What could there possibly be to dislike in Djibouti?

Hello All,

"Djibouti sounds like a great place",  you are saying to yourself.  What could anyone possibly dislike?

Well, here you go...

1. Weather.  As much as it is pleasent in DJ now, the weather really sucks in the summer.  Think high humidity and high temps, i.e. 115 degrees with 90% humidity.  It is really brutal.  Even after just a short walk to work in the summer, I am drenched in sweat.  Yuck.

2.  The chow hall.  Yeah, they get some good raw ingredients but most everything is over cooked and dry.  They also offer way too much fried food and can't even get the oatmeal right.  How had is it to prepare oatmeal?  The menu is also very redundant.  Taco Tuesday, carving station on Thursday, seafood Friday, and a really horrible brunch on Sat and Sun morning.

3.  Walking on rocks.  There is only a very small section of camp that is paved or has cement sidewalks.  Most of the area is covered with crushed rocks.  This rock is not the little pea sized rock which would be perfect.  The rock they put down is fairly large and you can't really get traction on it.  It is a real pain in the ass to walk on. 

4.  City dump.  The city dump is only a few miles away from camp and it is often on fire.  In fact, everyone gets a statement put in their medical records saying you were in DJ breathing this stuff in.  It is just the worst when animal carcasses are set ablaze. 

5.  The uniform policy.  Everyone on camp wears a military uniform during the day and are allowed to wear appropriate civilian attire after hours.  Not the Marines.  Marines have to wear their military uniform at all times during the week except when they are working out (PT - physical training).  We are allowed to wear civilian attire from Sat night through Sun night.  Ok...I look great in my uniform but how about we loosen up a little bit.  It is not like we are at some remote forward operating base in Afghanistan. 

Well, I really shouldn't complain much.  There are far worst places to be deployed to.  It was actually a pretty good tour.  Met a lot of great people, smoked cigars, lost some weight, and work was pretty predictable. 

I actually thought of more things I "like" about DJ then "dislike".  Looks like we have a winner. 

Thanks to everyone who supported me and my family while I was away.  Your willingness to help is what allows me to do what I do. 

It is great to be back!

Until next time,
Michael