one must climatize which takes about a month. I live w/o AC (ohio) which is uncomfortable maybe 3 wks/yr when it's 90+ and humid. but by mid-summer, 80's feels normal & my body doesnt need to sweat. one cannot climatize in AC.

I can only imagine that the personnel that are there endure it because they believe in their mission. Plus, despite not ever having been in the military, I know they are intensively trained to ignore discomfort.

Rachel, we thank you for being there and we appreciate your sacrifices. Thanks.

Please take care of yourself Rachel.  Is there anywhere else you could go to stay cool?  I was actually worried about you all weekend.  If it's any consolation, it's going to reach 100 degrees in Boston today.  thankyou for going out in the field to do your reporting.  I admire journalists who visit the places they report about.  You're getting in your flight hours.

Part I

Halliburton’s campaign donations have spiked as it tries to curry favor with key members of Congress investigating the disaster. The company donated $17,000 in May, making it “the busiest donation month for Halliburton’s PAC since September 2008,” Politico reports.

BP And Halliburton Build Legal Teams, Attempt To Buy Off Government Officials

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/06/03/bp-halliburton-buy-off/

Easy, its called an Article 15. You do your job or you get a couple of those. Not to mention the killer farmers tan you get on your hands and face.

UGH! Come on Rachel?! Ummm...maybe they're from AZ where it's like 100 - 120 for at LEAST 4 months out of the year. Try living and working here now...it's miserable...can you send me some money so I can move outta this Conservative HELL?! LOL

I made this satir image, it will cool you down

http://zombiwoof.deviantart.com/#/d2t70nh

It's nuts, I wish it would end and they'd bring all our people home..... alas :-( there is too much money to be made.

Kuwait in July-August is pretty unbearable as well, like 140s-ish.

Hi Rachel, I had a friend come back from Afghanistan and the heat was his number 1 compaint. I am sure one gets used to it after awhile, but its still just another hurdle. Keep up the good work!!

I live in the Imperial Valley... its actually cool for our normal temps here and It doesnt matter if we live in 100-115 F here, we do it in AC most of the time and do not wear Flack jackets. Support the troops, not the unecessary war.

Rachel, come back her to the San Francisco bay area- we froze during the fireworks display!

Your courage in going to Kandahar province is overwhelming. I had forgotten how beastly hot it is there, but your reporting drives home what an inhospitable place it is for U.S. soldiers. In more ways than just the weather....

Sounds gawdawful. I work as a surveillance investigator which means sitting in the back seat of my car, sometimes for up to eight hours, sometimes in the blazing sun. Once the sun starts to come out it starts to heat up in there within about 10 to 15 minutes. They aren't kidding when they say to not leave your dog in the car! Sometimes I can find shade, which will help marginally but not as much as you'd think once the air starts to heat up. Sometimes there just isn't any shade. I have battery-operated fans I use, but I think my next expense is going to be a "personal air conditioner" which I never even knew existed before. I believe they cost about $50 + but it's better than heat stroke. Hang in there!

I was told by a soldier who served in Afghanistan that the summer air was like having someone take a hairdryer and blow the contents of an ashtray into your face. That pretty much summed up what it would be like to live in those conditions for me. Good luck with the rest of your trip!

UGH! Come on Rachel?! Ummm...maybe they're from AZ where it's like 100 - 120 for at LEAST 4 months out of the year. Try living and working here now...it's miserable...

Try it on your feet all day, lugging 60+ lbs of gear and getting shot at...

Rachel, when my son was in Afghanistan he would have 60 lbs of radio gear as well as bulletproof vest, ammo, weapon,uniform, helmet, etc. they would ride out to one of their remote bases in Humvees and the temp inside the vehicle would be about 120 F. It would make me crazy to think of their discomfort during the summer, they were all trained in hydration procedures and were able to start IVs out in the field just to rehydrate each other. War is hell!!

In military parlance, quitsyerbitchen NUG (New Useless Guy), you'll climatize in a couple weeks. Seriously though hydrate. Good to see your doing as well as expected making your bones and taking the risk to bring forth the truth. You'll know you've found it when you experience long periods of bordom sprinkled with moments of shear terror, exultation and sorrow. Try not to get hooked on the adrenalin, most abundant drug in combat zones, makes the experience indelibly memorable. Love ya Rachell, stay safe and put your time in NUG!

Gahh, I'm getting a headache just looking at you.

So I asked a couple of people that I work with who've actually gone through ground deployments how they deal with it and most of them agreed that the heat sucks. I was referred to a documentary by a friend who said Jeff Key had the best summary (here's a link to it in case anyone wants to look it up http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/06/marine_showtime_documentary_070625/) in which Key says that being in Iraq is like having the devil take a giant fart of heat on your face. But, I digress...

For the most part when you're working you don't really notice the heat. Whether that be doing counterinsurgency, counterintelligence, on the move in your MRAP what have you. It's when the boredom sets in that is the worse to deal with because then all you can fixate on is the heat. Every person who has came back from a ground deployment that I've talked to says the worse thing overseas with heat, food, water shortages, and everything else put aside, is boredom. I was also informed that hydrating is really important which I know we emphasize that in the Navy but wasn't really sure about the other branches. Apparently the soldiers will take hydration breaks and are also trained on the signs of heat shock and on how to deal with/recognize the signs of dehydration. The sunken in eyes, the delirium- apparently they go through all of that before deploying. Also, I was told that you do climatize after a couple of weeks so I'm sure part of what you're experience is a system shock. I'm sure mostly everyone goes through it the first time but some of my friends said once you get used to it, it's not really any different than being back home in the southwest. Regardless, our men and women do a great job. Stay safe Rachel et. all and God Bless Our Troops =).

You' re a good man. I just hope it gets sorted out without too much more loss of life. I hope we take better care of our vets than we have. Its not been a popular war. But when the boys and girls come home, I hope they are treated like the heroes they deserve to be, as opposed to the reception the Viet Nam Vets got. As Rachel is pointing out, its hell out there.

Just saw the show, I still say Rachel is the hottest thing in and out of Kandahar. Specially like the silk scarf she wore, just like Julia Roberts, in "Charlie Wilson's War."