Doors Open Over Baghdad

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but we just got a new CAB (combat aviation brigade) here. The old one just went home, and we got some new guys. So far I haven't been too impressed with the. Normally, I'm not a real big fan of pilots and crew chiefs in the first place. Nearly all that I have met to date have an over inflated sense of self worth. So this new unit just Ripped in and they are even more arrogant than the baseline fliers, plus they keep doing stupid things like, not posting manifests on time, trying to land on motorpools instead of the HLZ, and dusting camps knocking over tents. However, one thing they do that has been kind of nice is they fly with the doors open. The first time I flew with them with doors open was quite enjoyable. I was looking out the doors with the counter measure flares fired off and I could actually feel the heat from them on my face. Additionally, it's a very surreal feeling when you're flying low over neighborhoods. It almost makes you feel like you're a part of their lives. So for the most part, flying doors open is the way to go, especially since it is warming up and the birds only have 2/60 AC. However, there is one drawback to this experience. There are 2 seats that you absolutely do not want. They are in the back row by either door. When you sit in this seat, you get the full force of the windblast as it comes through the doors and gets trapped, like a eddie current. Imagine if you will sticking your head out the car window at 120-150 miles per hour and doing this for about 45 minutes. Not the most pleasant experience. I didn't have my goggles and a lot of air gets in through the sides of my balistic eyewear, so my eyes went dry almost immediately. I had to hold a hand infront of my face the entire flight to block the wind, otherwise my cheeks would flap, kind of like you see when people are sky diving. Needless to say, I will be doing everything I can in the future to avoid sitting in that seat!
As far as everything else goes, it's business as usually. The pace of my missions is slowing down now that we're closing bases. I think I may only have 1 or 2 more trips. This is both good and bad. Bad because the time goes by really slow when I'm just sitting around on Hammer. Good because I've been able to get into a good workout routine doing 2 a days, so I'm finally getting back into good shape. I'm finding this is proving more and more work the older I get! Oh well, I guess that's the price of the "wisdom" that comes with age.