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Hot, dusty, windy, not a tree in sight…14 to 15-hour work days…under 5-6 hours of sleep…welcome to the “Country Club,” located somewhere in SE Asia. Residents are invited to take “combat” showers to save water, always a precious commodity in the desert and constantly in short supply. What entails a “combat” shower? It’s a 3-minute shower...rinse...stop water...lather-up...stop water...rinse again. You will feel refreshed no matter what, given that you’re walking around in 110-120 degrees during the day, 80-95 degrees at night with no relief from the humidity – who could ask for a better weight loss program? As you walk back and forth to work, with your cool wraparound sunglasses to keep the dust and sun out of your eyes, enjoy the lunar landscape scenery – white dust, rocks, and more rocks. Three meals will be provided (four, if you stay for the midnight run)…you will always know what day of the week it is by what’s being offered at lunch. Before you partake of any food, take advantage of the hand wash stations outside of the dining facility but be careful not to let any of the toilet-paper like towels get stuck to your hands. After your shift is over, change into your PT gear and do your chores, such as picking up your laundry, which is done, free of charge to you. A word of caution, however…make sure to remove all the little stickies on your clothing, especially your underwear! Most importantly, ensure you have enough reserves during the three-day laundry turnaround or you might have to get creative! Another activity of which you could partake would be to wait in line with your closest 20 friends for a chance to contact your family for your 15 minute morale call. If you really have any energy left, you can play bingo, watch a movie, go to the gym or drink one of your three “rationed” beers at the local pub. At night, take advantage of the “cadillacs” – the public WC – prior to resting your weary head on your pillow, else you’ll find it slightly uncomfortable to wake up in the middle of the night & speed walk the 1.5 blocks to the cadillac…again, a worthy way to lose weight but not good for your beauty rest. Why consider this living a “country club,” you may ask…Well, despite being thousands of miles from our loved ones and not living as we would back home, our compatriots “downrange” have it much worse, especially in the Forward Operating Bases…our focus is to bring them all home, safe and sound.
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