I've been slacking in Afghanistan...

Sorry for the lull in blog posts lately.  I don't really have any excuse, other than sleep has been harder to come by for various reasons, so at the end of the day it has been harder and harder to have the motivation to write a blog post.

I had a court-martial a few weeks ago.  It was another case that I got put on at the last minute.  But it kept me busy for the few days leading up to the trial which actually ended up being a guilty plea at the last minute.  The Soldier plead guilty to assaulting a female marine who questioned him regarding being out of uniform when he tried to enter the DFAC.  She suffered some pretty serious injuries, as during the attack her head was slammed into a cement t-wall barrier.  The accused ended up being sentenced to 8 months confinement and Bad Conduct Discharge.  So it was a pretty good result, and the victim was happy with the outcome.

Then, as I last blogged about, when I got back from the court room, I found out that we had an aircraft go down while I was in court.  As I already said, everyone on board was killed. 

I've been working out a lot since I deployed to Afghanistan, as it is one of the only ways to pass time around here.  I've even signed up for a few runs, as I am trying to get back into running even though I end up in a lot of pain when I'm done.  But it is one of the better cardio exercises. 

My shoulder just recently started hurting me, and then started getting progressively worse.  I finally went to the doctor yesterday as I couldn't raise my arm without being in extreme pain.  I really hate going to Army doctors, as I don't have the best track record with them, and for the most part they will generally just give you ibuprofen and send you on your way.  Surprisingly, the doctor I saw yesterday actually did something.  After his examination he said that I would most certainly need an MRI when I get back (apparently I can't get one here) and possibly surgery.  Apparently, he thinks that I have really bad arthritis in my soldier and from my time as a gymnast for some reason my shoulder doesn't sit in its socket the way it is supposed to.  The medic who originally examined me thought that I may have torn my rotator cuff, but the doctor didn't think so.  Anyway, he injected my shoulder with a concoction of different stuff to help with the pain and make it so I could move my arm again.  I'm still in quite a bit of pain, but it is a little better.  Hopefully, I can just make it through the last months of this deployment without too many more issues from my shoulder.

Yesterday, we also had a BBQ.  BBQ's are good around here, as it is the only time that the food is worth eating.  Although, right before the BBQ I had just ran 5 miles, so I wasn't in the mood to eat.  It was a shame, as it smelled really good.  However, I was able to manage a piece of cake.  There is never a bad time for cake :)

Wings Legal with the new peeps

Half Way Home BBQ a little late as we are thankfully further than half way now...

This was my favorite part of the sign, and the part that I am focusing on...