Gusty Winds May Exist

It is hard to believe, but Johnny Utah, like Academy Award winner Sir Nicholas Cage, has left Las Vegas.

Can you believe they gave this asshole an Oscar? 

I'm writing this from my boss Temporary Living Facility (TLF) room at my new home: the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, home of the Air Commando.  I am still wrapping my ahead around the fact that I am done with Vegas.  Between the deployment and countless TDYs, I am more than comfortable with being in some random location for a period of time - I have just always returned to Nellis.  I expect it may take a little while for this to really settle in.  To my new office's credit, they are doing their best to acclimate me to my new surroundings with twelve hour work days and more work than I can possibly keep up with.  It is a take on the "your nose doesn't itch when your foot is in a bear trap" maxim.  

While there is not a ton to do in this town, I am legitimately excited to be down here.  I cannot imagine a better time to have the opportunity to work in the world of SOF (Special Operations Forces).  And a reminder to my readers, military and civilian alike: Special Forces and Special Operations Forces are distinct concepts and groups - do not use them as fungible terms. .  The media could not seem to figure this out in the wake of the Bin Laden take down and my attempts to remedy the problem by screaming at my television proved unsuccessful.  So, I take this forum to try to educate the handful of you reading this. 

My drive from Las Vegas through New Mexico on I-40 was mildly Zen; there were a number of road signs admonishing me that "GUSTY WINDS MAY EXIST." This seems more like lazy philosophy than safety advice.

I could not make this stuff up

Not a whole hell of a lot else to report.  The housing market in Clovis is a nightmare due to the high demand brought on by the base and limited supply due to the fact that this town is propped up exclusively by Cannon.  For a time, I thought I would be living the dream in a mobile meth lab, a la Walter White.  

I give myself even odds that I find myself in this exact situation and pose before my tour ends here.

Thankfully, I caught a break and found a great condo down here.  I cannot move in until the end of the month, which has mean I've been living on base in a furnished apartment.  While an additional three weeks of living out of a suitcase has not been ideal, I do have daily maid service.  This has been awesome and and has been critical for my survival down here thus far.  Thanks to generations of Irish inbreeding, I am pretty much limited in ability to only do a single task well.  I really only rowed in college, studied in law school, and have worked in the Air Force.  I have no substantive hobbies to speak of and any attempts at pet ownership would probably end like an ASPCA commercial, sans the Sarah McLaughlin.  Taking cleaning out of the equation has been clutch.  I'm going to be a hot mess once I move out of here. 

(Credit to the above to Hyperbole and a Half - incredibly well done blog that is simply hilarious, well worth checking out)

That is it for now folks.  I have some lofty goals of exploring New Mexico and Texas, so hopefully that will result in some good blog fodder.  If nothing else, I am purchasing some legitimate cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, and a giant belt buckle shaped like the state of Texas.  If anyone is curious what happens when a city boy in Top Siders attempts to make these purchases in West Texas, stay tuned. 

We don't take kindly...