Hillah, Iraq.
Apparently, watching movies and eating popcorn did not purge the Demons of Slack from the commandos, because nobody felt like doing anything today. Again.I have duty today, so slacking is perfect. Actually, tomorrow is my duty day, but the Warrant Officer is not back from Baghdad yet, so I took his duty.Duty involves sitting around with the TV on, answering the phone, acknowledging computer messages, and hoping somebody remembers to bring you something to eat. We have satellite TV, but it is satellite TV provided by the Armed Forces Network. This is amusing to watch, especially as my Beautiful Bride and I gave up television years ago. We don’t have cable or satellite. As a result, watching television is an interesting experience for me.
AFN is strange. It is the military approved and distributed programming, which is a close but not quite perfect imitation of professional broadcasting. The news programs are done quite like Headline News or Fox News, only the broadcasters are soldiers, sailors, and Marines in uniform. There are no commercials, but there are plenty of vignettes reminding you to check your pay stub, don’t use smokeless tobacco, keep in touch with your family, and the dangers of drinking. There are also plenty of reminders from various unit commanders and senior enlisted extolling the virtues of staying in the service. Based on my viewing, admirals and generals spend a good deal of time making commercials.
When I visited my friend, Keith, in San Diego, he introduced me to an HBO series called Deadwood. I like Deadwood immensely, and my brother has been kind enough to send me the first four episodes.As the day wound down, I put in the first Deadwood DVD. The Special Forces Captain walked by three minutes into the program, and ended up standing there for ten minutes. I asked him to sit, but he declined, saying he had work to attend to. Ten minutes later, he pulled up a chair, and we watched the first two episodes.
I hope my brother will send more episodes as I only have two left, and the Captain and I are working to find time to watch them.You know a show is good if someone with a lot of work to do will watch standing for twenty minutes before giving up on work to watch the rest.