21 June

The last couple of weeks have been dominated by dust. We have had a few clear days but for the most part it is the same routine – it is clear for a few hours in the morning but then the wind picks up and the dust starts blowing. I was on a test flight Monday and we were able to get off early before the winds really started. I climbed up to 2000’ where the dust ended and above that it was perfectly clear. So it’s not caused by weather fronts moving in but by the top layer of soil being picked up by the wind – kind of what I imagine the dust bowl areas were like in the 30’s. The last three days have been clear and I have stayed busy. I finished up the post-phase flights on 169 two days ago, flew a mission yesterday, and did 176’s pre-phase flight along with a bunch of training for the crew members in the back. I decided to change my schedule and get up a couple of hours earlier (4 instead of 6) in order to have some time in the morning before work. I started it today which wasn’t a real good choice since I spent almost all day on the flight line and it got up to 114 today. It was just about unbelievably hot in the cockpit and by the end of the day I was pretty tired and maybe just a little but irritable. On a different note, I found out yesterday that I was selected for the Army fixed wing course. I won’t be going until after our year in Egypt but I think it will be a nice change of pace.

Clear H 114 L 80