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.
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