Hot time! Summer in the service.

It's the dead of summer and oh, soldier, it's hot! It's hotter than a fox in a forest fire. It's hotter than a two dollar pistol. It's hotter than a tabasco-soaked jalapeno sizzlin' in it skillet.

Your mouth is so dry your pucker has puckered out. Your uniform is plastered to your skin like the cap of a tube of Super Glue[R] is stuck to its spout. Your boots are so hot, you wish your tired feet were fireproof. Yep, it's summertime and the livin' ain't easy, because it's so darn hot!

Now, answer this: If the heat is doing that to you, what's it doing to your equipment?

I'll tell you.

Your equipment is warping, peeling, cracking, drying out and drying up. Lubricants are melting and fluids are boiling over and leaking away.

Do you want a drink, soldier? So does your vehicle. Do you want a cool place to rest? So does your radio. Do you want to just chill for a while? So does your generator.

At one time, a cavalry soldier never drunk until his horse did; never ate until his horse was fed; never shucked his boots and dipped his feet until his horse's hooves were checked, cleaned and resting on soft grass. That soldier was betting his life on the well-being of his horse. So he took good car of that horse.

What equipment are you betting your life on this summer? It ain't summer fun working under that sun, but the day is not over until PM is done.