Category Archives: Check Your Hubris

Detachment 6 had been on an auditing moratorium for over seven months when I first arrived in June, 2017. The War Reserve Materiel (WRM) Contract was in transition from WRM II to WRM III, and the contracting agency responsible for the acquisition had determined that having CORs from the Detachment conduct audits under the newContinueContinue reading “Check Your Hubris at the Door: Khareef”

The Royal Air Force of Oman was weirdly busy every night that week in February. Usually they had closed up shop and parked their brand new F-16 Falcon fighter jets under the sunshades by noon, maybe 1500 by the latest, and they were never active after dark. Yet here I was, on my third (orContinueContinue reading “Check Your Hubris at the Door: Lakeside Villa”

The weather in the Jebel  area between the city of Salalah and the smaller town of Thumrait in Southern Oman was starkly contrasted from the last time I had been here. Previously, this area had been blanketed in the khareef, a natural phenomenon where the mountains are covered in a dense fog, and the landscape is coveredContinueContinue reading “Check Your Hubris at the Door: Job’s Tomb”

My year-long rotation at Al Udeid brought with it an impressive amount of travel opportunities. Trips to Oman, Kuwait, and the UAE became nearly boring in their repetitive nature. Nearly. The travel brought with it some inquisitive personnel, many if them expatriates or travelling business people. And they all ask the same few questions. “WhereContinueContinue reading “Check Your Hubris at the Door: Journalist”

“The general wants to make sure that you understand how much of a favor he is doing for you,” the translator said, without a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “he will allow you to inspect the manhole cover, and you may do so in two weeks time.” I fully understood two things about thisContinueContinue reading “Check Your Hubris at the Door: Sewage”