Back to Camp!!!

Well this week Patrick made it back to Camp, which is excellent news!! He has been able to finally take a shower and get some laundry done. Patrick has been using baby wipes to keep clean when he is out in the field, and he said when he took his shower he had to go two rounds of body wash with a scrubbing loofah to even begin to get the dirt to come off! Patrick was also able to sleep in a bed (cot) for the first time in over a month this past week, which as you can imagine he was pretty pumped about! About a week or two ago Patrick came down with the flu in the field. He got a 24 hour type bug, but the flu dehydrated him pretty badly and they had to give him a field IV to re-hydrate. After that he was feeling much better, and has recovered nicely. Patrick is in good spirits, and is greatly looking forward to his mid-tour leave this fall. He is not sure how long he will be back at camp behind the wire, but for the time being he is there, and has a little more internet access. It is also now okay to mail packages again! Patrick really enjoys snacks, and protein bars to take along with him on missions. They help curb his hunger when he is not always getting frequent meals.

Patrick also have a new weapon now. It’s the M249. He says with this gun he dismounts with 600-800 rounds of linked 5.56 caliber ammunition. I really don’t know what all that means, but for those of you out there that do, that is what he is carrying. This gun looks like this: