Concrete Jungle-Around COS Kalsu-The PT Clinic

Establishing the Physical Therapy Clinic
I've been here about 2wks now and I have been keeping busy trying to set up my physical therapy clinic with my PT tech.  We are inside a big tent, it reminds of MASH.  Fortunately most things I needed for the clinic were already in place.  We have spent most of our time cleaning up the place, organizing it the way we want it, some admin stuff, and of course establishing a patient load.  I've set my clinic hours for M-F 0800-1700 and Saturday 0900-1200 w/ afternoons reserved for training.  Sundays off! 
AROUND COS KALSU
I labeled this entry concrete jungle because it's everywhere, we have T walls surrounding all living areas and all buildings.  It makes it a little but dreary setting but hey I'll get my own CHU soon, I have running water, and flushing toilets...can't complain.  The dining facility here is not to bad, they have a pretty good selection of food.  If you're willing to wait, the big hit is the stir fry line.  Also a favorite is the sandwich bar which runs 24hrs.  We also have a Pizza Hut and coffee place...not starbucks but close.  There is a little many PX as well.  I just found out where the softball fields and soccer fiields are located.  They are dirt fields of course.  We have a gym, not quit as big as the gym in Kuwait but it gets the job done.  However, the weight machines are much more geared for guys than girls.  There is a "Bizarre", where they bring local nationals in daily to sell us stuff.  It's not as exciting as it sounds, the second you walk in their area you start getting hassled and people start calling you "Captain, Captain, come here".  There is also a small Rec center where we can watch movies, read books, play cards, play video games, or play ping pong! 
Probably the prized possession of COS Kalsu is the Chapel.  The Chapel is the biggest of any base in Iraq.  It's in a wooden building which is a step up from the tents.  I started going to a women's bible study held at the chapel every Wednesday.  The Regiment's priest just arrived this week and we had our 1st Catholic mass here today!  I volunteered to become a Eucharistic Minister and get a class on it this week.
That's about all the excitment that's going on right now.  I just found out I should be moving into my own CHU Today!

Outside the Troop Medical Clinic

Myself with the outgoing Physical Therapist

Entrance of my clinic

Cardio Area

The tent my clinic is housed. Evac platoon and patient hold also reside in this tent

The Concrete Jungle.  T walls surround every building here.

The "Neighborhood"

One of the many obstacles we sometimes run into on the way to the Dining Facility

Planes, Trains, and Helicopters

Whew!   Finally made it to COS Kalsu!  What a journey.  While "Army Summer Camp" at Camp Beurhing was fun...I was ready to leave Kuwait and get on some kind of normal schedule here in Iraq.  It took us 32hrs to finally arrive at Kalsu...a few from my platoon and some others all traveled together here.  Our 1st step in the journey was to load our bags onto a truck.  We then caught a bus ride to an airport in Kuwait.  We waited here for awhile before we hopped on an Air force plane to Baghdad International Airport at Sader Air Force Base.  We unloaded our bags here, then loaded them up into a trailer...waited around awhile...then caught a short bus ride to FOB Stryker.  Here we unloaded our bags again and got our assignments on how we were going to get to COS Kalsu.  Some people spent the night and caught a ride the next morning.  I lucked out and was told I would be riding in a helicopter (pic below).  By this time it was around 1130 at night... Mind you, we had our 1st baggage drop off at 1130 AM.  The people riding in the helicopter had to comb thru the freshly unloaded baggage to seperate their bags for our early morning bag drop.  We all took cat naps on our baggage looking up at the Baghdad night sky waiting for the bag drop...we then caught another bus back to Sader Air Force Base...and guess what, unloaded our bags again.  We  waited here for a few hours for the Chinook to arrive.  It finally arrived, our bags were loaded in the middle of the Chinook and we were sardined onto the sides for the trip into Kalsu.  We finally arrived safely into Kalsu and had to unload our bags again and load them into a container.  Luckily, our bags were dropped off by our living area and our last time (for now) moving our bags was into our CHUs (Containerized Housing Unit).  Right now I have a roommate, the Squadron PA.  This won't last long as we'll each get our own CHU once the outgoing unit leaves Iraq.
So in total, I think we moved our bags around 6 times prior to arriving to Kalsu.  Below are some pics from Kuwait and a few from the journey here.  We were tired, sweaty, dirty, and a little delirious when we arrived after having a sleepless night but happy we finally made it to our final destination.

There was a Starbucks at Camp Beurhing...pretty exciting!!

Who would of thought I'd find a Fighting Jayhawk in Kuwait.  ROCK CHALK!

This is me and my PT tech SSG Jamie Christensen at the range getting ready to verify our Zeros for our weapons.

With our powers combined...I am CPT Planet...I mean these are our bracelets we made with 550 cord at the USO.

The Army PT family is small, I ran into my professor from PT school at the USO in Kuwait. He was on his way to support a Combat Support Hospital near Baghdad.

These are 2 Med Troopers painting a mural to represent our Squadron at Camp Beurhing.

Da Plane, Da Plane!  Riding "First Class" into Baghdad.

People were lined up in the middle and sides of the plane.

This is the view from the Chinook.

32 hours later we finally made it.  This is me with 2 docs, a nurse, and PA I'll be working with at Kalsu.

I hope you like the pics.  There will be more to come soon! 

-Nicole :)

Kuwait Part 2

Well I finally am able to write on the blog again.  I am only able to sign in when I'm using a USO computer, otherwise all the sign in prompts show up in Arabic.  Try as I might, I have not been able to figure out how to sign in when the prompts are in Arabic.  I've officially been here a week!  Camp Beurhing actually has a lot to offer.  There are 2 coffee places...and one is even a Starbucks!  They offer Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Subway.  I haven't visited any of those places, I just go for the free food at the dining facility.  The 1st days here were very busy b/c we had to undergo some mandatory training prior to going into Iraq.  We even did rollover training where they have a an actual Humvee and MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle) hooked up to some crazy contraption and they simulate a rollover.  They spin u around to disorient you and then stop while the vehicle is upside down, u then have to figure out how to get out the vehicle while your hanging upside down by your seat belt.  It was much harder to accomplish than I though it would be. 
Now that I have completed mandatory training I get to start working as a physical therapist again!  The clinic here is brand new and they are letting us use some rooms for sick call and PT while 3d ACR is still in Kuwait.  I thought about trying to describe a typical day to y'all but every day as been different.  The day usually revolves around when the next meal will be because it takes so long to get to the dining facility (DFAC).  It's 1/2 a mile to 3/4 a mile from the tents.  Everything around here is a long walk away so you really have to plan accordingly.  You also have to make sure you have 5 things on you every time you leave the sleep tent: "Eye Pro" (sunglasses or clear glasses), ID card, Weapon, Camelback, and reflective belt.  The Docs and I hang out with and  I always double check each other to make sure we are squared away. 
Part of the day involves finding some place to get on the internet.  We found out about the starbucks and it seems to have the best connection.  You can use your own computer at Starbucks and get on for an unlimited amount of time vs the USO where you have to wait in line and only get 20 minutes.  We also have to plan when to take bathroom breaks....b/c there are limited flushable toilets at the camp we have to choose our bathroom breaks wisely to avoid using the portapottis.  The MWR and USO offer some nice activities for the soldiers to help pass the time.  Today I learned how to make a bracelet out of 550 cord, a type of rope that Soldiers use anything and everything...hence the name, inferring there are 550 uses for the rope.  Yesterday 3 Comedians from the states came to the camp and gave a 1hr comedy show, it was pretty funny.  The day before that I was able to catch the movie Vampires Suck at the small movie theater here. I have even been convinced to do a couple of Zumba classes.  The camp really makes the most of what its got.  Everything is in either a tent or trailer but it works.  Kuwait hasn't been to bad thus far.  We'll have to see what Iraq will bring.