Cobbcorner

Lt. Col. Paul Cobb arrived at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, where he will be stationed for a six-month deployment.

He seems to have a pretty good setup there, despite being away from his terrific family for so long.  He's living in a trailer with his own private bedroom, private bath, TV, high-speed internet, and his own vehicle to drive around, of all things!  Through the wonders of Skype, he is able to communicate with his family face-to-face regularly.

Ali Al Salem Air Base is a highly guarded base in Kuwait. There are no permanently assigned US aircraft, with only USAF and Navy transient aircraft and a squadron of British Tornado fighter aircraft. “The Rock” provides combat rescue, theater airlift, aeromedical evacuation, air surveillance and control, theater ballistic missile defense, as well as force protection, combat support and the ability to survive and operate for coalition air, ground and other operations.

Just 39 miles from the Iraqi border, the base is literally at the forefront of the ongoing campaign that is Operation Southern Watch. Affectionately known as “The Rock,” the landscape surrounding Ali Al Salem is flat to slightly undulating desert sand. The “Rock” rises above the surrounding desert plains, a hill offering a dun-colored vista of the distant, arid horizon. The Rock is Ali Al Salem Air Base, deployed home to 1,500 people and the 9th Air Expeditionary Group, a unit literally at the forefront of Operation Southern Watch, just 39 miles from the Iraqi border.