I think I've been at Bagram for four days now, living as a transient. The transitional "quarters" consist of big circus tents packed with cots that are separated by maybe six inches of dusty floor. You just walk in and look for an open cot to claim as your own. There are at least 200 cots in a large tent.
Sleeping in these tents is a hit or miss proposition because of the overhead lights, people talking, or people dragging gear in and out of the tent at all hours. As I lay on my aluminum and nylon cot, bootsteps reverberate from the floor.
I left most of my gear at the hospital and just brought my sleeping bag and a small pack with a book, long underwear, and toiletries to the transitional lodging. This simplifies things and alleviates my concerns about theft.
Days at BAF consist of miles of walking, sampling from different dining facilities, using the large gyms, watching movies at the MWR. I browsed the Afghan shops for potential gifts but everything seemed overpriced or of suspect quality and I found myself in no mood to haggle. Cheap Afghan rugs still cost hundreds of dollars and I don't trust the shopkeepers to steer me towards the highest quality at the lowest price. I didn't have the energy to deal with shipping stuff anyway...
After walking up and down Disney Drive about 10 times, jacking a few hundred salutes, I got word from the personnel people at the hospital that there was a flight to Manas and I was at the top of the manifest. The "show time" was at 2am. I woke up at 1am, got coffee at the 24 hour cafe, and dragged gear out into the cold.
That was almost 24 hours ago and I'm still at BAF. We've been doing one hour checks ever since then, moving from the air terminal to the clinic, to the chow hall. It's cold outside, but everyone will tolerate anything for a chance to pounce on any whisper of a flight to Manas.
