What to do to make the time go by....

"Well here I sit on the 4th of July in Balad, Iraq. I never in a million years would have thought at this time last year that one year later I would be here. Tonight, my unit is having a pool party cook-out that is not "mandatory" but you better be there. I like to call that "mandatory family fun". HAHA!!
Hey you will never guess but we had yet another dust storm! Ha! Who would have thought such a thing. Can you hear the condisention in my tone??!! Anyway....been pretty much the same crap up here. With the exception of finally working the heli pad at the hospital and taking off a wounded local with a gunshot wound to the head. I was scared to death when I heard what was coming off the helo and I had no clue what I was about to see. I was told I would be the "driver" which means I would be the one to drive the gurney out the the helo following the strong arms and the helpers. We get to the helo..at night...the wind whipping my freaking hair all over the place...the pilots wouldn't move for me to get the gurney close enough to the door. I was freaking out. I couldn't get the legs of the gurney down fast enough and before I knew it the strong arms had the stretcher out and was about to place it on the gurney and I was yelling at them to hold on so I could secure the legs. I swear it seemed like it was all going in slow motion. The patient was sitting up which threw off the center of balance, he wasn't strapped down and it was just all surreal. I finally got the legs down, we secured him to the gurney, I sinched down the locks and away he was wisked to the E.R. with the rest of my 5 man team following. Once I was off the pad, I could finally take a breath and take in what I had just went through."
Navy Gal