It is the best det of a bad lot - grumbles really are niff-naff compared to Bas or Kand. The hassles outlined about US jobsworths will either be your main gripe or main source of entertainment. You, at least to a certain extent, can put up two fingers to it and 'rule' baiting can be fun if you are prepared for the UK OC admin to tell you to calm it as it makes his life unpleasant to continually tell his US opposite number that UK service personell are not subject to his weird admin ways - and they are Triv Meisters extroidinare! Just read the link given by gainsey to see how dis-chuffed the USA people are. The padre at the time I was there convinced a lot of yanks that our reflective belts were issued colour coded according to rank - Yellow = junior enlisted, Blue = senior enlisted, Silver = junior commissioned, red = senior commissioned. Caused wonderful confusion with SACs being saluted by US Majors just because the SAC was wearing a red reflective belt, which were issued in a random manner - colours being those belts available at the time. On the food front, I found a jar of marmite livened up breakfast as all food there, while of good quality and certainly of majestic portions, had been through the 'blander' before being put out and becomes excessivly repetitive afterthe first two weeks. As always, it is the attitude you take with you that is the most important; you will have fun if you look for all the humour that lurks within the b*llsh*t that surrounds you - the Americans will try to tell you that they are our hosts and we are their guests - forgeting that the UK pays its own way for everything and we are all guests of the Qataris!!! Facilities are excellent: good gyms; large library - both books and DVDs; good cinema, always putting on the latest films around the clock (but be prepared to stand for the 'Stars and Stripes' at the start of every film! - unless of course you want to banter and start a diplomatic incident!??); Laundry, take extra 'T'-shirts and smalls as the laundry usually takes 3 to 4 days to return; a Burger king; a subway; a pizza shop; dunkin doughnus; a limited BX; Baskin Robins Ice cream shop; barbers who will give you a proper haircut - an amusing experience when you ask a competent hairdresser to cut your hair exactly as you want it in the latest style while being watched by several 'High and tight' Americans who did not realise an alternative was available!; a swimming pool which, better then nothing, often resembles a pot of 'man-soup'; small shops which will negotiate better deals when they realise you are not American (You have to tell them though), though you still get better value down in Doha. Look out for the Doha rugby club - an excellent night out with a good chance of playing an odd game. And of course the Aussies who are sanity savers and always oppose the same things the UK does; they have a similar sense of humour to us and while every American that you have dealings with is exceptionally friendly and usually more than willing to assist you, their system often lets them down. Sympathise with them and you have a friend for life - they have no option but to take the inane and barking mad directives from their bosses. All in all, with a positive attitude it could be the best and easiest det to that part of the world, but happiness remains the call of 'V1 - Rotate' on the way out.