Back am I
I am back to my corner of the imperial frontier, having arrived 3 days ago. The flight from the States was uneventful and quick. The trip from Atlanta to the big base took only a little over 24 hours. My checked bag is several days behind me but I should have it by Sunday. This is a very fine thing. I was convinced it was scattered among the stalls in the main market of the very rich country to the south, but it wasn't. Not everywhere is the Congo.
This time I took a commercial flight from the rich country to the south into this country. Nobody shot any missiles at us so I guess they are making their monthly payments on time. The aircraft was completely blacked out on approach though so it isn't the first world yet.
Everything looks the same at my big base home. They built a false ceiling in the gym so it is quieter. The whole base seems quieter, not nearly the hustle and bustle of the past; fewer vehicles moving about the streets, fewer people in the chow hall, not nearly the number of Antonovs and IL-76s coming and going. Just quieter. It seems like a little New Mexico town on a Sunday afternoon, every day.
It is kind of pleasant. Especially since the weather is very fine now. 85 to 90 in the day, 60s at night, not much wind and clear.
My trip through CRC was uneventful also. Maybe I am getting used to standing in line. Or maybe they have just beaten me down. I did buy some boots at a store just outside the main gate of Ft. Benning, called Combat Footwear. They only sell 2 kinds of boots, Rockies and another kind that I forgot. And they only carry wides. A store for the real foot mobile. I bought a pair of Rockies. Imagine that. A shoe store with nothing but wides. Ain't America great.
And the store next door was filled with the kind of used books that you'd expect in a store just outside Benning's main gate. So I came away with boots and books.
This time I took a commercial flight from the rich country to the south into this country. Nobody shot any missiles at us so I guess they are making their monthly payments on time. The aircraft was completely blacked out on approach though so it isn't the first world yet.
Everything looks the same at my big base home. They built a false ceiling in the gym so it is quieter. The whole base seems quieter, not nearly the hustle and bustle of the past; fewer vehicles moving about the streets, fewer people in the chow hall, not nearly the number of Antonovs and IL-76s coming and going. Just quieter. It seems like a little New Mexico town on a Sunday afternoon, every day.
It is kind of pleasant. Especially since the weather is very fine now. 85 to 90 in the day, 60s at night, not much wind and clear.
My trip through CRC was uneventful also. Maybe I am getting used to standing in line. Or maybe they have just beaten me down. I did buy some boots at a store just outside the main gate of Ft. Benning, called Combat Footwear. They only sell 2 kinds of boots, Rockies and another kind that I forgot. And they only carry wides. A store for the real foot mobile. I bought a pair of Rockies. Imagine that. A shoe store with nothing but wides. Ain't America great.
And the store next door was filled with the kind of used books that you'd expect in a store just outside Benning's main gate. So I came away with boots and books.
posted by Carl at 11:29 AM
6 Comments:
Hi
I've been keeping an eye on your blog for some time. You're in the Congo, right? Do you know of any rumor of an warbird (A Corsair) being recovered from there?
best,
i am rather far from the Congo now. i haven't been there since 2007.
i never heard anything about a Corsair being there. i do know there are the remains of an F-86 fuselage on the grounds of the big university in Kinshasa, or at least there were last year.
there are DC-3s in many places and remains of MiG-21s and Hinds in Gbadolite. Njili did have many old derelicts you see nowhere else, but no old fighters.
So Carl... when you talk about buying books at Benning, I'm assuming that you bought a box of porn and Ranger stories. (...or some hybrid of the two.) I go through there in late March and hopefully they may have other shoe selections. :-)
--Wes
oh, I didn't knew. Thanks for the feedback anyway. And keep the good work, I'll keep following :)
Wes: they had tank and airplane stories too!
Kyriu: i wonder if you could help me with something. i try to keep track of the efforts to combat the Lord's Resistance Army. i know the UPDF is after them and they have gone to the Central African Republic, but i don't know much more than that.
what is the best African news source to watch that situation? do you know who provides the best and most reliable coverage?
hi.first I've found what was the Congo Corsair story about...
Corsairville
About keeping track of what's happening in that part of the world maybe I'm not of much help. I've noticed the french international radio is nice to keep track of whats happening in french speaking africa. Another place where I've read about the actual state of the Congo was from the war nerd... war nerd maybe it would be interesting to check his views of the conflict with someone who has been there? If I find something I'll let you know.
ps, another source, do you now indymedia?
http://www.indymedia.org/it/2009/10/930441.shtml
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