I'm back in Dover!

It doesn't feel quite like home over here...., but it feels a lot more like home than Spakane, WA!

I finished up my two day water survival class there on Friday.  It was pretty intense.  It's amazing how realistic a pool can become.  They really make you think that you're in an airplane crash in Antartica.

It's held in the base pool.  They kick out everyone there and take out the swimming lanes.  They load us in a mock airplane fuselage that can be remotely dunked and rolled in to the pool (which is pretty scary all in itself).  Before they dunk you you get strapped in, they turn out all the lights, they smoke the room, turn on a really loud soundtrack of a thunderstorm and strobe lights for lightning effect.  It is really scary actually!  When we egress the "airplane" we inflate our vests, link up and swim to our 20 man life raft.  Of course the whole the the instructors are firing fire hoses at us.  It basically sucks.  And the instructors half filled our life rafts with ice water (which was probably the worst thing of all).  Then we basically get in and demonstrate that we know how "live and survive" in the ocean environment.  It was really crappy while I was there, but like almost all of my training..., I'm really happy that I received it now that it's all over.

 We also got fake rescued by a helicopter.  Now obviously in the pictures and video you are wondering, why didn't the helo just land?.  Haha.  I was asking the same questions when I was out there.  But we were training on how to use the hoist.  People did it after Katrina with zero training so I'm not so sure that this training was all that necessary.  But it was really fun none the less.

I flew back through Salt Lake City, UT on Saturday.  That place looks really pretty and Kristen and I ned to go back there one day for a little sight seeing!

I am now back in Dover.  I went to work today for the first time.  It's kinda funny calling it "work" because I belong to the 9th Airlift squadron (c-5's) but I don't know how to fly a C-5.  Haha.  I'm the only pilot here on this base that can't fly with my squadron.  So I pretty much don't fit in over here just yet.  I'm part of a new pilot (excuse the pun) program where they send me to my base first..., then send us off for training.  So my squadron does not know what to do with me.  It's so entertaining to talk to people over here.  They're all interested to hear about my situation straight from my mouth.

But, I do still have a lot of stuff to do around here.  I have a long list of pre-deployment stuff that I have to get done so it's not like I'm sitting on my butt.  It's just funny that I really don't report to anyone.  If I didn't show up one day no one would even know.  It's a big boy program over here though and I have a lot of stuff to keep me busy so I HAVE to show up every day.  Also because I'm trying to get done with my pre-deployment stuff before Christmas so that I can take leave and be back in New Orleans for Christmas.

My new start date for my training in Atlanta is 10 Jan.  After that starts its going to be another round of training for a few months before my deployment.  So exciting!

So for now please just say some prayers that I get all my stuff done in time to take off for Christmas.