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.
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