Deployment Positive Thursday- Week 30

Life in the Sandbox

Sometimes it's hard for people (including myself) to imagine what it is really like all the way over there in Afghanistan. With Andrew's move and job change (yay!) came a more reliable internet and a much easier way for him to send pictures! It's pretty exciting to say the least. Of course nothing will ever be as easy as it used to be when Andrew was Stateside and he could just snap a quick cell phone picture and I'd have it within sixty seconds- these suckers took about 40 minutes to download... each! Totally worth it though to see what he sees day in and day out.

This is what it looks like on the COP, all the buildings lined up with beautiful landscaping and exterior designs on each building. I'm not kidding- sometimes I actually think they sent him to the moon and that's where he's living. Look at the ground!

This building is where the PLs and PSGs live. All the other troops sleep in 12 man tents.

Here is the gym. Can't even imagine trying to get in a decent workout at a place like that, but somehow they do!

Next, you'll notice the beautiful wrap around farmer's porch.... 

(Actually I'm not sure which building this is, but I love the RANGER Tab! - Maybe someday I'll have a guest blogger to tell us all a little more!)
Update: According to Andrew this is the building his office is in.

And here is the inside of that office...

These are Andrew's living quarters. The poncho is his door to the hallway leading to the other guys' rooms. And here is the edge of the cot with a wonderfully tactical shelving unit. To the right you see a woobie hanging that serves as a curtain to what I assume is the other PL's room.

This concludes our tour of Andrew's COP. Hopefully this helped you get a clearer picture of what the living conditions are like for many of our troops overseas. The bigger FOBs usually have better gyms and DFACs (Dining Facilities) and more comforts of home, but most combat arms troops live in outposts such as this one. It's no wonder so many soldiers literally kiss the ground when they set foot on American Soil once again.