. There's also the occasional Dilbert cartoon, which I'm told is so accurate to the functions here that it's actually not funny. I'm sure those comments will come later.

A Bit About the Base

Camp Lemonnier is an interesting creature. It's sprawled along the south side of the international airport and it's a collection of inherited buildings, newly erected buildings, and shipping containers masquerading as buildings. Pull it up on Google Maps and you'll see a huge area of neatly arranged, gleaming white containers. These are Containerized Living Units (CLU, pronounced 'clue') and most of them are shared by two people and have a shower/toilet CLU in the middle of the block. My rank gets me my own CLU with its own bathroom but the waiting list is a few months long.

The thing to get used to is that you have to walk everywhere to do anything. When you're in CLUville, that's a long walk. It takes some logistical planning to figure out what you're going to have in your hands at any given time as you make your way across base. The importance of this is that there's no bags of any kind allowed in the exchange and you can't leave bags unattended anywhere on base.

The chow hall is not quite big enough. A new facility is being built and should be open next summer but for now it's best to try to eat during the off peak times. The food is decent and you can eat as much as you want as often as you want. That can be dangerous. They also have a variety of snacks like cookies, granola bars, chips, etc. and you can grab a couple of those as you leave. There's been a problem with people filling backpacks so the snack items are now controlled a bit stricter but you can still get whatever you want.

Right now I'm still trying to figure out my daily routines but life is generally okey dokey.