cooled of today..

Well, the temps here have cooled off in the past few days. It has gone from a warm 117 degrees to a nice 102. Yeah I know that doesn't sound like much, but when we are wearing all that gear, a few degrees makes a big difference. I would say that 95 percent of the time when I come back from missions, I am pretty soaked with sweat. From my head to my boots and even through my vest onto my truck seat. It is basically like sitting in a sauna with some winter clothes on and only a small fan blowing slightly cool air onto your face. Please don't try that one though, as we are trained and have become acclimatized to it somewhat. I will be thankful for winter, but will probably complain about the cold as well. Oh well, that's the life of a soldier. Well, now to explain the pictures. On the left, you will see some of my soldiers refreshing their skills at map reading and land-nav. I gotta keep them fresh and prepare them for future positions as leaders. It is a perishable skill if you don't use it. On the right, is a shot of me that my medic took when we were driving. Yes, I do have less space then it looks like up there. Not like riding in a nice SUV or my T&C. We do have some headsets that make communication much easier between us in the truck and on the radio as well. I no longer have to scream at my gunner in the turret or at my driver over all the radios and such. It makes our situational awareness much greater as a team. It also helps me control my squad better as we maneuver around our patrol areas. The locals tell us that it will start to cool off right after Ramadan, which is in September. So it will cool off here around the time I am supposed to come home on R&R. Oh, on that note, I will get a whole 18 days as opposed to 14. The DOD has extended the leave dates for us. That is a good thing for us. Well keep the mail and packages coming. Big items to send right now are Cheetos, and crackers. They are easy to snack on and keep our salt levels up after drinking so much water. Also, any snack items are always a big hit. We are not to picky. Thanks for the support and my love and thanks to everyone. SSG Miller.