I'm Dreaming of a Brown Christmas...

Well...winter is here, and with a vengeance, especially compared to our summer temps. Those of you from north of the frost belt would see this as fairly mild, but temps have been dipping down to freezing, especially in the wee hours of the morning. Which is not much fun when you are in a guard tower at that time...no sir.

The army, in its infinite wisdom, actually managed to get us some pretty decent cold weather gear. These include light-weight, yet very warm long underwear, known affectionately as 'silks'. These are comparable in warmth to the older, yet bulkier, poly-pros. We also have fleece overalls and jacket, and Gore-Tex pants and parka. All of these together make us look like overinflated balloons, yet are pretty warm.

No sign of rain, much less snow, but the desert floor takes on a nice seasonal sheen when viewed through our night vision goggles under the light of a full moon.

Not quite home, but every day brings us a lil closer.

Merry Christmas!

Mik