Downtime at the FOB

by Tpr. Paskuski
19 June 2009

 

With the stress of being overseas and away from family and friends there are tonnes of things to do to keep our bodies busy and minds distracted. There is a small library of books that range from Science fiction to even romance novels??? There is something for everyone. Same goes for movies; and a season of your favourite T.V. show can keep you occupied for weeks. Hockey and golf seem to be the main choices for the XBOX, though some of the guys take video games way to serious. (I'm looking in your direction Cpl Carnivale).

 

An early wake up call would have to be made to catch the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There were always a group of guys up watching the games. Games usually started at 04:30 and for game 7 of the finals the cooks on camp made an early breakfast so we could enjoy some bacon and eggs while we watched Pittsburgh win the Cup.

 

Air Conditioning has been put into the gym since C Sqn arrived which has allowed most of the guys to keep their manly figure. We can also tan out in the confines of pallet beach, with all the amenities of a real beach except a body of water and girls. There is a horseshoe pit that seems to garner a lot of attention. W.O. Amos and Sgt Moon claim to be champions, but they play twice, ok 10 times more than anyone, so they have an unfair advantage.

 

This week was somewhat special; we were able to partake in a couple of barley pops this BBQ day, though only half the Sqn could have a drink due to our operational commitments. To add to the normal BBQ theme we had a short yet informative brief on the battle of Melfa River and what it means to the Regiment. Thanks to the BC, Capt Cooper, for keeping the history lesson to a mild 10 minutes, as I am sure he would have loved to have given a minute by minute lecture. Internet and phones are usually up and running these days, but a call back to Canada might get disconnected once or twice.

 

There are a few pets around the FOB that get a lot of attention and are probably fed way more than they should. ****head and Pikey, our 2 local dogs can regularly be seen around the tanks, and even though Spaz, the CP cat, can be very annoying with a stink that would make even a garbage zombie gag, she does keep the mice away, in turn keeping the snakes away.

 

After not seeing a cloud in the sky for a few weeks, a sudden rainstorm caught everyone by surprise on June 14. With hail and heavy winds the storm was actually a nice break from the heat of the desert. Of course no one thought about drainage and 1 Tp could be seen doing their imitation of what life along the Red River could be like, as they quickly manned the sand bags to stop a flow into their bunkers. Ha ha,……Suckers.

 

C Sqn would also like to welcome Tpr Cook, and Tpr Geernhaert to the FOB. There presence here is welcomed and they have already fit nicely into 2 Tp.