Generic "Dear Veteran" Letters

We get these letters from school children occasionally.  Here's the one that was dropped on my desk.

"Dear Veteran,
Thank you for protecting our country. We are very glad. We thank you for fighting for freedom. I hope you can come home on the holiday. If you can't our thoughts will be with you. And kick the bad guys butt.
Yours Truly, Josh B."

I want Josh on my staff some day.

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.

The Inside of CLUville

This is the inside of my CLU.  Two beds, two lockers, one desk.  It's more space than San Quentin, but not much.

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.