25 Nov

Thanksgiving felt pretty much like any other day – I flew (pre-phase test flight) and ate. The only thing that really distinguished it was the crowds and decorations at the chow hall. Actually the last few days have been pretty packed – for the first time since we have been here I have had to wait to get inside. The increase isn’t military (no units are switching out at the moment) it is all civilians. All the security and checkpoints inside the base are manned by Ugandans (yet another duty we have managed to contract out). The rumor has it that we are having a changing of the guard so to speak. One company is taking over from another or at least their uniforms are all different. So until the swap is complete we will have crowded meal times. This new group is rather interesting – all the women have really short hair (crew cut short) and there are some guys that don’t look a day over 14. I would like to find out more about them but their English is pretty much limited to greetings and “Thank you Sir”. I flew my last day flight yesterday – I switch to nights tomorrow. It was a long one (7.9 hours) but one of my most enjoyable. I was flying with my favorite crew and I actually got to see some new country. We landed at a base right on the Syrian border – you could throw a water bottle out of the acft and it would land in Syria. I was a little surprised at what a marked difference there was between the countries. We were able to do some other interesting things but those pictures and stories will have to wait for a different time and format.

Clear H 72 L 48 (yes I was freezing last night)