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Pro Deo Et Patria- An Army Chaplain

I am a chaplain in the US Army, serving in Iraq. I'm keeping a blog to share my thoughts and experiences while deployed. They are my thoughts and they don't necessarily reflect the opinions of the US Army! :)

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Opening Up The Oven Door

It's hot here- as usual. But there 's something about when the wind blows here that is amazing: it doesn't cool you down. When the wind is blowing on you, it feels like you have a hair dryer blowing on your face, or it feels like that rush of hot air when you open the oven door when it's cooking.

You do adapt to the heat, though. I sweat when I'm outside, obviously, but not as much as I probably would have last year. And you begin to feel more comfortable in warmer temperatures. 115 degrees is warm no matter what, but it doesn't feel quite as uncomfortable as it would if I had just arrived here.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting analogy!

I always say to anyone who says "Yeah, but it's a dry heat" that the inside of my oven is a dry heat.

Plus, when it's -25F I remind them that it's a dry cold!

Stay safe during your last days.

How many do you think are left?

PAGGS

12:42 AM  
Blogger cowboyannie said...

Hi there Army Chaplain in Iraq!

Greetings and good wishes to you from Wisconsin ! Last year at this time my son was where you are, or thereabouts. He serves in the Wisconsin National Guard as a Chaplain's Assistant. He came home in November just in time for Thanksgiving. He used to email me about the heat over there and I swore I would never complain about being hot again! :)

You are doing a great thing over there and we are with you 100 %. God Bless you as you serve Him and our great country.

Thank you.

4:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Our son arrived home from Iraq and it was hot outside our house. I put up a fan to cool us a bid while sitting on the porch. When that heat hit him he freaked out. It brought back the feelings and thoughts of his time in Iraq. Needless to say we don't use fans around him anymore on hot days. Ptsd is a serious problem with our Iraq Vets. and we all need to heed to the daily routines we use that could bring back those terrible thoughts our men and women faced while serving in Iraq.

5:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have to comment on the heat, and PTSD, as I have been privy to both.

First, the heat, to PAGGS, there is quite a difference between 125 degrees outside with no humidity, and the inside of an oven (lowest temp on an oven is in the 175 range if I remember right. To the people who scoff at the saying "but it is dry heat", you have never been to a dessert. I personally would take the heat in the middle east over a summer in the midwest any day of the week. I would also take it over the coldest days of january.

On the PTSD, the worst thing you can do for someone with PTSD is to take away your normal routine and change how you do things. Get them to someone for treatment. They probably wont even know they have it. I didn't know for 3 months. If it weren't for an article in the local paper that described the symtoms, I never would have known. There are still some lingering symtoms, but nothing I can not deal with day to day. You will never see me sit in a restaraunt with my back to the crowd, I will always sit so I can see the entire room, not a big problem, I know I have it, I do my best to deal with it and face it. Had I let it go and not seeked treatment, this small item could have become a huge issue in my life.

My point, get them help, dont try to protect them by taking away a fan in the summer, you cant be there to make sure there is never a fan in the summer. It wont go away either, if it is never dealt with, the problem will grow and grow.

Just my 2cents as a veteran of the other war in Iraq, the short one.

Scott

6:13 PM  

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