Sine funding is currently very tight, slow days are the perfect time to go out of the office and meet your customers and take part in what they do everyday. I asked EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal, think The Hurt Locker) to let myself and the rest of contracting come over and take a few hours to see what they do on a daily basis. After getting a "Mission Briefing" we went downstairs into their garage where they keep all of their toys. They first showed us their robot, which they use to deal with dangerous items from a safe distance away. I decided that wasn't fun enough for me, so I had Tony sit on the ground and I would drag him with the robot. Tony was a great sport and while the controls were difficult to get used to, the robot was much more powerful and fast than expected.
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| Trying to line up the arm from the truck |
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| Dragging Tony |
After the robot, we got to put on the bomb suit and helmet. Not only is the suit very heavy, but it is difficult to put on, take off, or make any normal motions. The helmet is also heavy and surprisingly very successful at producing a sense of claustrophobia. To show us how heavy and burdensome the suit really was, EOD had us lift our arms up, do some pushups, pullups or squats.
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| Tony |
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| The beard matched perfectly |
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| Chuck didn't know why he could barely do 1 pushup |
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| They are still good right? |
When it was my turn to put the suit on, I raised my arms up and then did a squat. Who knew khaki dress pants, inside a bomb protective suit were not made for squatting...
After that embarrassment and everyone else getting a chance to put the suit on, we went out to the MRAPs for a demonstration and a ride. Sitting behind the driver was the best seat in the vehicle because you got to control the video turret (and gun if in a real world scenario). It had the ability to utilize lasers and night vision and infrared, along with real time video. So not exactly like a video game, but a seat which has a joystick and a screen where you can actually kill people. For some reason they let me drive the MRAP...so of course I went as fast as possible before trying to make a U-turn and failed to realize this 14 ton vehicle did not come with power steering. As the EOD girl freaked out a little, that the bearded guy with a hole at his crotch was going to flip the MRAP that he wasn't supposed to be driving, I managed to get it under control before she asked "politely" to get back behind the wheel. All in all it was a great day and I got to see how some of the items that I buy for the EOD guys actually go towards saving their lives and making the base a safer place as a whole.
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| Turret control center |
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| Z conquered the MRAP |
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| They let this guy drive? |
Being the only person on base with any facial hair is very odd. I don't normally have people come up to me back home and say "I love your beard, can I touch it?". Even though it happens often here, it is still a little odd to me that someone wants to touch another man's facial hair. I am very reconginzable on base and you can easily see people staring or talking about the beard. (I always think people are staring because I have something stuck in it). I have come to grips with the nicknames of Leonidis, The Beard, Duck Dynasty, Spec Ops Guy and a host of other things I hear people say. With that being said, it is a glorious beard and James Harden will be jealous of me pretty soon... The beard is so awe inspiring that when the new Equal Opportunity Coordinator (in charge of stopping discrimination and enforcing anti discrimination rules on base) came by to introduce himself to the squadron, the first thing he says is "you must be the Host Nation Coordinator" as he reaches out to shake my hand. After setting him straight I thought that maybe he was trying to get fired on day one of his deployment, but as has been very clear during this deployment, we have nothing but our best and brightest in the military...
Having several new females in the squadron, the dynamic has definitely changed (from 1 of 14 to 5 of 14). Shockingly there is less diva-ness from Z and fewer pairs of shoes since Tony left...who knew? I am in the final few weeks now and definitely getting ready to come home. I have a little over a month left here and I am going to try and make the most of this great experience in my remaining time.
-SITS
