12 Days in Qatar

Good Morning to about 99% of you!

 

Well I am 12 days into my time here in Qatar.  While the days move fast, it seems like I have already been here a month!  I headed into downtown Doha, Qatar last week to check out the city.  I have travelled to a few places around the world, but only Cairo rivals Qatar for the #1 ranking as the city with the craziest drivers.  Next time I will go out during the day light and take pictures, but picture a 3 lane round-about when the people on the inside lane have no issue pulling a hard right to exit at anytime...  Keeps you on your toes!  I am just happy to be in a hefty Yukon or Denali while in traffic.  As I reorganize my shop here at work my free time should increase.  I want to see some culture while here, not just the sand blasted brown landscape on the base.  The call to prayer can be clearly heard each of the five times it comes on during the day, an ever present reminder of where I am and of the culture and religion in Qatar. 

 

Hope everyone is doing well! 

 

 

Andrew

 

 

Address!

I finally got my address here for sending me snail-mail in Qatar.

Here it is:

Andrew Sklar CEG
ASG QA
Qatar SOC FWD
Attn: 515 FWD CEG
APO AE 09898

Off to get some sleep now!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sand and dust

Well, I made it. A nice 26 hour trip. Pretty hazy tonight but looking forward to some food and maybe an a little sleep, but I am not holding my breath!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Venezia

Just looked on the map, only about 50-60km from Venezia!

Did I mention I love Italy??

Italy

Buon Giorno!

We are now in Italy awaiting clearance to fly to our final destination. 

This trip is quickly becoming a jet-lagged tour of Europe.  We got a beautiful view of the alps flying over from Germany.  Already had a prosciutto panni and a cappuccino.  Just wish we could stay here for a while.  Everytime I return to Europe I remember how I love being here. 

No telling when I will get to my base in Qatar, but with the current delays we will probably arrive just in time to eat breakfast! 

More soon!

Andrew

All checked in!

Well...  All checked in with seat 6E, a middle seat for the next 36 hours.  All my bags are checked and I am all set to enjoy kindle and book on the way over! 

Weapons Qualification

Here is a picture from my weapons qualification.

D-Day

Hello Friends and Family,

Well my two bags are packed and I have about 2 hours before I head to the airport! I cannot help but be excited and nervous at the same time. My upcoming six months in the middle east will hopefully help me better understand a culture quite different from our own and a people with a rich history often misunderstood.

I fly out today and should be back sometime in Sept/October 2009. My time will begin in Qatar where supposedly we can go into the capital city of Doha from time to time. I hope to be able to stay in touch while deployed but please be patient if you do not hear much from me since my first priority is the work I will be doing.

Next update will be from Qatar!

Andrew Sklar

Sunset on the Gulf of Mexico

Good Evening!

Here is a picture I took of my sunset view this evening.  Four days left until I take off overseas!

Looking forward to having a nice weekend in DC!

Last week of Training and pre-deployment checklists!

Tomorrow begins my final week of pre-deployment checklists and training. Sometime this week I will take a fitness test(push-ups, situps and a run), weapons qualification, and Chemical Biological Warfare Defense and preparedness training.

Outside of work stuff I have been trying to call friends and family this week while I can still do so easily!