Hunter was glad he was able to sleep with all the noise of vehicles moving and planes either taking off or landing, but Hunter also guessed that when you were tired enough, you could sleep through anything. Now it was the next morning, the official start of their tour and ten days until Hunter and Treyden marked their eight months of being a couple. It sucked that they wouldn't get to celebrate the way they had been since the first month by enjoying a quiet dinner, movie, and making love. The two didn't always have intercourse, though, sometimes it was just them getting one another off. Either way, it couldn't happen while deployed. Harry was very adamant on what they were allowed to do. Trey and Hunter would make do with they could as they always did.

"Good morning," Hunter heard Treyden's voice, he glanced over from his lying position on the cot to see Treyden sitting up on his bed. Hunter smiled and sat up, then looked around to see everyone else awake and up. Was he the last one to awaken? Maybe he was more tired than he thought.

"Morning. What time is it?" Hunter asked.

"8:30 am, man. The rest of us were up at 6:15," Andrew chuckled.

"Ugh, gimme a break. You know the time change fucks with me," Hunter rolled his eyes as he threw his legs over the cot then stood and gave Treyden a light kiss before stretching his arms.

"It's okay, babe. Breakfast in the chow hall starts now, so we have time for you to get a shower and dressed," Treyden informed. Hunter smiled some.

"You don't have to wait for me. Go on and eat, I'll meet you there," Hunter told them. "And I will make that an order if I have to," he added as the others quickly got ready and filed out. Hunter shook his head with a chuckle before grabbing a towel and his shower items. Things in Afghanistan were a lot more modernized, thank the Gods for that. The barracks were set up like cabins for the platoons of a company. Alpha Hooligan has a residence in Barrack 16. However, it wasn't like in Iraq where everyone slept four to a room. No. In these barracks, it was one building that held up to thirty, and the only walls were the mains. Within the cabin-like structure were rows of cots for the soldiers to sleep on.

The cots sat a few feet away from one another with a metal cabinet converted into a double closet between the beds. How it was set up was that there were four rows of seven cots each. Two sets of seven were against the outer walls, and another two sets were across from those leaving only small walking aisles between the rows. The metal closets were sturdy, used for storing gear, personal items, clothes, etc. In the back of the cabin barrack were the bathrooms and showers; eight shower stalls three urinals, six sinks and toilet stalls. Seemed awkward but not so much because they would make it work, just like in Iraq. It wasn't amazing due to lack of privacy, but Hunter would figure something out, so they weren't all in view of one another.

The Hooligan Platoon now had an even number of males and females, so Hunter considered just splitting the barrack right down the middle and using something to separate the two sides, like a blanket or short wall. Hunter would speak to Harry about it later on while thinking of how to share the restroom and shower facilities. Hunter got his shower in, shaved, got his stuff on and made it to the chow hall located in section three of the camp. That's how it was apparently; there was a chow hall built to hold about three hundred in every part of the base, so that meant one in every battalion. The Hall also doubled as the entertainment spot with a small stage.

Just like in Iraq, there was a central operations building where the base commander resided with his team of people to make things run smoothly. The company leaders took residence in their battalion office. Platoon leaders stayed in the barracks with their platoons. The EAH was a different setup, however, if a Code Black needed to be sounded then the group patrolling had to let their battalion leader know by use of a single set of walkie talkies. It was better than in Iraq, no waiting to find out which post set it off, then locate the group who needed help. No, in this grand design; the leader of the patrol would have to walkie their battalion commander who would already be aware of which platoon was out on baseline for that shift. The difference would be that the horn would be set off from the office directly, then a light would flash from the roof of the building.

That signal would go to the operations center, and a plan would be discussed between brigade, the battalion leader, and the company heads of that force in trouble. The process took all ten minutes to happen, planning maybe about ten but help would get sent to the platoon in trouble right away. Hunter's first impression of Camp Ormr thus far wasn't bad; everything was set up a particular way to make something else easier. Perhaps this wouldn't be a bad year after all. Hunter reached the chow hall, grabbed his food, and sat down next to Trey after kissing his cheek then starting to eat while talking to the others.

"Hunter, there you are!" Asher laughed patting Hunter's back once or twice. Hunter turned to see Asher, Brady, and Caleb standing there.

"Sorry, overslept. What's up?" Hunter asked.

"Andersen wanted us to make sure you remembered about the meeting in central ops at 1300 hours to meet Pearson and Henderson," Brady stated.

"I haven't forgotten," Hunter nodded to them.

"Great then. Oh, also, Harry wants everyone unpacked with a tidy barrack before lunch," Caleb added quickly before he forgot.

"Will do," Hunter replied firmly as the three walked off again and Hunter grumbled something about that order being obvious as shit. "So, anyone had luck with wifi or reception?" he inquired next.

"It's not horrible in the main building, but out by the barracks, it's a little harsh. We can use it, but it's slow to load, and I'm sure if using Skype, it will lag. Reception wise, Andrew got through to his dad for about seven minutes this morning. Harry mentioned when we came in that it would be spotty throughout the day; as in good first thing in the morning and started around 9:30 pm at night and beyond that," Amber informed.

"Well, better than Iraq I suppose," Treyden said. "But Harry also stated that this was a heavier zone for fighting too so even if we have service and the internet, we won't have a lot of time,"

"He's got a decent point. And to think this is just a support base, I think the main one is in the province's capital, Lashkargah or something like that," Conner mentioned.

"It's forty-six miles away from where we are right now," Theo added in to state the fact. "I did a little research before coming here. We're bordering Farah Province and eighty kilometers or the forty-six miles Northwest from the Lashkargah Province, Washir is one of the farther districts out in the middle of nowhere,"

"Perfect, small base with just under four thousand soldiers in the midst of the desert. I don't possibly see how that can't go wrong," Nikolas rolled his eyes.

"At least it ain't balls to the floor hot like in Iraq. The highest temperature we hit in January through March is seventy-five. 'Bout eighty-five in April then continues to climb until November when it goes back to sixty-eight," Andrew mentioned.

"True. The coldest in January is like thirty-two," Hunter pointed out. "Everything will be okay guys and girls; it's just another war to fight. We survived Iraq for a year and a half; we can do Afghanistan for twelve months," he smiled.

"Always so positive," Trey purred leaning his head on Hunter's shoulder.

"Someone has to be," Hunter proclaimed gently with a smile, then kissed Treyden's forehead. The remainder of breakfast was spent talking casually; then they moved back to their barrack to start unpacking their belongings and cleaning up the barrack. Hunter continued to ponder on his idea of how to make the space they were living in a little separated. Hunter and Treyden took two beds that were by the main door that leads outside. Theo and Andrew were across from them near a support post. Hunter packed smart with easy set up folding tables to put belonging on. There were four in total that he managed to bring between himself and Treyden. So now, the four Alpha Dragons unit members had a small wooden table to put their phones, laptops, or tablets on.

There were small milk crates for other storage under that; the containers were lined with cardboard to keep out bugs. For electricity, there were three sets of four outlet boxes on each wall, and there was a two plug outlet just behind the metal closets. It was a pretty nice setup, and there was one air conditioner/heater unit to maintain the temperature of the room. The cots were metal framed and used a gray piece in which they slept on. It was not the most comfortable but bearable. Also, they used one pillow, a clipped on sheet, one light blanket, and also a heavy one that could be switched out. If you were using one, the other went into the metal closet.

The cabinets were placed between every two beds except for the seventh bed in each row; those closets were placed against the wall where the bathroom was so the two people at the end of two rows used that one, there were only two after all. There were a few shelves, a hanging poll, and four drawers in each double closet. Everything else was to be stored however the soldiers wanted as long as it stayed neat.

"It's gonna suck not sharing a bed with you," Treyden complained lightly with a pout.

"Who says we can't?" Hunter chuckled as Treyden blinked.

"Because we're on cots and everything is pretty much set where it is," Treyden reminded. Hunter shook his head and had Trey move towards Theo and Andrew while he started rearranging a few things with little to no mess for clean up. First, Hunter took the blankets off the beds and moved them out of the way. Second, he moved the metal closet against the wall where the door to exit or enter the barrack was but still left plenty of room so the door and cabinet would interfere with one another. Next, Hunter moved the two folding tables and plastic crates onto the cots which he put together side by side with a blanket between them so the metal frames wouldn't be uncomfortable.

Hunter tied the beds in the position so they would move apart. Hunter then put a black, cloth-like fitted twin size sheet over the two cots making it look like one bed now. He another light blanket to use if it got too hot, then Hunter took the two somewhat heavier blankets that could be tied end to end and tied the blankets together to make a bigger one that draped over the cots perfectly without touching the floor at all. Finally, Hunter took the two folding tables and put one on each side of the joined bed, and then put the crates under the folding tables, so they weren't in the way but still accessible.

"I know it ain't home but it works for now," Hunter said lightly with a smile. Treyden got extremely excited at how Hunter arranged their things to make it look like their rooms at Trey's house, so he hugged his boyfriend tightly.

"It's perfect, babe! I love it. Wait, are we allowed to have them like this?" Trey asked.

"They said arrange our barracks how we wanted to make things easier for us. This works for you and me," Hunter replied as Treyden squeezed Hunter tighter and he returned it. "Anything to see that smile," Hunter leaned down and kissed him lightly but a little passion to it. No one in the platoon minded the relationship, so Hunter felt they could break the rules a little bit while the CO's weren't around and they were in the barrack walls.

"Lieutenant Haddock, how are you going to work the bathroom situation?" asked one of the newer members to Alpha Hooligan.

"And the fact we're coed?" spoke a male. The others began to agree that it was weird to have everyone in one open area.

"Alright, stop griping. You're soldiers, not children who get mad because they gotta share," Hunter groaned as the got quieter. "For the shower and restroom issue; I don't think it should be hard to work that. There are eight shower stalls, and they are big enough that you can shower and get dressed in there so when you shower, get dressed before you get out. There are an even number of girls and boys; I'm sure we can divide up the time fairly,"

"Exactly. Eight stalls, fourteen girls so shower seven at a time. Same for the males. There are three urinals which only the guys will use and then six toilets. I doubt all of us will have to use them at the same time plus there are porta-potties all over camp if it happened to come down to that being the case," Andrew stated.

"The stalls thing for showers and toilets is fine, but the urinals are in the open with no divider. A girl comes out of the bathroom stall, and a guy is over there, no cover. Same for the sinks and mirrors or someone coming out of the shower," a girl mentioned.

"Yeah, that can get awkward. While us males don't give a rats ass if we see one another, I get the girls can get uncomfortable with it. Alright, gimme a minute," Hunter sighed as he moved to the bathroom and glanced at it for perspective issues. Eight shower stalls on the left. Six sinks along the wall where he just entered through the door, six toilet stalls on the right wall then three urinals towards the back wall. All he needed to do was block off the urinals from sight to give it more privacy. But how did he accomplish that? Hunter glanced around again seeing some poles against the supply closet with towels and surely cleaning supplies.

Hunter went over to it and browsed around to see some rope, clips, new curtains for the showers. 'I can make this work,' Hunter thought with an inventive gleam in his green eyes. The floors were wooden, sanded down, and coated with something so the wood couldn't absorb water. Hunter grabbed the rope, clips and blue curtains, then a ladder from against the wall. A few others came into the bathroom to see what he was doing; Hunter tied the rope to a hook on the wall then began putting on four of the navy blue shower curtains through the provided holes. Next, he let the rope brought the line around a conveniently placed support pole and tied the other end to a hook he installed himself.

With the rope in place, Hunter pulled the three curtains around along the line and in front of the urinals as coverage. Hunter stepped back after putting away the ladder and took a gander at his temporary work. The curtains weren't see through and not a pain in the ass to gain access too. Hunter clipped the side curtain to the first one and then stepped back a second time. "Nice work, Hunt," Theo congratulated.

"Thanks. See, girls? It's fine now. Everything is separated, and there's no way for anyone to see someone else while they shower or relieve themselves. I don't think I need to do something for the sinks," Hunter informed as the girls smiled and clapped a few times for him.

"You know, we don't need to separate the barrack, it's gonna be hard to run the same concept idea straight through because there is the AC and heat to consider. A barrier in the middle would cut that off for one side," said Amber calmly.

"Nah, I have an idea to fix that," Hunter smiled as he exited the bathroom with two other curtains and the extra rope. Hunter used the far back right side of the room to make a curtain tent. "See, you can just come in here to change. It's big enough for at least four at a time. There are hooks, some chairs too. Will it do?" he asked.

"It's perfect! You're so inventive, Hunter," squealed Amber as she hugged him.

"I consider myself a pretty handy guy, yes," Hunter shrugged as he smiled and moved back to his and Treyden's cot. The time now after all this was 11 am. Hunter laid down and stretched out to relax with his eyes closed, Treyden went and laid next to him, snuggling up into Hunter's left side where he got a kiss on the forehead first, then Hunter lifted Trey's chin and kissed him deeply. "I love you, Trey,"

"I love you too, Hunt. I gotta say this; it sucks to be deployed, but I love our new temporary home the way you set it up. I think we'll be just fine here for a year," Treyden replied. Hunter kissed him again with another smile.

"I couldn't agree more," Hunter said in response as the two continue to lay there and relax.