Back in black ...

If someone attempts to stab me with a pen, but I succeessfully deflect it, would that be ... a writer's block ...

Sigh. I know. Who still writes with pens? But I've been finding it increasingly difficult to write over the last couple of weeks. I think it's been a mixture of the doldrums of being deployed, dealing with issues back home and whatever other excuse I might be able to come up with. Fortunately, a change of scenery has helped. Right now we're in a country I'd never visited before, covering missions I've never written about. But there's always gotta be something that goes wrong. I think it's a law or something ...

After working through some of the initial job-related difficulties (we're not exactly seeing eye-to-eye with the local public affairs office and we're not allowed to drive ourselves anywhere) we were able to meet up with the flying squadrons here "at a location somewhere in Southwest Asia." The other guys on the team have been able to get flights on the refuelers here, but I've spent my time hanging out with the guys who fly U-2s and Global Hawks. They've been really helpful and even let me go with them in the chase car a couple of times as U-2s would launch or land. In fact, here's the intro to my story about the U-2 mission ...

With or Without You knowing, Airmen are on The Fly at the highest Elevation over areas Where the Streets Have no Name as pilots take great Pride in their Desire to fight Vertigo or become Numb and keep One Beautiful Day from turning Bad, because Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own and rather than troops having to Walk On or Running to Stand Still, these aviators Stay for A Sort Of Homecoming, because although Some Days are Better than Others it’s still better than a Sunday Bloody Sunday. Zooropa.

Okay, not really. But it's what I *wanted* to write. Instead I wrote about a captain flying his first mission out here and another story about why the reconnaissance squadron is important. I even was able to borrow a camera to take some pictures, which was nice since mine is still broken. I loathe only being able to do one aspect of my job. That's my biggest complaint about my time out here. Except for like, the being away from my family and in a war zone part ...

There are two things going on with my time at this base though:

1) I'm excited to write again

2) I'm reminded of why I enjoy being in the Air Force

I'm pretty happy with the two stories I've written here so far and have plans for a couple more. So it's nice to be out of that funk. But also it's been great working with the people here. The folks at the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron have outright said "Hey, you're part of the squadron while you're here," and they've bent over backward to help me. The majority of the people in the Air Force really make this more than just a job and something I like being a part of. That and getting to tear down an open runway in a sports car at 90 miles an hour is just awesome ...

So between having cool things to write about and working with people who make my job worthwhile, I feel like I've got my groove back. The trip to this base has been pretty good for the most part - decent Internet, good mission, a room with a bed, not getting shot at. Not sure where we're headed next, but wherever it is, I'm looking forward to it. My only hope is that I'll be looking forward to it through the viewfinder of my camera and not one I have to borrow ...