1erhgnewsletterdec09.. - Red Horse Association

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P a g e 6 R E D H O R S E T i m e s N o v - D e c 0 9 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A1C JACKSON By: A1C Chad Jackson (Basra, Iraq) Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Time to get up, its morning already. 0545 my alarm goes off and it is time for me to get up and start the day. I put my PT gear on and get ready to run. 0600 hits and we all meet outside with the rest of our shop. We run to the bazaar and back. After a good hard run its time to go eat. Mike and I usually meet up right outside ―The Barn‖ (our living quarters) and then walk to the chow hall. They usually serve the same thing for breakfast everyday but some of it is freshly cooked right in front of you and is actually quite fulfilling. After we get done having a relaxed meal, due to the comfortable seating and luxury of watching what little TV we can , we head back to use the time we have left before work to get dressed, shower, shave, etc. It‘s 0745 and time to go to work. Yet again we all meet up outside and split into our shops to head to the designated job sites. As a small shop with only 5 plumbers we all get into our truck and head to the TOC. As we pull into the TOC we discuss what tools and/or supplies we will need for the day. If time permits we briefly check our work emails. Once that is all said and done we head to our job site. Currently we are working on getting the waste and water line along with the sewage and water tanks for eight ―Cadillac‘s‖. Unfortunately, we haven‘t had the easiest time with our project because of material issues. In spite of problems that have arisen, we have managed with what we could scrounge up. As a new token to the Air Force, I learn more and more every day about my job and the Air Force such as: Knowledge, Techniques, and Do and Don‘ts. Man, I‘m getting hungry. It‘s 1130 and the chow hall just opened for lunch. We usually try to get there right when it opens. The food is great. A lot to choose from and just about all of it is cooked fresh and you can‘t even tell if it is frozen out of a quick-bake box. We all sit down and eat as we watch a little TV. The time passes and its time to go before we know it. After that it‘s back to work. We work until quitting time and then start cleaning our job site and picking up the tools and supplies that have to go back to the yard. Wow! Finally, the day is over. Well, sort of. Once we get back from work me and two others from the shop go workout. This is one of the things I look forward to everyday. We have multiple places to work out. We have an old British gym which is in a tent. We can also go to Charlie‘s or the main base gym. We are usually working out anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. That leaves us with just enough time to go back to the chow hall and eat dinner. Once we have had our final meal for the day it‘s time to calm down and go about the nightly routine of showering and getting everything ready for the next day. I also spend time talking to my wife and family in my room that I share with another airman. It‘s hard to be away from what I love, which is my family and friends. We take for granted how much comfort we have at home until we get over where we have to go outside to use the restroom. We have no cell phones to text our friends and family. We can‘t go where we want when we want. But, in my short time being here, I have learned that you can do without most of these creature comforts. I have also found that setting goals helps me cope with being away from home. I set a goal for myself every day. While working to achieve that goal, I often forget that I am away from home. When I achieve that goal, it makes me feel that I am having a positive impact on improving life for other service members in Iraq. For example, when you have a 10,000 gallon tank full of water and have to replace the drain valve on the very bottom of it because it‘s leaking-- without losing all the water in the tank--so they don‘t have to shut down the latrines waiting to refill it. The good thing is being in the desert, it only takes about thirty minutes for you to dry up. I know this out of experience. It‘s nowhere near like home. You are away from the norm, but it is teaching life skills, lessons and the knowledge of who I am and what needs to get done. At the end of the day I do realize that I am here for something bigger than me, and that is the mission. The mission has to be completed and I‘m a vital part of that mission.
P a g e 7 SrA Joshua Peeler (Southwest Asia) My day starts, like most airmen of the 1 st Expeditionary RED HORSE Group, on Monday through Saturday with a 0600 morning formation followed by physical training (PT). After PT I try to rush so I don‘t get an extremely hot or cold shower due to the airmen to shower ratio. Then it‘s off to the chow hall for breakfast. I usually get an omelet with ham cheese and bacon, the trick here is to not get stuck behind the guy trying to R E D H O R S E T i m e s N o v - D e c 0 9 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN AIRMAN get pancakes or you will be there waiting ALL morning! If the line is too long or if I am feeling lazy I go for that old stand alone: a bowl of cereal. Shortly thereafter, I begin my day of work. Most mornings I grab a RIP-IT (energy drink), usually I have one or two which pales in comparison to SSgt Savage‘s 15!!!! Then I grab a bottle of water and start drawings. Right now the number of projects I work on in a given day varies greatly based on the priority of the mission but I typically work on drawings in support of two or three projects. Drafting generally consists of making changes to engineer markups, or beginning a new drawing based on another mission requirement. Right now I am drafting up drawings for a new gym at Wolverine. Like other deployed locations, we try to plan the day around lunch break. Here in Southwest Asia we‘ve found that the closer to 1245/1300 we go to lunch the fewer people and the faster we can get through the line. By the time we get back to the office most days there are another stack of drawing changes so it is right back to work. We usually leave the shop around 1830-1845. After work I go to the gym or hang out at Charlie‘s (the MWR trailer). I like checking on what movie is playing and whether or not I got any mail. Sundays I do what most others do at their bases sleep until I can‘t sleep no more. Then I go to one of the fast food joints on base, grab a sub, hit up Pizza Hut, never gone to Burger King. I attend church on most Sunday evenings at the Gospel worship service at 1900 at the Victory Chapel-it is a great service and I highly encourage everyone who can to attend a service of their choice. After church I check my email before going to bed to start the whole thing all over again….so goes ―Groundhog Day‖ here in Southwest Asia. At Kandahar... What’s going on...
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1erhgnewsletterdec09.. - Red Horse Association

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