After returning back to Hastings, NE from Fort McCoy, WI we were able to go home for a short while before resuming training in Hastings. The problem now was how we were going to get paid from that point until the time we were scheduled to come on active duty orders, Nov 26. We had already used our Annual Training time up at McCoy as well as a bit of Active Duty Training Time. The only thing we had left as an option was Battle Assembly time. A BA is the official name for a weekend Drill. We are paid for each 4 hour block and each block is called a MUTA. Each soldier can only have 48 MUTAs per year. That meant we would only be able to get paid for 24 days from Oct 24 – Nov 26. As a result we were given a couple 3 and 4 day weekends during this time to go home and spend time with our families. The time spent in Hastings, this time, was spent mainly eating, working out, packing and staying out of sight/out of mind. The day before our Thanksgiving break we had a going away ceremony at Central Community College in Hastings. Some family members showed up as well as 3 or 4 news crews. Various Nebraska politicians sent representatives and we were also paid a visit by the 103rd Expeditionary Support Commands Commander, General Ledoux. (The 103rd is 3 echelons above our Company) After all the dignitaries had given their speeches and the ceremony was wrapping up, The General gave us a speech about how she knew we would be doing great things where ever we went and so on. She followed that up by telling us that shortly before she had arrived she received word that the 295th had been given a Stop Move Order and we would not be going anywhere. We were then ordered to stand up and sing the Army Song. Looks of shock, confusion and disgust were prominent on the faces of everyone in the crowed. We could not believe the manner in which we were given that information. A Stop Move means just what it sounds, we had a date we were supposed to leave, but we could not go. Until further order we would not be able to do anything else. This could have been resolved by the time we got off of our break, or we may not be getting mobilized at all. The news crews interviewed several soldiers and family members afterwards and the reactions were that of embarrassment and anger at the manner by which the whole situation was handled. I guess the punch and pie was supposed to ease our minds. The main problem with Army Reservist getting Stop Moved is that we had all told our employers that we would be gone a year. In my case they already had a temp in place. This meant we would be making no money until we found out something. We had a short meeting with our platoon in which it was put out that more than likely the reason was a switch between OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) which meant Afghanistan, if we were leaving at all. We were told to go home and be ready, but basically just hang out and wait for a phone call. On my drive home I tried to decide how I was going to handle this with my wife. I decided that for the time being I wouldn’t say anything. I didn’t want to get her hopes up about me not going, and then get a call saying I was leaving again. If I got a call saying to report then it didn’t matter anyway. If I got one saying the whole deal was off, I could tell her then for sure. A couple days into the break I got a call from our Commander saying they still had no word. A day or so later I got another call saying we were back on and I need to report at the original time and date, they still were unsure whether it was Iraq or Afghanistan though. Since then I have spoken with my wife and told her that sometimes there are things about the Army that I don’t tell her, not because I don’t trust her or think she can handle it, but simply because most of the things we are told in the military are proven false within a reasonably short time. I told her if I really believe something to be true I won’t hold anything back but if it’s wishy-washy, she’d be better off in the dark then getting jerked around with us. So on the 29th of November we loaded up a chartered Air Force plane out of Grand Island and flew down to Fort Sill, OK. We were supposed to be there only until about 1 Jan ‘09. Guess what….
Side notes: Sorry about the gap in writing there. I was sick and slept for 36 hours! I guess that means my 400 day orders are now only 399…. Feel much better now. My body is just adjusting to this plague infested country. (p.s. Those 400 days are VERY subject to change FYI). Secondly, sorry for the lack of pictures in the last couple of posts. Don’t have any good pics of the feces pond, my favorite general or me eating O.K. Café. Again, check out my Facebook, I have nearly 500 pics from this MOB on there. Thirdly, thanks again for the comments, especially the ones letting me know what’s going on back home. It’s always nice to hear that someone out there is living a normal life. That’s not to exclude the other comments. It made my day to see that one post had 4 comments! (Even though 2 were from Nate, nice try) Also, I have Skype, although I’m not sure for how long I’ll have internet. If you want, Google Skype. The download and service are free. My ID is cody.christ. Once you log on and add me as a contact you can video chat with me whenever I am online as long as you have a webcam. If you don’t, we can still either voice chat or Instant message. Can’t figure it out? Have one of your kids hook ya up! (Old people burn) I’m usually on almost every morning and every night. The time difference here is 10.5 hours so it’s nearly the same as home, just subtract an hour and a half and switch AM to PM or vice versa to convert to my time. Nextly, (spell check disagreed with that word but I don’t care) there will probably be one more PreMob post covering Ft Sill. I may break it into 2 though as it was kind of a long time. Lastly, keep in mind; I’m not the only one that’s going through a hardship with this deployment. Be sure to send some support towards my parents and my wife. The hardest job in the military is that of the Soldier’s Wife. I’ll end this as SPC Hartwell say, 90 down, 310 to go.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Adaptation - 23 Feb 2009 - 2200
I’ve, on several occasions now, been amazed at our ability to adapt to our surroundings. It seems like in my writings, the first couple days of being in a new location are horrifying and depressing. Even though each of our locations has, in fact, been worse than the last, we still find ways to try to bring normalcy to our bleak existence. We are still on track, as far as we know, to be leaving within a week or so. Anxiety is high at the amount of uncertainty that awaits us in our next locale. I’m still not at liberty to say where we are going for Operational Security (OPSEC) reason. When you join the military you give up a portion of your 1st amendment, and for good reason. It’s important in the military, for obvious reasons, not to give out specific info regarding when and where operations will be taking place. Very few lines of communication are truly secure. Although I try to be diligent about keeping things vague, I’m sure there are some pieces of OPSEC that I am violating throughout my various posts. Regardless, many members of our Platoon have spoken with random troops and civilians around post about the living conditions at our FOB. There is a lot of mixed intel that we are getting as far as what our quarters will be (no, not pogs), availability of amenities such as phones and internet, and even where we are living. Our Command Cell is going out tomorrow (by the time I post this they will probably already be back, take that OPSEC) for a couple of hours with a mission of scoping things out and asking a laundry list of questions. Hopefully when they return we will have a warm fuzzy for what we are heading into. But here on Kandahar, people are reestablishing routines. My hang out seems to be primarily the Boardwalk. I like it down there as all the food joints are down there, Wi-Fi is free, and there isn’t a shortage of countries rubbing the fact that their militaries have a wealth of attractive females in our faces, especially Canada believe it or not. I have been reading all the comments you guys are leaving, both on my blog and on Facebook. I seem to have quite a few people checking daily to see what I write. I appreciate all the support being sent my way, and yes, when I get to where I’m going, I’ll let you know what you should send me. While most of you are reading it out of curiosity and to see how life is over here, some are reading it as entertainment. I don’t usually go into any of my posts with the intent to be funny, but I’m pretty sure my sarcasm bleeds through into my writing, a pleasant byproduct. I will try and keep this going as often as I can, but please keep in mind that we are unsure of what lies ahead. I’m sure that when we get there I’ll be all pissy again, but slowly we will find the little things about the base that keep us sane, even if that’s just the local coffee shop. During this whole MOB process we have been told we were going to be setting up camp in 4 different bases. Ironically, we have actually passed through 2 of them now and are going to set up in one of the others. Originally we were supposed to set up in Camp Buehring, Kuwait. That was the plan way before we even came on orders in September of ’08. Next we were told we would be going to Q-West, Iraq. That lasted all the way up to the Stand Down (trust me, I’ll cover that in PreMob Pt 3 [probably be a 4 part series btw]). While we were at Ft Sill we were told that we would be staying in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It wasn’t until shortly before we left Sill that we found out where we were actually going. After looking at the area where we would have worked here on Kandahar, many of us are disappointed that this one didn’t come true. Like I said, the first day we were here I likened this place to hell, now most of us would pay to stay here. The only thing I have been unable to adapt to is the smell of raw sewage. This post has a central sewage pond and depending on the wind direction, it can be a very bad day. My main concern about our FOB is the possible lack of internet. I’ve said, in half jest, I could be stationed in Hell as long as I had Wi-Fi. I’ll let you know in a couple days whether or not Hell is equipped with broadband. P.S. SPC Taylor snuked during a briefing today (rare combo of sneeze/puke) and we made him sit in it for 4 hours!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Wakeup Call - 21 Feb 2009 - 1200
Last night and this morning I debated on whether or not to post this. I know everyone wants us to be safe and it would be nice for us to imagine we are in Ft Carson, CO surrounded by mountains, but we aren’t. Afghanistan is a warzone and we are right in the middle of it. I didn’t want to write this as to leave the women we love back home in the dark and not have to have additional worries about our safety, but I think that it is an important piece of my story. I don’t want my family to be disillusioned into thinking that this is a tour in Kuwait. Around 1700 a few of us decided to go to the “Catwalk”, which is the area of camp with all the shops, the PX and the food court, to eat. 
When we got there we got there we found a Burger King, a Subway and a Pizza Hut. Posted on the front of the Burger King was a sign that read “Due to Logistical issues we are out of chicken and beef.” So we went to Subway where we found a sign that read “Only Meatball Subs”. We then walked to Pizza Hut where their supplies were also limited and the wait was an hour. A few of the guys decided to stick out the Pizza wait, but SGT Fasse and I decided to walk back to the shitty chow hall. Dinner there was no better than breakfast and no one knew how the line worked for all the different food stations. It was both frustrating and not worth the effort. We found an open table and sat down next to 2 British Royale Marines. As we ate we made small talk with the Brits about where we were from and where we would be going and for how long. The chow hall was packed with about 500 troops from all countries. It was pretty noisy, but not noisy enough to hide the explosion. The blast was large enough and close enough to feel the percussion through the walls of the building and through the 15 ft cement barricades that surround the building. Several female in the tent let out a shocked scream and the room fell silent. Everyone looked around to see what everyone else was doing, or going to do. Slowly the crowd began to talk again and the meal resumed. It appeared as if whatever had just happened was not all that infrequent. Knowing that the 2 Brits had been here for a while, we asked if that was a common occurrence. They said that it used to be 3 or 4 times a night but had slowed recently to once every few nights. I asked if it was a mortar. They guessed that it was probably a 2.75in Rocket. It was not uncommon, one said, “But that one was awful close.” SGT Fasse had gone with the 295th in ’04 to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait for a 9 month tour. Seeing him obviously shocked, I asked if they experienced anything like that then. He said “Nothing even close to resembling that.” After we finished our meal we walked outside and heard emergency vehicle sirens in the distance. They evacuated all the MWR and like tents and had everyone go outside. We knew that in the DFAC the explosion had come from the south, which was where our tents were. We joked that hopefully when we go back it want a smoldering pile. After our walk back we found our Platoon Sergeant standing outside the tent. He said that they had heard it but that it was to the east of where the tent is. Inside the tents no one seemed that distracted by it as they watched movies on their laptops and settled in for bed. I decided to shower up and head to bed. At some point yesterday afternoon, CW2 Bohaty found out how to turn hot water on in the shower tent. I went to bed with the plan to wake up early and go get some coffee and donuts. When I woke up I was a little perturbed that people were making so much noise and the lights had been turned on. Someone walked by my bunk on their way to the door, and upon opening it I saw that the sun was already up. I had expected it to be 0400 or so and it was in fact 0730. I got ready, brushed my teeth, waited for Chief Bohaty and SSG Moorhead to get ready, and we rolled out in search of donuts and coffee. Our first meeting of the day wasn’t until 1000. We found a Green Bean Coffee shop inside a big MWR tent. They didn’t have any donuts but they had muffins and cinnamon rolls. We bought our goods and walked into the main room of the MWR tent. Here there were couches, chairs and TVs everywhere. For some reason we happened to be the only ones in there. We sat down, watch the end of “Mr. And Mrs. Smith” and enjoyed our breakfast. After that we walked to our tents to gather everyone, then walked to the Battalion area for our briefs. We filled out a little paperwork, got our photos taken and received 30 bullets, which we are to have on us at all times. While there someone confirmed that the explosion the night before was, in fact, a rocket attack. It had landed a little way behind a different DFAC on post that was currently closed for renovations. A lot of news is flooding down to us from people on post about our mission as far as lifestyle at our FOB and specific mission details. It’s hard to filter out what’s a rumor and what to take seriously. One thing we did hear, however, is that we should only be staying here about 10 days. As you could have probably guessed, I’m not holding my breath. It will be nice to finally stop living out of my bags though and possibly get into some hardside barracks. We hear that our FOB is actually safer than Kandahar, even though Kandahar is relatively safe as well. This is because it is out in the middle of the desert. From a guard tower you can see until the end of the Earth. It makes sneaking up on a base rather difficult. Despite last night’s “excitement”, I really don’t find myself overly concerned with my safety here, but it was a bit of a wakeup call. As fast as we heard that explosion, the chow hall could have been in rubble. It was a quick reminder, on the first night, of what’s at stake over here.
When we got there we got there we found a Burger King, a Subway and a Pizza Hut. Posted on the front of the Burger King was a sign that read “Due to Logistical issues we are out of chicken and beef.” So we went to Subway where we found a sign that read “Only Meatball Subs”. We then walked to Pizza Hut where their supplies were also limited and the wait was an hour. A few of the guys decided to stick out the Pizza wait, but SGT Fasse and I decided to walk back to the shitty chow hall. Dinner there was no better than breakfast and no one knew how the line worked for all the different food stations. It was both frustrating and not worth the effort. We found an open table and sat down next to 2 British Royale Marines. As we ate we made small talk with the Brits about where we were from and where we would be going and for how long. The chow hall was packed with about 500 troops from all countries. It was pretty noisy, but not noisy enough to hide the explosion. The blast was large enough and close enough to feel the percussion through the walls of the building and through the 15 ft cement barricades that surround the building. Several female in the tent let out a shocked scream and the room fell silent. Everyone looked around to see what everyone else was doing, or going to do. Slowly the crowd began to talk again and the meal resumed. It appeared as if whatever had just happened was not all that infrequent. Knowing that the 2 Brits had been here for a while, we asked if that was a common occurrence. They said that it used to be 3 or 4 times a night but had slowed recently to once every few nights. I asked if it was a mortar. They guessed that it was probably a 2.75in Rocket. It was not uncommon, one said, “But that one was awful close.” SGT Fasse had gone with the 295th in ’04 to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait for a 9 month tour. Seeing him obviously shocked, I asked if they experienced anything like that then. He said “Nothing even close to resembling that.” After we finished our meal we walked outside and heard emergency vehicle sirens in the distance. They evacuated all the MWR and like tents and had everyone go outside. We knew that in the DFAC the explosion had come from the south, which was where our tents were. We joked that hopefully when we go back it want a smoldering pile. After our walk back we found our Platoon Sergeant standing outside the tent. He said that they had heard it but that it was to the east of where the tent is. Inside the tents no one seemed that distracted by it as they watched movies on their laptops and settled in for bed. I decided to shower up and head to bed. At some point yesterday afternoon, CW2 Bohaty found out how to turn hot water on in the shower tent. I went to bed with the plan to wake up early and go get some coffee and donuts. When I woke up I was a little perturbed that people were making so much noise and the lights had been turned on. Someone walked by my bunk on their way to the door, and upon opening it I saw that the sun was already up. I had expected it to be 0400 or so and it was in fact 0730. I got ready, brushed my teeth, waited for Chief Bohaty and SSG Moorhead to get ready, and we rolled out in search of donuts and coffee. Our first meeting of the day wasn’t until 1000. We found a Green Bean Coffee shop inside a big MWR tent. They didn’t have any donuts but they had muffins and cinnamon rolls. We bought our goods and walked into the main room of the MWR tent. Here there were couches, chairs and TVs everywhere. For some reason we happened to be the only ones in there. We sat down, watch the end of “Mr. And Mrs. Smith” and enjoyed our breakfast. After that we walked to our tents to gather everyone, then walked to the Battalion area for our briefs. We filled out a little paperwork, got our photos taken and received 30 bullets, which we are to have on us at all times. While there someone confirmed that the explosion the night before was, in fact, a rocket attack. It had landed a little way behind a different DFAC on post that was currently closed for renovations. A lot of news is flooding down to us from people on post about our mission as far as lifestyle at our FOB and specific mission details. It’s hard to filter out what’s a rumor and what to take seriously. One thing we did hear, however, is that we should only be staying here about 10 days. As you could have probably guessed, I’m not holding my breath. It will be nice to finally stop living out of my bags though and possibly get into some hardside barracks. We hear that our FOB is actually safer than Kandahar, even though Kandahar is relatively safe as well. This is because it is out in the middle of the desert. From a guard tower you can see until the end of the Earth. It makes sneaking up on a base rather difficult. Despite last night’s “excitement”, I really don’t find myself overly concerned with my safety here, but it was a bit of a wakeup call. As fast as we heard that explosion, the chow hall could have been in rubble. It was a quick reminder, on the first night, of what’s at stake over here.
Come on Down to Southpark... - 20 Feb 2009 - 1430
ZOMG, what did we do that was so bad that it warranted this? (Insert photo of Kathy Bates here... and maybe one of hell) I hate that my entries are always such a downer. I'm really not that kind of person by nature. I am typically an introverted, laid back, take everything in stride guy. When I say introverted I don’t mean a hermit. I mean in the sense that I enjoy my alone time. I don't need to have human interaction nor do I go out and seek it, but it seems to find me. I usually draw a crowd whether I try or not. So here is how I got to Kandahar. At around 2300 last night we packed up and walked to the terminal. By this time the snow was coming down in flakes of size that I have never seen. Each one was like a golf ball. I was certain we were wasting our time even walking down there. When we got there we found out that somehow the flight had been double booked. Each unit is assigned a line number when they are being booked on a flight and somehow 2 units were given the same one. I was sure that they would bump us but miraculously the other unit was forced to leave. Again I was sure that we had just won the battle for a flight that was destined to be cancelled. As we waited for our 0200 flight we watch a bit of Rocky IV. The audio wouldn't work so we played a bit of Mystery Science Theatre 2000. Our baggage all the while had been sitting on three pallets in the rain and snow, only one of which for some reason had been tarpped. At around 0130 we loaded 2 buses to head to our C130. When we got on the bus with all our gear the driver told us they had made a mistake and that the plane wasn't even on the ground yet. He gave us the option to stay on the bus or go back inside. If you have never seen 40+ Soldiers packed onto a Bluebird bus with all their gear it's a site to see. As you sit down you literally wedge yourself into the seat. There is no moving, no leg room, no free inch. We elected to stay to avoid the supreme hassle. After 15 min or so the plane landed, deboarded its troops and we were allowed to load. A C130 is much smaller than a C17. 
There isn’t a lot of room to move around. There are 4 rows of webbed seats; one on each wall and two back to back in the middle from front to midway back. In the back they loaded what gear they could. We were forced to leave 1 pallet which would hopefully find its way back to us. The flight was only about 1.5 hours. It was actually way better than the C17 flight. On a scale of 1 to 10 (comfy to terrible) the C17 was a 13, the C130 was like a 4. One of the Wyoming based Air Force crewmen asked us where we were from. We told him Nebraska and he gave us a GOOO BIIIIIG REEEED, to which we all replied in chanting unison GO BIG RED. Turns out he grew up in Nebraska and said he was still a Husker. After takeoff I zonked out and didn’t wake up until landing. We deboarded and loaded up on... NOTHING. There was nothing waiting for us to take us down to the terminal. It was probably low 30s with a 15 mph wind. After a 15 min huddle party a bus showed up to take us in. We transferred buses and caught a ride to the Chow Hall. We had hear in Bagram that Kandahar was a nice post but the food wasn't nearly as good as in Bagram. They were certainly right, about the food part anyway. Breakfast was not good. CW2 Bohaty said it was worse than our C17 ride. I disagreed for the simple fact that the C17 ride was like 6 hours and chow was only 10 min but if I had to rate it on a 1-10 scale it wouldn't fare much better. The eggs were 40% water, the milk was some kind of special awful, the bacon wasn’t meat but pig fat. If I go back again I won’t even be able to have cereal as the milk was pukable. After chow we loaded back up and rode to our new home. It is in a new part of the base referred to as Southpark. It is a tent city stuck way down in the south side of the base away from any amenities such as any DFACs, PX, MWR, laundry, or hot water... you know, anything that makes life worth living. The bus stopped at the gate and we were told they were not allowed to drive into Southpark. We had to carry all our crap about 300yds to our tents. The palletized baggage was allowed to drive in though since it was on the back of a 5 ton and only military vehicles were allowed in. We unloaded the pallet and I found my footlocker. In it was only my cold weather gear, some extra uniforms, misc items, and the pic of my wife. It was dusty as hell from sitting out in Ali Al Salem for a week but survived the rain and snow of Bagram. We were given 2 tents.
Each tent has 20 bunks but we are only allowed to sleep on the bottoms as a safety hazard. We divided up by rank mostly and carried in the first load of gear. SGT Theisen found out shortly after why it was a safety hazard. Upon approaching his bed he shook it to demonstrate its flimsiness and the top bunch collapsed onto the bottom. Shortly after everyone settled in the truck showed up with our second pallet of bags. On this truck I found both of my bags. My rucksack which had mostly gear in it was dry as a bone, but my rolling duffel, which had all my clothing was soaked from top to bottom. I took my pillow, which had been on top of my duffel and wedged it outside the tent between two tent pole ropes and did the same with my towel which was right below it. I then went through all my clothing to see if any of it was dry. It came out about 80/20 wet. I hung my uniforms to air dry and threw everything else in a laundry bag for when we find a laundry facility. People decided to start showering and taking naps while I was sorting and returned shortly after leaving. They reported no hot water, and not just no hot water, but frigid water. There was a report of one Soldier standing in his underwear outside the water, dipping in his head, backing out to lather up then resoaking his head. I decided to hold off a while. I settled in and took a nap until about 1330. The beds are bad too. The mattresses are 6' and they but right up to the rails at head and foot. Being 6' myself, I can’t even stretch out. The mattresses are hard as a rock and the top bunks sit way to low, as you can’t even sit upright in the bottom bunk. Most of the people were gone when I woke up. They had walked to the chow hall and PX which were at least a 15 min walk. I chose to stay back and eat an MRE I had saved from Ft Sill. I heard our Kandahar liaison say they would be getting us vehicles of some kind eventually so I’ll start going up that way when we get wheels. This next part is a bit graphic, kids turn away. I felt the need next to go make brown. I went to the latrine tent and was mortified. I want the porta-potties back! 
Each crapper has a curtain on three sides that leaves about 2 inches of gap on every side and about a foot on bottom. There is a hard wall behind it. The curtain in front is hangs about 3 inches in front of the bowl so you end up wearing it and since it is already like a foot off the ground it comes halfway up your shins. The toilet paper is on spools outside your "stall". This is by far the most primitive conditions that we have encountered. The females on the other hand are staying up in the Air Force barracks up by the "downtown" area, the reason however escapes me as there are female showers, latrines and tents out here designated for them. Hopefully we are not here very long before we head to our final destination. We have been told that we may be here up to a month before moving on. Kandahar is more like Kuwait again. 
It seems to be dry and desert like, only here we are surrounded by mountains. I'll have to report more in-depth when I finally get around to exploring a bit. But we are here and we are safe. We are going to have to rely on each other in the fact that this is gunna blow but we are all going through the same thing, except the girls. Every day of hell here reinforces the fact that there is nowhere else I would rather be than home with my wife.
There isn’t a lot of room to move around. There are 4 rows of webbed seats; one on each wall and two back to back in the middle from front to midway back. In the back they loaded what gear they could. We were forced to leave 1 pallet which would hopefully find its way back to us. The flight was only about 1.5 hours. It was actually way better than the C17 flight. On a scale of 1 to 10 (comfy to terrible) the C17 was a 13, the C130 was like a 4. One of the Wyoming based Air Force crewmen asked us where we were from. We told him Nebraska and he gave us a GOOO BIIIIIG REEEED, to which we all replied in chanting unison GO BIG RED. Turns out he grew up in Nebraska and said he was still a Husker. After takeoff I zonked out and didn’t wake up until landing. We deboarded and loaded up on... NOTHING. There was nothing waiting for us to take us down to the terminal. It was probably low 30s with a 15 mph wind. After a 15 min huddle party a bus showed up to take us in. We transferred buses and caught a ride to the Chow Hall. We had hear in Bagram that Kandahar was a nice post but the food wasn't nearly as good as in Bagram. They were certainly right, about the food part anyway. Breakfast was not good. CW2 Bohaty said it was worse than our C17 ride. I disagreed for the simple fact that the C17 ride was like 6 hours and chow was only 10 min but if I had to rate it on a 1-10 scale it wouldn't fare much better. The eggs were 40% water, the milk was some kind of special awful, the bacon wasn’t meat but pig fat. If I go back again I won’t even be able to have cereal as the milk was pukable. After chow we loaded back up and rode to our new home. It is in a new part of the base referred to as Southpark. It is a tent city stuck way down in the south side of the base away from any amenities such as any DFACs, PX, MWR, laundry, or hot water... you know, anything that makes life worth living. The bus stopped at the gate and we were told they were not allowed to drive into Southpark. We had to carry all our crap about 300yds to our tents. The palletized baggage was allowed to drive in though since it was on the back of a 5 ton and only military vehicles were allowed in. We unloaded the pallet and I found my footlocker. In it was only my cold weather gear, some extra uniforms, misc items, and the pic of my wife. It was dusty as hell from sitting out in Ali Al Salem for a week but survived the rain and snow of Bagram. We were given 2 tents. Each tent has 20 bunks but we are only allowed to sleep on the bottoms as a safety hazard. We divided up by rank mostly and carried in the first load of gear. SGT Theisen found out shortly after why it was a safety hazard. Upon approaching his bed he shook it to demonstrate its flimsiness and the top bunch collapsed onto the bottom. Shortly after everyone settled in the truck showed up with our second pallet of bags. On this truck I found both of my bags. My rucksack which had mostly gear in it was dry as a bone, but my rolling duffel, which had all my clothing was soaked from top to bottom. I took my pillow, which had been on top of my duffel and wedged it outside the tent between two tent pole ropes and did the same with my towel which was right below it. I then went through all my clothing to see if any of it was dry. It came out about 80/20 wet. I hung my uniforms to air dry and threw everything else in a laundry bag for when we find a laundry facility. People decided to start showering and taking naps while I was sorting and returned shortly after leaving. They reported no hot water, and not just no hot water, but frigid water. There was a report of one Soldier standing in his underwear outside the water, dipping in his head, backing out to lather up then resoaking his head. I decided to hold off a while. I settled in and took a nap until about 1330. The beds are bad too. The mattresses are 6' and they but right up to the rails at head and foot. Being 6' myself, I can’t even stretch out. The mattresses are hard as a rock and the top bunks sit way to low, as you can’t even sit upright in the bottom bunk. Most of the people were gone when I woke up. They had walked to the chow hall and PX which were at least a 15 min walk. I chose to stay back and eat an MRE I had saved from Ft Sill. I heard our Kandahar liaison say they would be getting us vehicles of some kind eventually so I’ll start going up that way when we get wheels. This next part is a bit graphic, kids turn away. I felt the need next to go make brown. I went to the latrine tent and was mortified. I want the porta-potties back! Each crapper has a curtain on three sides that leaves about 2 inches of gap on every side and about a foot on bottom. There is a hard wall behind it. The curtain in front is hangs about 3 inches in front of the bowl so you end up wearing it and since it is already like a foot off the ground it comes halfway up your shins. The toilet paper is on spools outside your "stall". This is by far the most primitive conditions that we have encountered. The females on the other hand are staying up in the Air Force barracks up by the "downtown" area, the reason however escapes me as there are female showers, latrines and tents out here designated for them. Hopefully we are not here very long before we head to our final destination. We have been told that we may be here up to a month before moving on. Kandahar is more like Kuwait again. It seems to be dry and desert like, only here we are surrounded by mountains. I'll have to report more in-depth when I finally get around to exploring a bit. But we are here and we are safe. We are going to have to rely on each other in the fact that this is gunna blow but we are all going through the same thing, except the girls. Every day of hell here reinforces the fact that there is nowhere else I would rather be than home with my wife.
Bumped for Ammo - 19 Feb 2009 - 1530
Wednesday the 18th we were told again that we would be rolling out... again. We were to get on the buses at around 1500. We gathered our bags and met up at the bus stop. After a short wait, our Platoon Sergeant informed us that we had been bumped off of our flight for a priority ammo shipment but that there was a possibility that we would be able to hitch a ride on a flight later that night. No one was very optimistic that we would be going anywhere. I got back to the tent and unpacked my things. As much as I thought I hated being in Ali Al Salem, the thought of leaving was kind of a disappointment. It really was an easy life. If only they had not kept jerking us around and left us alone I was living sweet. I'd get up in the morning at 0300 or so and shower and get dressed. Id then go to the MWR tent and get on the internet and video chat with my wife and blog. At some point Id grab some donuts from Hole in One and coffee from GreenBean Coffee. Id then watch the 0900 and maybe the 1300 movies. Eat a bit of lunch, hang out for a bit and go to bed around 1830 or so. On that night, we sat joking in the tent when we found out that we were scheduled for another flight at 0200. This time we made the flight. We took our buses out to the flight line to board our C17. 
As we had to hitch a ride, there were about 150 other Soldiers and Civilians on our flight. It was quite possibly the worst ride ever. We were jammed in like sardines and had to wear our IOTVs. The inside of the plane was like a warehouse. It felt strange to be sitting in a bay and having it pitch and yaw. By the time we landed it was light out. We stepped out into our first stop in Afghanistan; Bagram Air Field. We unloaded and walked across the tarmac to the inprocessing tent. It was very cool, probably mid 30's, and drizzly. After a short inprocessing we lugged our carryon bags to our new tent. 
The uniform here is weapon carried all the time with a magazine in, no IOTV or ACH. We then we're told that the bags that we had palletized would need to be moved by hand and repalletized to fit on our next plane. By this time the rain was coming down. We moved the bags and were released to do what we needed to until our scheduled flight later on in the evening. A few of us decided to walk down to the PX area and get some coffee from GreenBean. 
I was surprised by the distinct difference between this post and the 2 I had been at in Kuwait. This one has paved roads and sidewalks, trees and many hardside buildings. We walked back towards the tent and decided to have some lunch at the DFAC (Dining Facility). It was a decent Chow Hall but was a cluster. People were everywhere and there were no lines. We ate and returned to our tent. The conversations in the tent centered around the "near beer" served in the chow hall, preference between the dusty desert and the wet cold area we are in now, and the over/under on how many nights we will actually be in Bagram. We were scheduled to leave tonight but the o/u is 2 1/2 days. I am somewhat optimistic but I took the over. It’s getting colder and the rain is changing to snow a bit. If it snows hard I doubt we leave. Also there is an issue with us having too much baggage to fit on our plane. Meanwhile our bags sit outside getting soaked. The only thing that I will be upset if it gets wet is a photo in a frame of my wife that is in my footlocker, but I'm sure I'll bitch about everything else getting wet. On bag watch a few days ago with SPC Hartwell, he asked me why I joined the Army. He said I seem like I could be doing something my productive with my life. This wasn’t the first time this question had been posed to me since our mob started. In high school I had a friend named Jess Duden. Jess joined the Navy and went to BCT. While there he came down with pneumonia and died. Before that I had not had any desire to have anything to do with the military. My senior year I was approached by a Navy Recruiter who came out to our house and spoke to me. A few weeks later an Army Recruiter came out to visit. I agreed to go into the recruiting station with the Army recruiter and look at the jobs they had to offer. Since I was too lazy to do my scholarship paperwork, their pitches sounded pretty good. Needless to say I joined, primarily for the college money and also to honor Jess. I reenlisted 6 years later for another 6 years because I was pursuing my civilian job. Now, however, I don't feel like it's what I should be doing. I'm a much different person than when I signed on the dotted line 8 years ago. I find myself coasting through the days counting down the time until I can go home to my wife. My plan is to ride out my contract which expires in 2013 and find another Gov’t Job that doesn’t require military enlistment. Ill have in 12 year, over the hump to 20, but the Gov’t retirement is where its at. Hopefully we leave Bagram soon and we can get to work and maybe my outlook will improve.
As we had to hitch a ride, there were about 150 other Soldiers and Civilians on our flight. It was quite possibly the worst ride ever. We were jammed in like sardines and had to wear our IOTVs. The inside of the plane was like a warehouse. It felt strange to be sitting in a bay and having it pitch and yaw. By the time we landed it was light out. We stepped out into our first stop in Afghanistan; Bagram Air Field. We unloaded and walked across the tarmac to the inprocessing tent. It was very cool, probably mid 30's, and drizzly. After a short inprocessing we lugged our carryon bags to our new tent. The uniform here is weapon carried all the time with a magazine in, no IOTV or ACH. We then we're told that the bags that we had palletized would need to be moved by hand and repalletized to fit on our next plane. By this time the rain was coming down. We moved the bags and were released to do what we needed to until our scheduled flight later on in the evening. A few of us decided to walk down to the PX area and get some coffee from GreenBean. I was surprised by the distinct difference between this post and the 2 I had been at in Kuwait. This one has paved roads and sidewalks, trees and many hardside buildings. We walked back towards the tent and decided to have some lunch at the DFAC (Dining Facility). It was a decent Chow Hall but was a cluster. People were everywhere and there were no lines. We ate and returned to our tent. The conversations in the tent centered around the "near beer" served in the chow hall, preference between the dusty desert and the wet cold area we are in now, and the over/under on how many nights we will actually be in Bagram. We were scheduled to leave tonight but the o/u is 2 1/2 days. I am somewhat optimistic but I took the over. It’s getting colder and the rain is changing to snow a bit. If it snows hard I doubt we leave. Also there is an issue with us having too much baggage to fit on our plane. Meanwhile our bags sit outside getting soaked. The only thing that I will be upset if it gets wet is a photo in a frame of my wife that is in my footlocker, but I'm sure I'll bitch about everything else getting wet. On bag watch a few days ago with SPC Hartwell, he asked me why I joined the Army. He said I seem like I could be doing something my productive with my life. This wasn’t the first time this question had been posed to me since our mob started. In high school I had a friend named Jess Duden. Jess joined the Navy and went to BCT. While there he came down with pneumonia and died. Before that I had not had any desire to have anything to do with the military. My senior year I was approached by a Navy Recruiter who came out to our house and spoke to me. A few weeks later an Army Recruiter came out to visit. I agreed to go into the recruiting station with the Army recruiter and look at the jobs they had to offer. Since I was too lazy to do my scholarship paperwork, their pitches sounded pretty good. Needless to say I joined, primarily for the college money and also to honor Jess. I reenlisted 6 years later for another 6 years because I was pursuing my civilian job. Now, however, I don't feel like it's what I should be doing. I'm a much different person than when I signed on the dotted line 8 years ago. I find myself coasting through the days counting down the time until I can go home to my wife. My plan is to ride out my contract which expires in 2013 and find another Gov’t Job that doesn’t require military enlistment. Ill have in 12 year, over the hump to 20, but the Gov’t retirement is where its at. Hopefully we leave Bagram soon and we can get to work and maybe my outlook will improve.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Subject to Change
This post will be updated when I have the chance to get some wifi for my laptop. It is up temp to let everyone who is following this know that we all made it to our first stop in Afghanistan safely. Ill have another interesting blog posted in a couple days. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!
Monday, February 16, 2009
PreMob Pt 2 - 16 Feb 2009 - 0500
October 1st, the start of the new fiscal year. A dead zone in the financial system of the government. Budgets yet to be approved, money to be allocated, orders waiting to be cut. So why would it come as a surprise to anyone that this was the day chosen for us to leave for Ft McCoy, WI. I was told early on in my career “never go anywhere without a set of orders.” They pushed that one to the limit. We received our orders right before leaving. The bus ride up was long and uneventful. This wasn’t the first time I had been there. Many of the courses I am required to take for my Gov’t job are held there. McCoy is home for RTC North (Regional Training Center). When you come to McCoy as a civilian you stay in a building on post that is as nice as most hotels. I figured we wouldn’t be so lucky. As we rolled through the post we saw an array of housing, from moderately nice to downright dilapidated. We stopped in front of our home for the next three weeks. 
Over the next three weeks we would be put through a wide variety of cookie cutter soldier training. I was disappointed that not only was it not specific to our needs as an Ordnance Platoon, but a lot of it was designed for skill sets that we would never use. We were very busy the entire time we were there. The time passed as slower than I thought possible. Each day was filled with so much training it felt like several days. I have A LOT of pictures from this segment of our trip on facebook. For Ft McCoy look for albums 2-4 of Mob. Add me as a friend if you would like to see them. Among the cornucopia of training we did various weapons systems familiarization. We got to break apart, rebuild, and fire on ranges the M2 50cal, M240B, M249 SAW, M16A2 Rifle, M9 Pistol, and the MK19 Automatic Grenade Launcher. 
We were also given familiarization with the Claymore Mine and Fragmentation Grenades. We again did ECP procedures and Convoy Training. Some of the new training that I had not been exposed to in the past were Hand to Hand Combat and Urban Ops. 
As we had completed a lot of training in Hasting before we arrived at McCoy and because we had a small group, we were actually running ahead of schedule. We were told that we would have the last weekend we would be there off to go do whatever we wanted. People were planning on trips to La Crosse, Madison, Green Bay and even Minneapolis. Cars were rented and arrangements were made. A day or so before the weekend we were told that some O-6 Colonel put a squash on our plans and said we should find more training to do instead. With a sour taste in our mouth we decided to do one of the obstacle courses on post. 
With my wrist flaring up from the 3 weeks of physical training I elected just to take lots of pictures. The final piece we had to accomplish was our Combat Life Saver Course. It teaches you how to provide a kind of first responder first aid to include giving IV’s. Needless to say our skills left much to be desired. It only took me 2 attempts to hit the vein. The first time I advanced the catheter too far and it ended up looking a bit like this. 
Second time was the charm. 
We were all glad when Oct 24th finally came around and we got to take the long bus ride home. This was definitely the most productive segment of our trip. The ranges were in great shape, the instructors were second to none and the barracks was not the worst living accommodations we would see. Another development from McCoy was that my squad leader in 2nd Squad was promoted to SFC and moved into the Command Cell of our Platoon. As a result I took command of 2nd Squad with an iron fist.
Over the next three weeks we would be put through a wide variety of cookie cutter soldier training. I was disappointed that not only was it not specific to our needs as an Ordnance Platoon, but a lot of it was designed for skill sets that we would never use. We were very busy the entire time we were there. The time passed as slower than I thought possible. Each day was filled with so much training it felt like several days. I have A LOT of pictures from this segment of our trip on facebook. For Ft McCoy look for albums 2-4 of Mob. Add me as a friend if you would like to see them. Among the cornucopia of training we did various weapons systems familiarization. We got to break apart, rebuild, and fire on ranges the M2 50cal, M240B, M249 SAW, M16A2 Rifle, M9 Pistol, and the MK19 Automatic Grenade Launcher. We were also given familiarization with the Claymore Mine and Fragmentation Grenades. We again did ECP procedures and Convoy Training. Some of the new training that I had not been exposed to in the past were Hand to Hand Combat and Urban Ops. As we had completed a lot of training in Hasting before we arrived at McCoy and because we had a small group, we were actually running ahead of schedule. We were told that we would have the last weekend we would be there off to go do whatever we wanted. People were planning on trips to La Crosse, Madison, Green Bay and even Minneapolis. Cars were rented and arrangements were made. A day or so before the weekend we were told that some O-6 Colonel put a squash on our plans and said we should find more training to do instead. With a sour taste in our mouth we decided to do one of the obstacle courses on post. With my wrist flaring up from the 3 weeks of physical training I elected just to take lots of pictures. The final piece we had to accomplish was our Combat Life Saver Course. It teaches you how to provide a kind of first responder first aid to include giving IV’s. Needless to say our skills left much to be desired. It only took me 2 attempts to hit the vein. The first time I advanced the catheter too far and it ended up looking a bit like this. Second time was the charm. We were all glad when Oct 24th finally came around and we got to take the long bus ride home. This was definitely the most productive segment of our trip. The ranges were in great shape, the instructors were second to none and the barracks was not the worst living accommodations we would see. Another development from McCoy was that my squad leader in 2nd Squad was promoted to SFC and moved into the Command Cell of our Platoon. As a result I took command of 2nd Squad with an iron fist.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Ticket to Paradise - 16 Feb 2009 - 0700
Yesterday we got word that we would finally be heading out. We packed our things and prepped to leave. After a quick briefing at back in the OTHER tent 4 about the flight and contingencies, the Platoon went out to the bag pile to load them on pallets to be trucked to the plane. I stayed behind to watch weapons and bags as my wrist is still a bit sore. Shortly after that was completed we loaded up on our C130 and took off for our layover destination. After a short flight our layover was nothing more than a refuel and go. We took back off and headed for our next base. When we stepped off the plane it was like we were in Hawaii. Palm trees, sandy beaches, girls in bikinis offering Piña Coladas and crushed ice. 
They then put us up in the Embassy Suites and told us we all won the lottery, also that we could go home. The war was over. Except, none of that happened. I just wanted to write something different than the same old shit every day. We get told we are leaving, we pack, we get our hopes up, we go to bed the same place we did the night before. The bonus this time is that I have no sleeping bag. So here it is. Up to the part where we got on a plane the story is true, oh and the ice shack. The girls are actually a squad from the St Louis Rams Cheerleading squad that came out for a USO tour. The picture of the beach is a large board they painted here for a fun run. Our bags were palletized and on the truck on the way out to the runway. We were waiting on the buses which we were told would be there in less than 5 minutes, when like a poorly written, horribly redundant script from the twilight zone, we were told that the flight was cancelled due to ice on the runway at our layover point. We luckily had not turned in our tents yet as we probably would have been sleeping in the OTHER tent 4 again, which btw smells like a foot now! 
The issue now is that all of our bags are palletized and irretrievable, exactly like the last day in Ft Sill, only this time we were in a freezing ass tent with nothing more than our carryon baggage. I kept a travel pillow but no blankets. People were again scrambling to the PX to buy blankets and shower shoes. I chose not to, but rather to just go to sleep and end the misery. 
When we were told it was cancelled, the majority of the Platoon just laughed. I’m past the laughing stage. I think I passed that the night we had to sleep on the concrete. I really can’t see us leaving now for the next couple of days. There is a lot of betting going on on how long we will be here now. I said Tuesday night. On the bright side, no more baggage watch. I’m simply disgusted by the lack of anyone being held accountable for the manner in which our Platoon has been swept under the rug since September. I overheard someone in the tent last night mention something to the effect of, “Can you imagine a company doing business like this? They would go bankrupt.” We’ll get a “Tough it up” or a “Hey, you’re the one that signed your contract.” That’s true, I did sign my contract. I signed and said that I would be go to war and be an Ammo Specialist, this extra bullshit was nowhere in my contract. I would love to be at our FOB (Forward Operating Base) running our ASP (Ammo Storage Point). THAT is what I signed up for, not to watch a god damn stack of duffel bags as an E6. My contract is up in 2013, I don't foresee another reenlistment. Watch for another installment of PreMob coming up as I doubt Ill have any news in the near future.
They then put us up in the Embassy Suites and told us we all won the lottery, also that we could go home. The war was over. Except, none of that happened. I just wanted to write something different than the same old shit every day. We get told we are leaving, we pack, we get our hopes up, we go to bed the same place we did the night before. The bonus this time is that I have no sleeping bag. So here it is. Up to the part where we got on a plane the story is true, oh and the ice shack. The girls are actually a squad from the St Louis Rams Cheerleading squad that came out for a USO tour. The picture of the beach is a large board they painted here for a fun run. Our bags were palletized and on the truck on the way out to the runway. We were waiting on the buses which we were told would be there in less than 5 minutes, when like a poorly written, horribly redundant script from the twilight zone, we were told that the flight was cancelled due to ice on the runway at our layover point. We luckily had not turned in our tents yet as we probably would have been sleeping in the OTHER tent 4 again, which btw smells like a foot now! The issue now is that all of our bags are palletized and irretrievable, exactly like the last day in Ft Sill, only this time we were in a freezing ass tent with nothing more than our carryon baggage. I kept a travel pillow but no blankets. People were again scrambling to the PX to buy blankets and shower shoes. I chose not to, but rather to just go to sleep and end the misery. When we were told it was cancelled, the majority of the Platoon just laughed. I’m past the laughing stage. I think I passed that the night we had to sleep on the concrete. I really can’t see us leaving now for the next couple of days. There is a lot of betting going on on how long we will be here now. I said Tuesday night. On the bright side, no more baggage watch. I’m simply disgusted by the lack of anyone being held accountable for the manner in which our Platoon has been swept under the rug since September. I overheard someone in the tent last night mention something to the effect of, “Can you imagine a company doing business like this? They would go bankrupt.” We’ll get a “Tough it up” or a “Hey, you’re the one that signed your contract.” That’s true, I did sign my contract. I signed and said that I would be go to war and be an Ammo Specialist, this extra bullshit was nowhere in my contract. I would love to be at our FOB (Forward Operating Base) running our ASP (Ammo Storage Point). THAT is what I signed up for, not to watch a god damn stack of duffel bags as an E6. My contract is up in 2013, I don't foresee another reenlistment. Watch for another installment of PreMob coming up as I doubt Ill have any news in the near future.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
PreMob Pt 1 - 15 Feb 2009 - 0600
Since we have a lot of down time here while we wait for our plane to our next destination with not much to do, I thought I’d do a bit of a back story in a few installments. I didn’t just wake up one morning on a plane over Iraq after all. I joined the Army in Feb of 2001. Left for Ft Sill, OK for BCT (basic combat training) in June of ’01 after I graduated high school. After 9 weeks of training with the B Bat 1/19th, I left for Redstone Arsenal, AL in August of ’01 to start my job training as a 55B, (now 89B) Ammunition Specialist. 
I was assigned to the 2nd Platoon (which is now the 3rd Platoon) of the 295th Ordnance Company in Lincoln, NE. In early ’03 our Company was mobilized to Ft Riley but never deployed. We returned home after about 3 months. In ’04 our Company was mobilized again. This time the 295th was sent to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. I was injured during the premob when I severed the tendon in the middle finger of my right hand and was left behind. 
While the unit was gone I took the opportunity to work full time assisting the rear detachment. I was primarily put to work assisting the Unit Administrator with various S1 (personnel) tasks. A while down the road the Unit Administrator left and I was hired on for the position. The job is a civilian employee position and is a mandatory dual status job, meaning that to keep it I must stay in the reserves. Early on in ’08 the 295th was informed that we would be again deploying. This time, however, only a single Platoon would be shipping. The Platoon chosen was the 5th Platoon out of Hastings, NE. The numbers in this Platoon however were very low.It was decided by the Company Commander that it would be filled first with those organic to that Platoon, secondly by those who have not yet deployed and thirdly by volunteers from the other Platoons in the 295th. Since I fit the second criteria, I was chosen to tag along. The Army has taken me many places in my career… OK, MD, NY, NJ, DC, PN, TN, KY, KS, IA, VA, GA, MO, South Korea, and Germany (twice), but now I was heading for combat. My girlfriend (now wife) and I had talked about getting married before, but when I was informed that I would be going along, my girlfriend and I decided that it would be advantageous for us to tie the knot before I left. On August 23 2008 I married my beautiful wife Sarah. 
Now, not only was I going to war, but I was leaving behind a wife. This would make the process especially difficult. Just over a week after getting married, our premob process would start. Sept 2, 08 we were ordered to Hastings, NE to start our SRP (Soldier Readiness Program) and initial training. We were there from Sept 2 – Oct 1. During this time we were pummeled in the worse way known to man, DbP. (Death by PowerPoint) 
Intermittently, we would have training that lead us outside of the Reserve Center. We did a little bit of convoy training, some ECP drills (Entry Control Point), and a little forklift / PLS training which is more specific to our actual job skills. 
Myself, I was chosen to be the NCOIC (Noncommissioned Officer in Charge) of the Platoons SAAS section. SAAS is the Army’s ammo accounting software. I also was charged with the interim duty of 2nd Squad’s Squad Leader while SSG Wolf was in WA reclassing to 88N. We also had a lot of downtime. We used this time to become more familiar with the new faces of the Soldiers we would be deploying with. The Soldiers who have been around for a while are somewhat familiar with one another from Company events and Annual Trainings, but there were several new Soldiers deploying with us as well. Being an S1 for the Company I’m familiar with basic knowledge of almost everyone, (names, basic personnel facts, etc) but could not have picked most of them out of a lineup. It’s tough to keep a bored Soldier out of mischief. 
We stayed in the Comfort in during this time, 2 guys per room. We were catered 3 meals a day from 4 restaurants, KFC, Valentino’s, OK Café, and Russ’s Market. Needless to say by the end we were sick and tired of chicken, pizza and meals that were aptly named “OK”.
I was assigned to the 2nd Platoon (which is now the 3rd Platoon) of the 295th Ordnance Company in Lincoln, NE. In early ’03 our Company was mobilized to Ft Riley but never deployed. We returned home after about 3 months. In ’04 our Company was mobilized again. This time the 295th was sent to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. I was injured during the premob when I severed the tendon in the middle finger of my right hand and was left behind. 
While the unit was gone I took the opportunity to work full time assisting the rear detachment. I was primarily put to work assisting the Unit Administrator with various S1 (personnel) tasks. A while down the road the Unit Administrator left and I was hired on for the position. The job is a civilian employee position and is a mandatory dual status job, meaning that to keep it I must stay in the reserves. Early on in ’08 the 295th was informed that we would be again deploying. This time, however, only a single Platoon would be shipping. The Platoon chosen was the 5th Platoon out of Hastings, NE. The numbers in this Platoon however were very low.It was decided by the Company Commander that it would be filled first with those organic to that Platoon, secondly by those who have not yet deployed and thirdly by volunteers from the other Platoons in the 295th. Since I fit the second criteria, I was chosen to tag along. The Army has taken me many places in my career… OK, MD, NY, NJ, DC, PN, TN, KY, KS, IA, VA, GA, MO, South Korea, and Germany (twice), but now I was heading for combat. My girlfriend (now wife) and I had talked about getting married before, but when I was informed that I would be going along, my girlfriend and I decided that it would be advantageous for us to tie the knot before I left. On August 23 2008 I married my beautiful wife Sarah. 
Now, not only was I going to war, but I was leaving behind a wife. This would make the process especially difficult. Just over a week after getting married, our premob process would start. Sept 2, 08 we were ordered to Hastings, NE to start our SRP (Soldier Readiness Program) and initial training. We were there from Sept 2 – Oct 1. During this time we were pummeled in the worse way known to man, DbP. (Death by PowerPoint) Intermittently, we would have training that lead us outside of the Reserve Center. We did a little bit of convoy training, some ECP drills (Entry Control Point), and a little forklift / PLS training which is more specific to our actual job skills. Myself, I was chosen to be the NCOIC (Noncommissioned Officer in Charge) of the Platoons SAAS section. SAAS is the Army’s ammo accounting software. I also was charged with the interim duty of 2nd Squad’s Squad Leader while SSG Wolf was in WA reclassing to 88N. We also had a lot of downtime. We used this time to become more familiar with the new faces of the Soldiers we would be deploying with. The Soldiers who have been around for a while are somewhat familiar with one another from Company events and Annual Trainings, but there were several new Soldiers deploying with us as well. Being an S1 for the Company I’m familiar with basic knowledge of almost everyone, (names, basic personnel facts, etc) but could not have picked most of them out of a lineup. It’s tough to keep a bored Soldier out of mischief. We stayed in the Comfort in during this time, 2 guys per room. We were catered 3 meals a day from 4 restaurants, KFC, Valentino’s, OK Café, and Russ’s Market. Needless to say by the end we were sick and tired of chicken, pizza and meals that were aptly named “OK”.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
No News is Shitty News - 12 Feb 2009 - 1845
No flights again for us today. On bag guard duty we watched groups come in and load up for their flights immediately. The constant state of uncertainty with our platoon is bad for morale. The platoon tries to stay motivated by joking about the ridiculous nature in which we are being jerked around. I’m feeling pretty run down right now. I think the change in climate, amount of dust in the air, shifting sleep schedules and other contributing factors are wearing on me. My sinuses are flared up, I’m waking up with a sore throat, and my wrist, which I had surgery on right before coming on deployment, is in worse shape than before the surgery, no doubt from moving hundreds of pounds of baggage again and again. I considered going to the TMC (troop medical clinic) and seeing if I could get a light duty profile, but I’m concerned that it may be more serious and they could send me home. I was having trouble with it while we were in pre-MOB training at RTC North, Ft McCoy, WI. We had been doing a of physical work and it killed my wrist. Shortly after we returned home for a short stint it went back to being fine. I brought my leftover hydracodon along and I may start taking a bit of that. I’m kind of glad we won’t be leaving tonight as I just generally feel sick. Hopefully another day of lying around breathing dust should clear that right up. I have the 2330 shift on OBW ’09 (Operation Bag Watch) tonight so I’ll be up a little late. Hopefully my roommates will keep it down in the morning and I can sleep in a bit.
Stuck on Mars - 11 Feb 2009 - 2130
We left Buehring for Ali Al Salem, Kuwait on the afternoon of the 10th at around 1400 to board our plane to Afghanistan. We packed up our infinite string of gear, again, and jumped on a bus for our new base. This was the first time that I saw the Kuwaiti countryside by daylight. It looked just like I assumed after seeing it by moonlight. There is no color to this country other than variances of brown and grey. The sky is rarely blue but rather dark and hazy most of the time. There are small bushes maybe a foot high and foot across, but even they are few and far between, and not what I would call lush. I was surprised by the number of camels out roaming around the country freely. 
The trash by daylight was even worse than I thought. Garbage clings to everything in the wind… fences, buildings, other garbage. Upon arriving at Ali Al Salem (LSA) we unloaded our gear into a staging area to be palletized to go on the plane. We would once again be with only our carryon baggage, weapons, and this time IOTV’s (Improved Outer Tactical Vests) and ACH’s (Army Combat Helmet). 
We are told by our Commander to walk on the other side of buildings in our way to find tent number 4. That would be our staging area. We started off walking…. We found tent 1, then 2, 3, then finally 4. Probably a 200m walk. When we got there we found out that tent 4 is for only Soldiers waiting to return home. As much as we were hoping that was a hint, we know we were in the wrong place. After 15 min or so of asking around we were finally directed to the OTHER tent 4. The tents all have an address and a grid coordinate on the side. For whatever reason, although we were in the 6000 address block, tucked away in a corner was tent 4. 
We then had some short theatre briefs and were given a hard time of 2300 for our last set of briefs before our 0200 flight. We were given free rein to do whatever until then. A group of us headed down to the food court to grab some food. When we arrived I saw the first McDonalds that I had ever seen on a military base. (They are generally Burger Kings) 
Of course I had to eat it as mentioned in a prior entry. When we returned to the tent, our Commander informed us that our plane was broken and we would have to be delayed a while. This wouldn’t have raised any alarms with me typically except that we were given that same line the day we were supposed to leave Ft Sill. In that instance we packed all our baggage on a truck and sent it to the airport, only to find out that we would have to stay another night and we were getting kicked out of our rooms. The having to leave the rooms was annoying; not having our baggage for a night was a pain in the ass. We ended up throwing some money together and buying the essentials for everyone for one night. (Disposable razors, shower shoes, tooth paste, etc) The plan in this case was to wait it out in tent 4 and see if the flight was just going to be delayed or canceled. The powers that be at Ali Al Salem wanted us to go back to Buehring which would have meant reloading the bags AGAIN. Our Commander got them talked into letting us have tent 4 for the night. Tent 4 has concrete floors and no beds, not even cots. There is only 1 row of chairs from one end to the other with a single table in the middle. When I heard all the news, I knew it would be in my best interest to go back to the bag pile and fish out my sleeping bag as I had a sneaking suspicion that we would be there for the night. The shitty thing about this plan is that there were no room for our bags inside, nor did we want to carry them, so 2 man teams would have to take turns on shifts watching them as they lay outside. I went to sleep around 2000 and slept until around 0330. When I woke up I thought that our plane was parked over the top of our tent. During the night a dust storm had kicked up. The wind was howling and dust was coming in every little opening in the tent. I got up to pee which fortunately the trailer was right next to our tent. On my way I stopped to take a picture of the dust storm. I took 2 shots in the same place, one without flash, one with. 
I then walked on to go pee. It was here I was introduced to the Army’s mobile latrines. Running water and flushable toilets, they are great. Not to mention the graffiti on the walls was very entertaining. I went back to bed but never really got any substantial sleep after that. There was too much wind, to many people up and about and too much light from computer monitors and other electronics. Went to breakfast at about 0700 which was identical to the chow hall in Buehring. After that we grabbed some coffee at Mean Bean and went and relaxed in the MWR tent for a while. After about an hour of killing time there, one of our guys came and got us and told us we were going back to Buehring. We gathered our things and went back to our beloved tent 4. After waiting a while at the tent to leave, our Commander informed us that the roads were not drivable due to the dust storm. Tent 4 was to be our home for the foreseeable future. Several of us went back to the MWR tent but found it to be full of people trying to escape the wind and sand. The sand storm was miserable. Everything had a red hue to it as though on Mars, dust gets into everything… eyes, nose, ears, mouth. It’s always great when you have to chew your air supply. 
I decided to go with SPC Kotinek to go to the CZ to check my email while the others went to the USO tent. After finding out that the time I bought in Buehring didn’t transfer to other posts and buying another hour of internet, I did my damnedest to send 1 email and change my facebook status. I failed to take into consideration that the internet provided was satellite and soon realized that the already slow internet was unbearably slow. It took a full hour, down to 3 min, to check 2 emails, change my status and attempt to chat with my wife, unsuccessfully. I tried to open a picture my wife had sent me, but it had an estimated download time of 34 mins. After that we headed to the USO tent, which I might say was pretty nice. (As were the MWR tents) In the USO tent they had stations set up with PS2, PS3, and XBOX games, a lounge area with a movie playing, board games, and a theatre in the back with extremely comfortable recliners. We took the opportunity to sack out for a bit in the dark theatre in the comfy chairs. At around 1400 one of our Soldiers was sent to tell us that they had finagled us tents for us to stay in at Ali Al Salem. 
The dust storm is expected to last for 3 days and no vehicles will be able to leave or planes take off. So here we are, nothing to do except guard our own bags out on the pad. Being a Squad Leader I had been avoiding that duty until I saw the roster and noticed that other Squad Leaders had put themselves on it. I didn’t want to be the only asshole not on the list so I added myself in place of one of my guys and did my turn on the line. It’s now about 2230 and I’m sitting in the dark again typing away, this time in a GP Medium with 8 bunks and only 11 guys, one not ours. I’m pretty confident that I just heard a plane fly overhead. Go figure.
The trash by daylight was even worse than I thought. Garbage clings to everything in the wind… fences, buildings, other garbage. Upon arriving at Ali Al Salem (LSA) we unloaded our gear into a staging area to be palletized to go on the plane. We would once again be with only our carryon baggage, weapons, and this time IOTV’s (Improved Outer Tactical Vests) and ACH’s (Army Combat Helmet). We are told by our Commander to walk on the other side of buildings in our way to find tent number 4. That would be our staging area. We started off walking…. We found tent 1, then 2, 3, then finally 4. Probably a 200m walk. When we got there we found out that tent 4 is for only Soldiers waiting to return home. As much as we were hoping that was a hint, we know we were in the wrong place. After 15 min or so of asking around we were finally directed to the OTHER tent 4. The tents all have an address and a grid coordinate on the side. For whatever reason, although we were in the 6000 address block, tucked away in a corner was tent 4. We then had some short theatre briefs and were given a hard time of 2300 for our last set of briefs before our 0200 flight. We were given free rein to do whatever until then. A group of us headed down to the food court to grab some food. When we arrived I saw the first McDonalds that I had ever seen on a military base. (They are generally Burger Kings) Of course I had to eat it as mentioned in a prior entry. When we returned to the tent, our Commander informed us that our plane was broken and we would have to be delayed a while. This wouldn’t have raised any alarms with me typically except that we were given that same line the day we were supposed to leave Ft Sill. In that instance we packed all our baggage on a truck and sent it to the airport, only to find out that we would have to stay another night and we were getting kicked out of our rooms. The having to leave the rooms was annoying; not having our baggage for a night was a pain in the ass. We ended up throwing some money together and buying the essentials for everyone for one night. (Disposable razors, shower shoes, tooth paste, etc) The plan in this case was to wait it out in tent 4 and see if the flight was just going to be delayed or canceled. The powers that be at Ali Al Salem wanted us to go back to Buehring which would have meant reloading the bags AGAIN. Our Commander got them talked into letting us have tent 4 for the night. Tent 4 has concrete floors and no beds, not even cots. There is only 1 row of chairs from one end to the other with a single table in the middle. When I heard all the news, I knew it would be in my best interest to go back to the bag pile and fish out my sleeping bag as I had a sneaking suspicion that we would be there for the night. The shitty thing about this plan is that there were no room for our bags inside, nor did we want to carry them, so 2 man teams would have to take turns on shifts watching them as they lay outside. I went to sleep around 2000 and slept until around 0330. When I woke up I thought that our plane was parked over the top of our tent. During the night a dust storm had kicked up. The wind was howling and dust was coming in every little opening in the tent. I got up to pee which fortunately the trailer was right next to our tent. On my way I stopped to take a picture of the dust storm. I took 2 shots in the same place, one without flash, one with. I then walked on to go pee. It was here I was introduced to the Army’s mobile latrines. Running water and flushable toilets, they are great. Not to mention the graffiti on the walls was very entertaining. I went back to bed but never really got any substantial sleep after that. There was too much wind, to many people up and about and too much light from computer monitors and other electronics. Went to breakfast at about 0700 which was identical to the chow hall in Buehring. After that we grabbed some coffee at Mean Bean and went and relaxed in the MWR tent for a while. After about an hour of killing time there, one of our guys came and got us and told us we were going back to Buehring. We gathered our things and went back to our beloved tent 4. After waiting a while at the tent to leave, our Commander informed us that the roads were not drivable due to the dust storm. Tent 4 was to be our home for the foreseeable future. Several of us went back to the MWR tent but found it to be full of people trying to escape the wind and sand. The sand storm was miserable. Everything had a red hue to it as though on Mars, dust gets into everything… eyes, nose, ears, mouth. It’s always great when you have to chew your air supply. I decided to go with SPC Kotinek to go to the CZ to check my email while the others went to the USO tent. After finding out that the time I bought in Buehring didn’t transfer to other posts and buying another hour of internet, I did my damnedest to send 1 email and change my facebook status. I failed to take into consideration that the internet provided was satellite and soon realized that the already slow internet was unbearably slow. It took a full hour, down to 3 min, to check 2 emails, change my status and attempt to chat with my wife, unsuccessfully. I tried to open a picture my wife had sent me, but it had an estimated download time of 34 mins. After that we headed to the USO tent, which I might say was pretty nice. (As were the MWR tents) In the USO tent they had stations set up with PS2, PS3, and XBOX games, a lounge area with a movie playing, board games, and a theatre in the back with extremely comfortable recliners. We took the opportunity to sack out for a bit in the dark theatre in the comfy chairs. At around 1400 one of our Soldiers was sent to tell us that they had finagled us tents for us to stay in at Ali Al Salem. The dust storm is expected to last for 3 days and no vehicles will be able to leave or planes take off. So here we are, nothing to do except guard our own bags out on the pad. Being a Squad Leader I had been avoiding that duty until I saw the roster and noticed that other Squad Leaders had put themselves on it. I didn’t want to be the only asshole not on the list so I added myself in place of one of my guys and did my turn on the line. It’s now about 2230 and I’m sitting in the dark again typing away, this time in a GP Medium with 8 bunks and only 11 guys, one not ours. I’m pretty confident that I just heard a plane fly overhead. Go figure.
Wasted Days and Wasted Nights - 9 Feb 2009 - 0100
We are told we will spend about 4 days here while we in-process and wait for our flight to the next stop on our tour, Kandahar Afghanistan. By the time I got to sleep it was 0600. I had planned to sleep for 3 hours and get up to go to eat at the chow hall and explore the base in search of the PX. When I did wake up I found it to be 1730. I was told to that I needed to pack ASAP because our Platoon Sergeant put out that we may be leaving at 1730. After thanking everyone for setting me up for failure by letting me sleep, I packed my things. It was at that point that I realized that I had slept for 11.5 hours through all the ruckus of everyone throughout the day and the lights being on. A short time later we were told that we would not be leaving until the following night. I took the opportunity to find a buddy and go explore. At around 2000 I grabbed SGT Trimble and we started walking. We had no idea where anything was and the base is very large. 
We wear only our ACUs or APFUs. No weapons, as they are guarded back at the tent, and no protective gear. The defensive posture in Kuwait is very low. First thing we happened upon was a Starbucks. We walked on by as that wasn’t what we were looking for. I was after a power adapter, a watch and the internet. A little ways further we found a mini downtown kind of area with many shops and a few places to eat. I first went to the PX/BX and bought my power strip. It was here that I was introduced to my first pogs. Instead of using American change on Iraqi and Kuwaiti posts they use pogs with monetary amounts on one side and a military image on the other. We then found the CyberZone. I bought an hour’s worth of time for around 8 bucks. I updated my Facebook status and wrote my wife an email. The speed of the web nearly melted my face off as that simple process took me 22 minutes. While I waited for Mike to finish on the web I went out into the courtyard and decided to hit up the 24 hour KFC. 
I ran into our Platoon Sergeant SFC Erlandson and he showed me that when you buy a small drink you get a small 6 ounce or so can of soda. If you buy a medium you get a 12 ounce can. If you buy a large you get one of each. By the time SGT Trimble was done, most of the shops were closed so I conceded to buying my watch tomorrow. On our way back we hit up the Starbucks. It was every bit as nice as any store back in the states. We walked back to the tent which was maybe a half mile walk or so. I decided to kill some time by doing a little gaming. Our platoon purchased a wireless router before we left for gaming and our techies built us a dedicated server. At least half of the platoon plays a few of the games together that we have cracks of. At 0000 it was time for Midnight Chow. After wondering around for a while we found the only DFAC that serves Midnight chow. It was back over by the Starbucks. This was the first time I had eaten in the chow hall since had been here since I had slept for so long. I was very impressed with the size of the facility and the selection. After our short walk back we found the lights off in the tent for the first time since we arrived. As I type in the dark there are only a few lit monitors as people watch movies, play games and type out their thoughts of the day, and one very loud snorer. We had started the trip with 2 snorers, but one went home shortly after we arrived in Ft Sill when he passed out and it was discovered that he had a brain tumor. If our base is anything like Buehring, this won’t be too bad of a deployment as long as the living accommodations get a little more private. Toilets are potra-potties only, but I imagine that that is how it will be for the duration. The showers are located in a trailer. Each 50’ trailer has about 12 showers and 5 or so sinks in it. The floors are wet and it smells horribly like mold and mildew but the water is warm and the pressure is good. Tomorrow should be uneventful until 1700 or so when we plan to pack up and get on our way to Afghanistan.
We wear only our ACUs or APFUs. No weapons, as they are guarded back at the tent, and no protective gear. The defensive posture in Kuwait is very low. First thing we happened upon was a Starbucks. We walked on by as that wasn’t what we were looking for. I was after a power adapter, a watch and the internet. A little ways further we found a mini downtown kind of area with many shops and a few places to eat. I first went to the PX/BX and bought my power strip. It was here that I was introduced to my first pogs. Instead of using American change on Iraqi and Kuwaiti posts they use pogs with monetary amounts on one side and a military image on the other. We then found the CyberZone. I bought an hour’s worth of time for around 8 bucks. I updated my Facebook status and wrote my wife an email. The speed of the web nearly melted my face off as that simple process took me 22 minutes. While I waited for Mike to finish on the web I went out into the courtyard and decided to hit up the 24 hour KFC. I ran into our Platoon Sergeant SFC Erlandson and he showed me that when you buy a small drink you get a small 6 ounce or so can of soda. If you buy a medium you get a 12 ounce can. If you buy a large you get one of each. By the time SGT Trimble was done, most of the shops were closed so I conceded to buying my watch tomorrow. On our way back we hit up the Starbucks. It was every bit as nice as any store back in the states. We walked back to the tent which was maybe a half mile walk or so. I decided to kill some time by doing a little gaming. Our platoon purchased a wireless router before we left for gaming and our techies built us a dedicated server. At least half of the platoon plays a few of the games together that we have cracks of. At 0000 it was time for Midnight Chow. After wondering around for a while we found the only DFAC that serves Midnight chow. It was back over by the Starbucks. This was the first time I had eaten in the chow hall since had been here since I had slept for so long. I was very impressed with the size of the facility and the selection. After our short walk back we found the lights off in the tent for the first time since we arrived. As I type in the dark there are only a few lit monitors as people watch movies, play games and type out their thoughts of the day, and one very loud snorer. We had started the trip with 2 snorers, but one went home shortly after we arrived in Ft Sill when he passed out and it was discovered that he had a brain tumor. If our base is anything like Buehring, this won’t be too bad of a deployment as long as the living accommodations get a little more private. Toilets are potra-potties only, but I imagine that that is how it will be for the duration. The showers are located in a trailer. Each 50’ trailer has about 12 showers and 5 or so sinks in it. The floors are wet and it smells horribly like mold and mildew but the water is warm and the pressure is good. Tomorrow should be uneventful until 1700 or so when we plan to pack up and get on our way to Afghanistan.
First Impressions - 8 Feb 2009 - 0400
As I woke up on the plane and checked the planes GPS, I noticed we were over northern Iraq. This was finally happening. The months of preparing was finally looking like it would be worth it. Looking out the first class window of our 767 I saw the oil fields of Iraq with their flaming towers. 
As we made our approach into Kuwait City I watched out the window for anything that would help me feel like maybe I wasn’t actually in Kuwait. 
Maybe I could trick myself into believing that this was all a stint in Fort Hood, TX. I did happen to see the one thing that can be seen anywhere in the world, the golden arches of McDonalds. I have eaten at McDonalds in Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea and of course the US. I doubt I’m going to find the time to hit one up in Kuwait for the few days I’ll be here before heading to our next destination. Taxing down the runway I noticed my hands becoming sweaty, my leg bouncing uncontrollably, and a sinking feeling in my stomach. There is no way this is Texas. Looking out the window, even though it was 2200, the moon was full enough to notice that there was no sign of green plant life, a trend that would prove to be the standard on the first leg of my journey. When we got off the plane we found out that somehow the buses had been sent to pick us up with no baggage truck. Just myself, I had a rolling duffle bag, a rucksack with my IOTV inside, a footlocker, an assault bag (back pack), my M16A2 rifle and my laptop bag. Multiply that by the 46 soldiers in the 5th Platoon of the 295th Ordnance Company that made the trip and you will see the need for more than 2 Kia busses. 20 lower enlisted were left at the plane to unload the plane and load the truck when it finally arrived. The rest of the platoon got on our bus and went to a holding area to get off the runway and wait. 
We took the opportunity to get out and stretch our legs from our 17+ hours of travel. It was about 50 degrees with a nice cool breeze blowing off the Gulf. I have always been told that Kuwait smells like a land fill, but was pleasantly surprised to take a deep breath of nothing but gulf air and the diesel that powers all the generators located everywhere. Around 2330 the other bus showed up along with the loaded baggage truck. What should have been a simple task of meeting up and rolling out turned into about a half hour ordeal which was simply explained to us as a language barrier. The trip to our base, Ali Al Salem, was only supposed to take 1hr and 15 min. I was told to keep the window curtains on the bus closed for safety but that didn’t last long. This being my first tour overseas I just had to look out and see what was out there. The moon had everything lit enough to see a half mile or so, just far enough to see why Kuwait could possibly smell like a landfill when the sun is high and the wind isn’t coming off the gulf. A barren wasteland of sand and garbage as far as the eye could see. The roads leave much to be desired. The bus cruised on down the road to the north with its insistently squeaky shocks moaning from the rough road. The only sign of plant life were trees that lined the road. But even they weren’t green. They stood sparsely in a row, grey and covered with dust. A ways out of Kuwait City at around 0030, in the middle of the lanes of the road there were groups of people playing soccer on sand covered fields with no lights other than that of the moon. Run down cars were prevalent, abandoned along the roadside. Chain link fences also trace the road ways, their purpose evades me however as they are falling over and dilapidated. The country as a whole is desperate for a little TLC, and a police call. At about 0130 we finally approached the front gate of Ali Al Salem, and then drove on by. The guys who had been in country before said the only possible place we could be going is Camp Buehring. At around 0200 we came to the turn off for Buehring, and kept on trucking. Ok we’re either lost or on our way to Iraq at this point. Driving on for about 10 min past the Buehring turn, the convoy leader, a Kuwaiti escort in an SUV, did a U turn and took us back to Buehring. We cleared our weapons at the gate and made our way to the command building. 7 or 8 detours and U turns later we found our way to our home for the next few days. We were assigned two tents. In one tent, 42 two males, shoulder to shoulder on cots along with all of our baggage. In the other tent of equal size, 4 females, one of the few breaks they catch, even though I’m not entirely sure they even used it.
As we made our approach into Kuwait City I watched out the window for anything that would help me feel like maybe I wasn’t actually in Kuwait. Maybe I could trick myself into believing that this was all a stint in Fort Hood, TX. I did happen to see the one thing that can be seen anywhere in the world, the golden arches of McDonalds. I have eaten at McDonalds in Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea and of course the US. I doubt I’m going to find the time to hit one up in Kuwait for the few days I’ll be here before heading to our next destination. Taxing down the runway I noticed my hands becoming sweaty, my leg bouncing uncontrollably, and a sinking feeling in my stomach. There is no way this is Texas. Looking out the window, even though it was 2200, the moon was full enough to notice that there was no sign of green plant life, a trend that would prove to be the standard on the first leg of my journey. When we got off the plane we found out that somehow the buses had been sent to pick us up with no baggage truck. Just myself, I had a rolling duffle bag, a rucksack with my IOTV inside, a footlocker, an assault bag (back pack), my M16A2 rifle and my laptop bag. Multiply that by the 46 soldiers in the 5th Platoon of the 295th Ordnance Company that made the trip and you will see the need for more than 2 Kia busses. 20 lower enlisted were left at the plane to unload the plane and load the truck when it finally arrived. The rest of the platoon got on our bus and went to a holding area to get off the runway and wait. We took the opportunity to get out and stretch our legs from our 17+ hours of travel. It was about 50 degrees with a nice cool breeze blowing off the Gulf. I have always been told that Kuwait smells like a land fill, but was pleasantly surprised to take a deep breath of nothing but gulf air and the diesel that powers all the generators located everywhere. Around 2330 the other bus showed up along with the loaded baggage truck. What should have been a simple task of meeting up and rolling out turned into about a half hour ordeal which was simply explained to us as a language barrier. The trip to our base, Ali Al Salem, was only supposed to take 1hr and 15 min. I was told to keep the window curtains on the bus closed for safety but that didn’t last long. This being my first tour overseas I just had to look out and see what was out there. The moon had everything lit enough to see a half mile or so, just far enough to see why Kuwait could possibly smell like a landfill when the sun is high and the wind isn’t coming off the gulf. A barren wasteland of sand and garbage as far as the eye could see. The roads leave much to be desired. The bus cruised on down the road to the north with its insistently squeaky shocks moaning from the rough road. The only sign of plant life were trees that lined the road. But even they weren’t green. They stood sparsely in a row, grey and covered with dust. A ways out of Kuwait City at around 0030, in the middle of the lanes of the road there were groups of people playing soccer on sand covered fields with no lights other than that of the moon. Run down cars were prevalent, abandoned along the roadside. Chain link fences also trace the road ways, their purpose evades me however as they are falling over and dilapidated. The country as a whole is desperate for a little TLC, and a police call. At about 0130 we finally approached the front gate of Ali Al Salem, and then drove on by. The guys who had been in country before said the only possible place we could be going is Camp Buehring. At around 0200 we came to the turn off for Buehring, and kept on trucking. Ok we’re either lost or on our way to Iraq at this point. Driving on for about 10 min past the Buehring turn, the convoy leader, a Kuwaiti escort in an SUV, did a U turn and took us back to Buehring. We cleared our weapons at the gate and made our way to the command building. 7 or 8 detours and U turns later we found our way to our home for the next few days. We were assigned two tents. In one tent, 42 two males, shoulder to shoulder on cots along with all of our baggage. In the other tent of equal size, 4 females, one of the few breaks they catch, even though I’m not entirely sure they even used it.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
