Days of pretty feet are soon to be over

Something I have to get off my chest... I’ve been back and forth between two FOBs, and both have atrocious shower conditions for females. One has only one female there, except when I show up to make her a pack of two! The other has several females and more to come. Now I’m really not a complainer, I swear. I look around and consider what other guys are going through at the other COPs, and some of those things break my heart. But the one thing that I cannot get over is a disgusting shower that will breed disease. Some days I am so tired that I want to just go to bed, and I don’t feel like hiking all the way across the FOB to the one little trailer of female showers… but I do, just to find a line out the door and then to have to stand in someone else’s funky body water that will not drain. A lot of the girls have been working on putting tents up and making more space, so there are a lot of sore feet with blisters. I worry about them getting infections. After my shower the other night, I squirted anti-bacterial soap all over my feet and stuck just my feet back in to rinse off. My days as a Corpsman are flashing back to me. Let me leave one last thought with you, and then I’ll stop complaining. I was talking with the First Sergeant last night and he asked me about the shower. (I’m at the COP with only one other female now. We don’t have a shower tent, just a shower ‘box’ just big enough for one to stand in. I’ll take a picture of it sometime.) We were talking about the horrible stench, and I assumed it was just the old plumbing and water sitting in the sun. I said it wasn’t bad, but the shower doesn’t drain (I didn’t mention the scalding hot water that you have to jump in/out from). I told him I’d look at it tomorrow when the sun comes up… he said don’t bother, it’s not the drain. It’s the sewage backing up into the shower. WTF??????? So if you never see my feet again when I come home, you will know why.

On a nicer note, my Team Sergeant and another team member have arrived! We should get our last guy soon. It’s been great since my Team Sergeant got here. Sometimes I think we’re too much alike, but I know that makes us a strong team. I love seeing how the other Soldiers respect him. I’m lucky I got him. Someone must be looking out for me. ; )

Here are some pics from our mission yesterday. The left one is an Afghan National Police Officer. They love pictures!

The little boy on the right ran away as I was taking his picture. Then he peeped around the corner smiling at me. We waved at each other and gave a thumbs up.

I have some prayers requests. We’re having some really bad days over here. Please say some special prayers for these Soldiers and their families as they deal with some really tough things. War sucks, and these kids are the ultimate heroes every single day without a doubt. Please remember them.