Monday, May 25, 2009

Boo-Boo-Boo-B-B-Boonie! (say it fast)

Yeah. My boonie. I finally found it. Those of you who know what a boonie hat is, you know. Those that don't...well, read on.

I'm a guy who wears a soft cap, patrol cap, whatever you want to call it here in Baghdad. I've only worn a boonie cap once. When I was in the Cav...as a pad chief for an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter (1995-2001). Back then we could curl the edges and string it up-Aussie style. Once all these restrictions were placed on the wear and appearance of the thing, I stopped wearing it.

The temperature here is steadily climbing. It tops well over 100 here just about every day now. When we're making that 1 mile trek to chow in the sun, you sure feel it beating on you, especially when you're wearing just the cap. I've a nice tan line now that goes around my head and cuts off at my neck. People in my unit were telling me, "Hey you're getting pretty red." Or pointing at the line and smirking. So, to protect my ears, face and neck, I had to dig out the boonie from the bottom of my duffle bag and now I have that frumpy grumpy look since it's kinda frilly around the edges.

At least it'll stop that tan line from becoming more evident. I don't want to go home with a white-topped head. Today I was out most of the day taking the newspaper all over Victory Base Complex. That boonie made a difference...the air can go through it and it provides some shade. Go boonie.

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