Day 133: In Qatar on 4 day R&R pass

The military has an old tradition of giving R&R (rest and recuperation) for soldiers in combat theaters. This has changed significantly over time. Back in the Civil War, soldiers would just take off and go visit their families, etc. Then in Vietnam, it was a little more formal -- there were bases in more secure zones with some of the amenities of home, made nice for soldiers to take some time off, but you could still go out on the town and get in trouble. The version today, is a little sanitized for my taste (nightly curfews, lots of paperwork, little contact with the locals, and lots of rules), but it's still a welcome break.

Soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait go to Qatar, an oil-rich emirate that has been tolerant of US bases in it since the first Gulf War. It's a Sunni Muslim state, but expats actually make up the majority of the residents and enjoys the 2nd highest per capita income in the world. It borders the Arabian Gulf and has a reputation for very clean, nice cities.

Unfortunately, my group won't ever know. Our pass just happened to coincide on the 1st day of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until sunset. What this meant for us was the cancellation of most activities. The city tours, shopping market tours, boat cruises, golf, and water sports, were all nixed. Only thing left were the inland sea picnic and stupid mall tours. I don't know why they didn't find some other events that started after dusk, but I'm not in charge.

So, after a day-long journey of flying from Basrah to Tallil to Kuwait and then finally on to Qatar, we got here at 3am. Went through customs (were told repeatedly not to swear at the Qataris -- apparently, enough people have been kicked out of the country for doing so), then got picked up 2 hrs later to go to the R&R camp.

This airbase really has a lot of creature comforts. Big gym, USO with many computers, Orange Julius, pizza place, burger joint, pool, bowling alley, even a putt-putt course and small driving range. Some babysitting rules in effect -- maximum of 3 drinks per day (though I understand this one), women can only wear one-piece swimsuits and no Speedos for men (I have those European style boy-shorts good for diving, didn't know if those were kosher), and no flipflops.

We stay in big bays with bunks and wall lockers. 20 bunks to a room for officers (01-05), private rooms for SGMs and O6 and above. No schedule during those 4 days -- eat, sleep, when you want, and show up for the trips. I was a little amazed that some of the soldiers I spoke with since I've been here who are finishing up their pass chose to spend their time just playing Xbox and lounging by the pool instead of going out to see the city, when they had the chance.