The trip into Iraq from Kuwait was via air on a C-17 (large cargo plane) with no windows, so he's seen nothing of Iraq except the base & its immediate surroundings. It's been a safe place to be. The new "R2-D2s" have been effective deterrents to rocket and mortar attacks. There was one incoming shortly after he arrived, and none since. A couple years ago the base earned the nickname "Mortaritaville", but not so much any more.
It's a good thing Balad Airbase is big and has lots to do, as Nate hasn't been outside the wire yet. There are many stationed there, of course, who never get outside the wire their whole time there, like hospital workers and such. Once Nate gets started travelling with CHP King, he'll get to see much of the country. The chaplain's first trip out was cancelled, his flight grounded due to weather. Nate wasn't scheduled for that one anyway, as he has been tasked to coordinate the prayer breakfast later this month.
So what's he do when he's not working? Pretty much whatever he wants. He's seen several new release movies for free at the base theatre (concessions are still overpriced -- just to create that back-home feeling I suppose). Actually, concession revenue covers operating costs (see this article). Once in a while they actually see the movie before it opens stateside.
Temps are cooling, so highs are well below 100 now. If the leaves are changing color :-) , it's impossible to tell under their coat of dust. Nate saw his first drops of rain today. Dust & air quality are the worst of the environment. In Kuwait, it was all sand, so when the winds died down after a sand storm the sand dropped out of the air immediately & one could breathe again. In Iraq the soil isn't sandy, so they get dust storms, and the dust lingers in the air for 3 days after winds die.
He really likes the USO. It's a very nice facility with an internet cafe, telephones, games, book swap, TV, etc. They have several interconnected X-boxes for multi-player gaming. They also provide a nice free service to GIs with young children back home. They have several children's books they record the soldier reading onto DVD. The soldier writes a note to the kids, and the USO slips the note in the book and ships it along with the DVD to the kids back home. Nate would like to volunteer at the USO once his schedule settles into routine.
MWR has similar recreational activities, though nothing like the bus tours Kay & I used to take around Europe when I was stationed in Germany.
The internet cafe, and sometimes his office, are his only access to the internet. Some housing areas are getting WiFi towers, but monthly rates are high. He doesn't know if/when his housing area will have access or if he'd be willing to pay the price.
To get around base he usually walks, or if he has a great distance to go there are shuttles running. The chaplain doesn't have a vehicle, so when they need one for their mission, they sign one out from the motor pool. Nate's looking for a bicycle, but hasn't found any sellers yet.
He & the chaplain are starting to think about what to do for Thanksgiving. The chaplain hasn't decided whether he should celebrate at Balad where the battalion has its highest concentration of troops, or go to one of the other FOBs (forward operating bases) or COBs (combat operating bases).
Nate attended the Lutheran worship service on base the first three weeks he was there, but then the only LC-MS chaplain redeployed to the States. He was pleased to find they used LW (Lutheran Worship hymnal), which is what he used at home in Tacoma, WA and Columbia, SC. The service on base is now conducted by ELCA & Episcopalian chaplains, so he's been less enthusiastic about attending. He thinks he'll give it try.
It sounds like life at Balad is as good as circumstances allow. If war is hell, maybe hell's not so bad. Just hot, dusty, lonely, and 8 hours ahead of central time.
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