Finally arrived on Monday....leaving by Friday

Yup that's right, I'm not even lasting a week here at Camp Leatherneck. Now before all the "I told ya so's" start rattling around...I am being sent to another base, not home. I have been asked to go to Kandahar Air Force Base and basically try and do what the company has done here at Leatherneck, which is to say build an entire separate self sufficient branch of the International Division. Quite a daunting task and I still am having trouble wrapping my brain around it. We bought another similar company to ours in April and they have a current contract there that will be complete in August. They want me to go in and take over and try to gain another foothold. The other company will most likely be leaving the base when done as we are still operating as separate companies for the remainder of the year. I will be supported by my current base and given the keys to see what I can do. Apparently they had this in mind for me the entire time they were recruiting me but needed to keep it fairly quiet to be sure and not step on any toes with the other company. It really is an incredible situation, one that I only hope I am ready for.

Camp Leatherneck-
I can say this...the title to this blog is fitting, it really is a dry heat. A dry, dry, dry heat. Reached 115 degrees today and when you are in the sun it feels as if it is burning through you. Not a cloud in the sky. The air is incredible dry and the dust from the sand just seems to float around. When we are traveling in our trucks we keep the windows down most of the time because it usually takes 15 minutes to get the A/C cold enough to make a difference, and it's a race to get the windows up when the marines or heavy equipment goes past you. Picture driving on the highway in the rain and the mist that comes from the other side of the road, only now make it sand so thick that you loose sight of the road for a split second. Speaking of our vehicle, they are old Toyota 4Runners, every civilian on base seems to have one. I'm told that they all come from the Pakistan border. There must have been a huge gold rush for Toyota about 15 years ago in Pakistan cause they are here by the hundreds.  I have no idea which are ours when we come out of somewhere into the parking are. None of them have plate or decals, and they are completely covered in dusty sand that you wouldn't be able to see any markings anyways.

The guys here are great, it's kinda like an all star team of construction. Amazingly their doesn't seem to be a lot of heavy egos either, which is surprising. It really is a shame that I have to leave so quick, but eventually I will be able to bring in my own staff to Kandahar once we get a contract.

Our compound is located in the back corner near both a firing range and a missile launching site. I awoke this morning to the sweet sound of machine gun fire in the distance. So far I have seen 4 missiles launch over us. Freaking crazy. No warning, just a sudden and extremely loud burning noise as the missile absolutely screams into the air. Within 5 seconds it is completely out of sight. Only thing left is the smoke trails from the burners. One guy calls them the "uh-oh" missiles. They only fire these missiles when the troops are in some heavy fighting  and need urgent help. He is a former British Special Forces member so I assume he knows what he is talking about. No one had told me about them and they took bets to see how long I could go without asking the obvious question. As my boss puts it, he'd rather be located near the firing range and the missiles launchers though if it comes down to needing protection.Thankfully the airstrip is on the opposite side, the helicopter traffic is relentless, especially at night.

My living quarter here are similar to what I will have in Kandahar, a steel box approx 20' long by 10' wide. (see photos, more at bottom) Just enough to fit a bed, desk, locker, tv, and bathroom. Even though they are fully sealed units, the dust somehow finds it's way in. After showering i step out into my flip flops, otherwise when I get in bed the bottoms of my feet are covered in dust. They have them cleaned every few days, which is funny when you think that we all spend only about 6 hours a day in them. The office is like a double wide steel trailer. Actually works well for what it is, it is amazing quiet in there, no phones ringing since all communications are on skype. (steve.mueller1015)

Sure is strange sitting in the mess hall surrounded by machine guns. It's one thing when you are outside walking around, but another when in the crowded mess hall you bump into a machine gun hanging off one's shoulder. They have to clear the guns in small steel tubes before going in to be sure that their is no bullet in the chamber....comforting. Don't even get me starting about when they stop to give the marines a ride somewhere. Seems to be accepted practice that if a marine or 2 are walking with all their gear on on the main roads (obvious they are walking a far distance) the guys pull over and give them a ride. The marines are always all smiles as the pile in, machine gun rattling. I can't imagine being here in all their gear in this heat. Today we picked up 3 marines as we were on our way to lunch. I was speechless.

The jet lag is still kicking my butt bug time. Been up at 3am every morning since reaching Dubai, I'm not sure what I was always doing at 6:30pm when I was home, but my body sure as heck liked it.

Well I'm off to jump in bed and count missiles.

 All housing units.
That concrete box at the end is the fallout shelter.
The wire fence is not the base perimeter, just a fence dividing our compound from another area.

My spacious bathroom, toilet on left, shower on right.

Starting to remind you of college?
Don't be jealous of the sheets, they came with the place.