Idle hands… the work of the devil… Or bored aircrew…

Thanks to the power supply situation here from mid-night to six in the morning we are without electricity. I’d like to blame the insurgents but this one resides wholly in the shoddy workmanship of a contractor and the inability to get fuel oil in a country with gas to burn. Further details aren’t important but our response is!

Last night, several of your finest got to thinking in the dark what we could do to pass the time. Our operational rhythm is such that we are all wide awake right at mid-night and won’t be turning into sleep for a while. What ccccaaaAAAAAANNNnnnnn we do??? One of our NCO’s got the bright idea of playing horseshoes. We set up a pit a few weeks ago and it actually has been a good thing. The Iraqi’s and we have used it as sort of a talking spot and it is paying off well in building relationships and teamwork. But how do you play horseshoes in the dark? Easy, we all strapped on our flight helmets and buckled on the latest in military aviation Night Vision Goggles (called NVG’s or NOG’s) and voíla! – the first ever New Al-Muthana Air Base NVG Horseshoe classic. It was a smash hit. Fortunately, smash in the metaphorical sense. Much to the relief of the guy responsible for the equipment no damage was reported.

We have some photos taken with a low-light camera that I hope to send out soon.

The next invitational event suggested will be Mountain Biking on NOG’s. I think the boss may rethink that one. But at least we would be wearing helmets.