Let the Games Begin

Hello friends and family :-)

This will be my only email message from the States before I travel to the Middle East! I have spent the last two weeks in training, first at the National Headquarters of the Red Cross in D.C. where we met our team members for the first time and discussed the specifics of our work. I am on a team with three other women and as it stands now, will be working the swing shift in Afghanistan, 3pm to 1am. After D.C., it was on to Ft Benning, GA (aka summer camp) where I have been for the last week, living in the communal barracks, completing a beaurcrat's dream worth of paperwork, every medical test known to man, plus several theater specific training courses like what to do if you are taken hostage, first aid and identifying weapons and explosives (family member disregard that part! ;-)

I will send out another message once I am in country, no doubt regaling you with the joys of traveling with 3x70 lbs duffel bags plus 30 pounds worth of body armor and many layovers in different countries. If you are interested in mailing something, just contact me and I would be happy to send you our mailing address. Letters and packages take about a week to arrive and I have found the mail to be pretty reliable. I also wanted to thank you all for following my stories and wishing me well. I think of you all often when I am so far away and I never feel alone when I hear from you. Your kind and thoughtful words make all the difference at the end of the day.
See you on the flip side :-)