I'm too old for this sh*t...

Not really - but as I was running this morning, that phrase (Det. Roger Murtaugh from 'Lethal Weapon') kept going through my mind.

View of downtown Doha from Katara

Late summer in the Arabian Gulf tends to be a bit warm - it was about 100F when I left the hotel for my lazy virtual Saturday run - but the worst part was the high humidity which made the air feel like walking in wet soup. It is so muggy that the air is hazy - not the usual crisp blue sky.  Also, you may notice the green in the foreground - the Middle East tends to be shades of brown, sand, or tan - this happens to be a nice park near my hotel.  So, though slogging up the hill was rough, it was nice seeing some grass and trees (all watered daily..)

Starting week five in Qatar and am enjoying this tour... though it is not without its frustrations.  Qatar is a very orderly society - one aspect is that I just can't drive a car, I actually need a license.  Long story short, I am 2-3 weeks (hopefully..) away from having my Qatari driving license, which makes doing this job a bit harder.  I use Uber quite a bit, but there are some cases where it doesn't work... and not a big fan of Ubering in my cammies...  I tried working around the process and going to the Qatari DMV.  The building was fantastic - like the lobby of a nice hotel, or a Disney attraction - but it is still the DMV.  No dice, but they were polite about it.

USS Bainbridge inbound, USS John P Murtha outbound 

USS Bainbridge pulling up to the pier

One of the elements of this job which is new is hosting US Navy ships - did not do that in Yemen.  Lots of Navy ships in the area, so they pull in periodically for rest / relaxation, as well as resupply and repair.  As the Navy rep in country, I meet them (along with a team of other support people) and we brief them on area.  It is nice way to interact with the actual seagoing Navy.