Good and (maybe) Bad News

Straight from Ryan - btw, AGE (his job) super is a Staff Sgt job, and Ryan is 2 ranks below. I'm so proud of him for being asked to do that job, they must really trust him!
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I feel like I've been working non-stop for a long
time. Being AGE super is kind of hectic at times. There is a lot of
stuff you are responsible for. Stuff like making sure other people
(there are eight on my shift) are doing their job. Making sure that
everything is taken care of during turnover from shift to shift, stuff
like the toolboxes and anything else that is of importance. And making
sure that any problems that arise on the flightline with equipment
issues (like people not getting what they asked for or stuff breaking or
not having a unit available) that it is taken care of. I does get a
little crazy but I feel like I handled everything really well and TSgt
Traviligante (Trav) was watching over my shoulder and said he couldn't
have done it better himself. He's a pretty cool guy. Always cracking
jokes. Calls people 'Easter Bunny' and 'MSgt'. It gets pretty funny.
'Here you go easter bunny' or 'Way to go MSgt'. He cracks me up.
I don't want to make you worry although I know this is going to
anyway. Everyone here has been keeping a close eye on the news with the
whole Iran issue. Hamas is now running Pakistan or something like that
and Iran has never really gotten along with Pakistan before Hamas was
running it. 'Hamas' by the way is considered a terrorist organization
to the U.S. So...if something should break out into melee before my
time here is done then my time here may be extended. So everyone is
keeping a close eye on it. No it hasn't happened yet so don't worry,
but there is a chance it could. I know you don't really want to hear it
but that is the case. I'd rather you know something about it before all
hell breaks loose and I call you up to say 'hey, I'm not coming home for
another three months'. And yes that is how long they would probably
keep me here for. More than likely up to 179 days like I was saying
before. So another two months, unless it was absolutely necessary and
we couldn't switch people out fast enough, which I doubt seeing as when
the GWOT kicked off it was twenty-four hours later and we fully
stationed here and dropping bombs.
I don't mean to worry you but I love you and want you to know
everything that is going on. You might want to start watching the news
and keep an eye on it yourself.

Update

On February 1st, Ryan is switching from 2pm to midnight shifts. He's now going to work 5 days on, 1 day off. He is also getting an award. He thinks it is dumb, because he just does his job. Ryan might be switching from his current job driving equipment to planes to repairing the high dollar equipment so he's excited about that. I should have some more pictures soon, he bought a card for the digital camera and had some regular film developed.

Birthday

Ryan was so excited on his birthday. Our community group from church mailed him a package with tons of gum (he said a buttload) and letters from everyone in the group. How nice for him to get a present on the actual day. His day off this week was on Friday, so he relaxed and read books, played PS2 in the community center (which he said was boring), and ran some errands. Today, there was a sandstorm which got all in his contacts but before that he said it was really cool

Dorm Room

This is the inside and outside of the dorms. It is not Ryan's specific room, and he took the bunks down for one bed. He does have the stylish drapes though :-)

First Pics

Here's some first pictures from Ryan - he did not take them. But he wanted me to share a little bit. You can see where he works, where he eats, and a beautiful sunset.

Fun at Camp

This sounds like a summer camp story more than an Air Force story :-)

The Aussies had a water war with the C-130 AMU today. They have one
>of those rubber band balloon launchers...the ones that take three people
>and they were launching them across the flightline at people. I almost
>got nailed coming out of the bathroom. The US won though when they
>stormed there tent with Super Soakers. It was funny. Wish I had some
>pictures of that.

Location

Doha is the city Ryan is in. For you geography buffs.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/travel/dg/maps/67/750x750_asia_m.gif&imgrefurl=http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-577484-map_of_asia-i&h=540&w=720&sz=432&tbnid=lZ9F_tUaU70J:&tbnh=104&tbnw=139&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dasia%2Bmap%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D&oi=imagesr&start=3

Ryan's Day Off

Went to the gym and ran. A 10K is 6.2 miles. It was a bit tiring towards the end, but I didn't
really push myself too hard on it. I took it as a lazy jog more or
less. After the gym and shower and dinner, I watched some cartoons
(cartoon network) and a movie (showtime). The commercials are in Arabic
sometimes but the shows are English with Arabic subtitles. After that I
went to the CAC (community center) and played some pool and watched a couple of people play
XBox and PS2. I may be done with video games altogether I think. They
still look fun but they definitely take time away from my wife and
family (eventually).

*Ha, Ryan be done with video games...to be determined...

TV

Ryan bought a TV from someone who was leaving, so now he gets cable. About 50 channels. They have regular stuff like Fox and MTV. They also have Arabic MTV and some other channels. Today he felt at home by watching the SImpsons and hockey on his day off.