Camping Army Style and Bowling JAG Style

After getting an outside taste of the Korean winter I am now back after my first real Army "camping trip." I just returned from my first field exercise. Despite a frozen canteen, the heater going out in my tent on the first night and our Brigade Chaplain complaining that he could not take a "spounge bath" because our heater went out, the next morning, I survived just fine. I must say the Army sleep system (e.g. military speak for a high speed sleeping bag) is awesome. With its three layers of snaps and zippers, it keeps heat in and cold out. It actually took me about ten minutes to figure out how to assemble it. It is a good thing the Chaplain was there. I had several choice words and an urge to throw the thing outside the tent, but then thought better. Divine intervention perhaps. Once I got past the first night, it was actually pretty cool to be out in the field. For the first time in my military career I actually felt like a real soldier. The backdrop of the star filled night sky against the tree lined hills and small mountains was very peaceful. I kept thinking to myself, what a place to fight a war. The hills are steep with no room to manuever, not to mention the brutal elements. Extreme hot and Kim che stink in the summer and frozen ground and air in the winter. I also saw real life cows near our training site. I am sure it is no Kobe beef but it was another WTF moment. Needless to say, I think camping will be on the bottom of my list for a while unless of course I am paid for it and I get to take my Army sleep system with me.
On a lighter note, I have decided to join the JAG bowling team. Our team name is Thanks and Hooah!. We haven't had our first bowling game/match etc. and it has already been pretty funny. One of our fellow JAGs and team captain attended the mandatory pre league meeting. Among the rules is that the jukebox will be turned off during league play. Jake (his real name and nothing like the fun loving Kramer type Jake that I met in Iraq) is the organizer and he explained that "He takes his bowling pretty seriously," which means no juke box during league play. There is also another guy who also takes his bowling seriously. Apparently he is the manager of the bowling. I am not sure what his name is but let's call him Wayne. According to our captain, Wayne, made it very clear that while he is there on league night he is a bowler and not the manager, so he can't be bothered with bowling alley business that a manger is supposed to handle. I would have thrown a fit if the Poopy Pants (Wayne and Jake) Bowling League czars would have banned beer during league play. In honor of Jake I am trying to talk our captain into putting the following quote on the back of our bowling shirts that says "I take my bowling pretty seriously" along with a jukebox inside a circle with a line through it.