Today was our first full day here at Camp As Sayliyah in Doha. Most of us slept a good 5 or so hours before waking up and realizing there was no getting back to sleep. Not that we really wanted to. We got up and headed to breakfast at DFAC. It’s beautiful weather here, and we decided to walk. Although not too far into it, Angela, Shawn and I got picked up by a few soldiers that were headed our way and were nice enough to give us a ride and a quick tour of the facility. With just under 37 acres there is a lot of ground to cover!

We were spoiled with an incredible breakfast. High on the list of priorities is making sure that the troops are fed well. Our next stop was the work out facility, also high on the list of priorities for the troops. Since 3 in our group are currently in training (Shawn and Jessica for 2008 and Angela for 2010) we took an hour and half for keeping ourselves in shape. Although i’m retired and don’t HAVE to work out, it still feels good to get moving and get the kinks out.

After our workout we headed back to grab a quck shower and get ready to meet the troops for lunch. Throughout our stay in Doha we have had tremendous guidance from Major Willets and Airforce Captain Parker. They have been driving/walking us around throughout are stay and answering our endless questions. It’s inspiring to listen to them and their passion for what they do.

We headed to DFAC for a meet and greet with th troops as they came thruogh for lunch. We had so much fun talking with them and letting them know how much we appreciate them. We heard time and again how much just having a little bit of “home” out there helps them. We may be the piece of home this week but i want to encourage everyone to support our troops and let the know how much you care. Write a letter or send a care package if you are able. They truly appreciate it!

After the meet and greet we stayed for lunch (grilled cheese and chicken and veggies + more coffee) we sat around and talked for a while after that, everything from football (go Jags!!) to Major Willets growing up in Nebraska and just happening to know one of my old teammates and her family. BTW I also ran into a young soldier on a 4 day pass who is heading back to Iraq. He just happens to be the cousin of World Champion Chellsie Memmel! It’s such a small world. We wish you the best Mike and our prayers are with you.

After lunch we headed to a special briefing with DCO Lt Col. Kizler. He welcomed us to Camp As Sayliyah and spoke to us about how a much they appreciate the visits from so many athletes, celebrities, etc. We took more photos and then headed off for an intense game of volleyball. Okay maybe it wasn’t thaaaaat intense. Mike Whitmarsh gave a quick volleyball clinic (i was a tad nervous about getting maimed out there (he’s 6′ 7″). We played for a bit warming upand then I did ball-girl duties. Shawn was the ringer - who knew the sprinter weraing untied combat boots was going to take the game! Angela, Captain Parker and I played P-I-G on the other side of the gym and then took more photos and signed autographs.

We wound down for the nigh hitting the PX (store) for a couple of sweatshirts and anything else we needed and headed to dinner. It’s been an incredible first day and we look forward to the rest of the week!

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 6th, 2008 at 10:58 am and is filed under shannonmiller. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.