Thanks everyone for all the support.
It's not the safest place out here, but we sure do have it better than the vets among y'all had in previous wars. Heck, we have heat/AC, good food, 6 glorious channels of Armed Forces Network via satellite (sent all over the base via some a home-brew CATV system our commo guys assembled using a bunch of channel modulators), blazing "fast" ~12kbps internet (when we're lucky), a rec room, a gym and telephones (even cellphones). And my base is one of the more remote, more primitive ones - the guys at the big bases have espresso shops, pizza hut, subway and burger king to boot!
I cannot imagine how hard it was for troops in the past to be cut off from civilization and their loved ones for weeks, months and maybe years at a time (aside from an occasional letter) and to come home to lukewarm or cold receptions. Thanks should go to them - and to all you folks supporting all of us.
