Matt Update

Matt just called. They've been moved to a different camp, where they'll stay for a few days of training. He's still doing well. He said the food is excellent. If you know Matt well, you'll know that food is always one of his primary concerns! They have 2 dining facilities at this camp: the Army facility and the Kuwaiti facility. He said they both have delicious food, especially the Kuwaiti camp, and they're very generous with the portions. So he's very satisfied with the food situation. The heat is another matter. Today was 116 degrees. Tomorrow they have to start wearing their body armor, which will add another 5 degrees. Yuck!

Today's agenda was a briefing with a sergeant. Tomorrow they will "run a range" for 15 or 16 guys. If you're like me, and clueless about army stuff, "run a range" means target practice. They've been told to be sure not to shoot the bedouins with camels. No, seriously! Apparently, sometimes the bedouins just wander onto the shooting range with their camels. So, shooting targets... gooooood. Shooting bedouins with camels..... baaaaaad.

He also mentioned that on the way to Kuwait, they had a stopover in Shannon, Ireland. He said he was a sucker for the local tourist trap, and got me a rock from the Blarney stone quarry.

They're going to have a 24-hour training operation later this week, but he expects to be able to call again tomorrow. It was midnight there, and he'd just gotten up from a 3-hour nap. He's still trying to adjust to the time change. (They're 8 hours ahead of CST.) After we got off the phone, he was headed for "midnight chow". Sounds like they're taking good care of him so far.

More from Matt tomorrow...