Kuwait

I have made it here to Kuwait!  I got in early Saturday morning...or may be it was Friday morning. I still am not quite adjusted to the 8hr time difference. Maybe it was the 4hrs sleep I got the 1st night here...and yes it's as hot as they say it is.  The best way to describe it is imagine a giant blow dryer is blowing on you constantly while your outside...that is about how it feels here.  I promise I'll post pictures when I get a chance but don't have the time or services to do so right now.   I'm using the internet at the USO and you get 20 minutes to do so.  I'll be doing some training here in Kuwait prior to going into Iraq.  The Camp here is not so bad...all buildings have air conditioning, there are some flushing toilets around and even a Starbucks if your willing to make the long walk.  The only cruddy party is I'm back to sleeping in a big tent with about 40 other females, so much for privacy.  Things are going well here and I have bonded with some of the providers I'll be working with.  We are each others "battle buddies" and pretty much walk around everywhere together.  That's all the time I have for now.

Until next time...

-Nicole :)

The Journey

I thought I would get a quick post in while I can. Im currently in Leipzeg Germany for a short layover just prior to going to Kuwait.  I entered the airplane at FT Hood with the words "Once again ladies and gentlemen, please place your weapons at your feet with your buttstocks facing the aisle. Your weapon may not block the aisle." Not your typical overhead announcement.  We were issued our M4s on thursday morning, to be our best friend for the next year.  The trip has been good so far.  Our 1st flight was 3hrs 20 min from FT Hood to Bangor, Maine.  My wonderful family saw me off at FT Hood whether there in person or in spirit.  In Bangor a slew of veterans were there to greet us and the whole airport was shut down for us. The flight from Bangor to Germany was 6.5 hrs.  Our last flight will land us in Kuwait, its about a 5hr flight. Thats about all I have time for now.  Ill shoot another post when I can.

Mail, the list, and Prayers

I will be heading out of here this Thursday so this may be my last post for a little while. I think internet access may be limited while I’m in Kuwait.  My sister, who lives in Australia, said the Australian papers are reporting US troops going to Kuwait this week.  I’m one of them!!  It's hard to put into words what I'm feeling right now.  I'm nervous and excited and ready to go.  Although it will be sad to leave family and friends behind for a year I know the opportunities and learning experiences I'll have while abroad will be endless.  To my family and friends:  Thank you again for all your support.

SENDING MAIL:

Alright, many of you have expressed interest in sending mail or care packages which is much appreciated. I’m going to break down how to do so.  To send letters just simply address your envelope to the address below:

Captain Nicole Hall
Med Troop, RSS, 3d ACR
COS Kalsu
APO AE  09312

*You’ll need to send the letter directly from the post office.

The cheapest way to send a care package is also through the post office.  Obtain a flat rate box and you can fit as much as want into it for one price no matter how heavy the box.  To send a care package you must fill out a customs form and list the items being sent…so try to remember what you’re stuffing into the box.

WHAT TO SEND:

I keep getting asked by people what they should send.  I’ll be happy with whatever you want to send but here are some ideas for you…just a warning, I’m not to creative…and I’m sure my ideas of what I’ll want may change once I’m actually over there. Here’s my best effort right now.

•    Letters
•    M&M’s (lets hope it’s really true that they melt in your mouth and not in your hand)
•    Gum, Twizzlers, skittles, starburst, runts…candies that can survive the heat
•    Beef jerky
•    Nuts 
•       Nutella or peanut butter 
•    Games 
•    Magazines  
•    Old Books
•   Any KU paraphernalia…Rock Chalk!
•     Hygiene items
•  Anything you can think of that might help keep a person cool from the heat
• Girlie stuff: nail polish, lotion, etc (Have to find ways to feel girlie when you wear ACU’s every day and are surrounded my men all the time)
• Anything you can think to send to help pass the time
• And of course your prayers!

*Remember it takes 2-3 wks to get mail.

Speaking of prayers, thank you so much for keeping me in your prayers.  I can only express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone  who will be remembering me and those I’m deploying with either with daily/weekly prayers or with prayer through their church.  I feel very blessed and loved.

That’s all I have for now.  Until next time…

-Nicole :)

Stetson part 2 and going to the Range

STETSON PART II: I bought my stetson last Friday.  I went to a place on post that squared me away and even  put on the pins and steamed the hat for me to be the right shape. Now I can fit in with 3d ACR...and yes they do take their stetson's with them on deployment.

On the front of the hat is my rank, crossed sabers to signify calvary with a 3 for 3d ACR.  The black and gold tassels signify I'm an officer.  On the back of the stetson is a pin showing the unit's crest. 

THE RANGE: Contrary to popular belief, physical therapists in the army don't get to go to the range very often.   Usually it's fun to go...it wasn't quite as fun this time around.  I had to qualify with my M4  in 100 deg heat while wearing my kevlar helmet and body armor.  Lets just say it got a little steamy.  It took me 2 frustrating days to zero my weapon then qualify. I had to keep telling myself  that this will help me get acclimated to Iraq.   To zero your weapon you have to shoot at a sillouhette 25 meters away and manage to get 5 consecutive shots center mass.  Center mass in this case is a circular area within the sillouhette about the size of  a silver dollar. To accomplish this task you have to concentrate on your breathing, how you pull the trigger, site picture, where you place your weapon on your shoulder, where you place your head to look through the site, and how you position your body.  It's a lot of things going on that has to be replicated every time in order to be accurate enough to keep a tight shot group.  Thankfully I had a SGT coaching me well enough to be successful.

M4 (I didn't have a scope on mine)

DEPLOYMENT TIME: I found out I will be leaving in a little bit less than a week!  The count down begins.  Right now I'm scrambling around trying to get things done before I go. We will be taking our weapons with us on the plane...I wonder if anyone will try to put their weapon in the overhead.  It should be an interesting flight sitting with an M4 in my lap.

That's all I have for now.  Thanks for all the great comments and support.  I promise I'll post a list within the next couple of days of ideas of what to send for care packages.

-Nicole :)

I'm Official and To do lists

A person (to remain anonymous) really wanted  me to let y'all know that I have officially signed into 3d ACR!  Check one thing off the to do list.  Now I can get a stetson and look as cool as the other 3d ACR Soldiers.  That's right, as part of Calvary tradition, everyone gets to wear a stetson. (Notice, I figured out how to post pictures)

I learned today that Friday is Stetson wear day...or you can just wear it any time you feel like it.  I guess I'll have to add buying a stetson hat on this weeks to do list.  Now that we are on the subject of to do lists, I have thought of a few things to keep me busy during deployment.  If y'all have any other bright ideas to help me pass the time while I'm not working, please let me know.
DEPLOYMENT TO DO LIST:
1.  Read the bible-I have read many parts of the bible, but never the whole bible. I figure this will be good to keep me going.
2. Become much better about Daily Meditation-I found out recently that meditating twice a day for just 10 minutes has proven health benefits such as reducing BP. Which is handy in a stressful environment.
3.  Read 2 books a month*..I put a star by this one to add the caveat that books like War and Peace (1000ish pages) may take longer than 1 month to finish.  I figure I'll have plenty of time to read.  Now that I have the Nook it makes it much easier to take books with me. 
4.  Learn Italian-I lot of people wonder why I want to learn Italian.  I have been to the country twice and fell in love with the language.  I have a little bit of a background as I took a whole semester of the language my senior yr of college for fun.  I vowed to continue but hit a road block with PT school.  I'm bringing language CDs with me on the deployment
5. Workout at least 5 days a week.  Hopefully this will be an easy one for me, but I've been really slacking on my workouts lately. I hear you either gain a lot of weight or lose a lot of weight during deployment, I want to be on the losing end.
6. Join a weekly bible study
7. Skype family and friends on a regular basis (let me know if u want to be added to my skype contact list)
8.  Hand write letters home to family...especially the ones that are not tech savvy....at least once a month

*That's all I have so far, but I'm sure I'll have more to do's to add to the list.

I had another great weekend spending time with my parents, brothers, grandparents and my Uncle's family at their lake house on Lake Travis.  I have 2 more weekends to go in the states!

THANK YOU EVERYONE for the great responses to my 1st Blog post.  I didn't know so many people would be interested.  Y'all can all keep me accountable on my deployment to do list.

-Nicole :)

The Beginning

Friends and Familia,

After speaking with many of y'all, I figured the easiest way to communicate with everyone when I'm deployed is by starting a blog.  So here it is!  It will be a work in progress for some time as I'm not very tech savy, so bear with me.  I want to start off by thanking everyone who made it to my pre-deployment party this past weekend in Houston.  It was amazing to see all the love and support I have here and more importantly the prayers I'll be receiving when I'm deployed.  It was great to see so many people throughout the day. I feel very blessed. Thank you to my grandmother Mimi for lending her home and giving the food and my Mom for organizing the whole event. 

As for info on the deployment here's what I know so far:

Location: FOB Kalsu, Iraq

When I leave:  I'm suppose to leave between August 25-August 27th.  I get 2 wks of R&R leave during the deployment which I plan on taking in January for my sister's wedding.

Who I'm going with:  I will attached to 3d Armored Calvary Regiment based out of FT Hood.

What I'll be doing:  I'm a physical therapist, so I'll be doing just that.  My purpose will be to treat Soldiers with musculoskeletal injuries sustained during deployment.

Address for Care packages:   

Captain Nicole HallMed Troop, RSS, 3d ACR
COS Kalsu
APO AE  09312

*Please do not send anything until September.  Care packages I believe take around 2wks to arrive. 

I met several of the people I will be working with for the next year while I did training in the Mojave Desert in May.  It's a great group of people that I know will make the deployment go by much easier. I will be working in an Aid Station which consists of Lab, dental, X-ray, and a trauma bay.  

It's a bittersweet feeling realizing I will be gone for a year.  The physical therapists I have talked to that have been deployed say it's the most rewarding experience professionally that they have ever had.  I know it will be hard getting used to not seeing my friends and family on a regular basis.  I'm planning on starting a deployment 'to do list' of things to accomplish to pass the time when I'm not working.  I'll try to post the list at a later time...we'll see what I actually accomplish while I'm there.

That's all I have for now.  I'll continue to give updates when I get them.

-Nicole :)