The Start of a Sojourn

Cruising on a C-17: the most exciting leg of the journey.

Around 11 am on Friday, November 5^th (approximately 35 hours prior to landing in Iraq) my teammates along with 250 of our closest friends (active duty, contractors and DOD employees) loaded the buses from the CRC to leave a place all of us had called home for the past week.

After waiting a few hours in a plush military terminal (ironic as that sounds, it was equipped with a huge projector, comfy recliner chairs, and free plane trinkets), we boarded the plane bound for Maine.

Before we headed out, I attended a short chapel service…the main message psalm 46, “Be still and know that I am God. The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress.) Most prayer request were for children being left behind, what a hard thing for parents to have to do.

We boarded alphabetically, so I was close to the end of the line. Nonetheless, it provided a unique perspective. I was able to see almost everyone make “the walk” across the gym to out to the flight line, and in my mind I thought about how everyone had a worried family back at home. But I also thought that each person had a job to perform, and that job contributed to the overall mission of whichever microcosm they were bound for, be it Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere.

I took a seat next to an Army major headed to Afghanistan. He is a physician specializing in cardiology, and an instructor at the University of Oklahoma. I asked him if he had to leave anyone behind and he quickly told me about his soon to be five year old daughter, who was definitely a daddy’s girl. He planned to Skype her on her birthday.

A Hero’s Welcome

A few hours after leaving Fort Benning we took a pit stop in Maine. As we de-boarded we were met with a long line of people who came out to greet our troops, and who were kind enough to shake our hands as well! Many of those in line were veterans of past wars, and to our surprise a well known Senator was also in line to show his gratitude. It was one of those cool experiences that fills you with a deep since of pride for our country, and gives you goose bumps of course!

A European Stopover

From Maine, we flew to Germany, and I had my first small victory: finally finishing a book! As I read John Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, I was convinced that my sojourn to the flat desert seemed relatively safe compared to a journey up a 26,000 foot mountain (that ended disastrously by the way). One of my goals during the next four months is to get through my reading list; in the States, reading seems to lurk at the bottom of my to-do list.

By the time we hit ground in Germany, it was around 2am, and frankly I was tempted to use the airport seats as a makeshift bed. But I was somehow convinced to take part in an arousing Uno match with some Red Crosser’s and the DCMA Steve’s we had met at the CRC. If anyone has known me for a long time, or been around me when games are involved, you know what a competitive spirit I have. I clenched the first game, but succumbed to Marie after a grueling second match that lasted almost an hour. As we played Uno, several soldiers and civilians waited in an extremely long line for bratwursts and German chocolate.

Arrival to the Desert at Ali Al Salem

I think it is safe to say that almost everyone took advantage of the last leg of the flight by taking a snooze. Awakened by the flight attendant’s announcement of the descent into Kuwait City, I peered out the window and had my first look at the Middle East…ironically enough the first thing in sight was water, the Persian Gulf to be exact. And then there was a small strip of what looked to be a normal city. But it didn’t take long before the city ended and guess what happened to appear? The Desert. And lots of it.

When we landed in Ali Al Salem, I prepped myself for the potential hot temperatures. Like on a summer day in Florida when you walk outside and immediately wonder if you just hit an invisible wall of heat! But to my surprise, the weather was very pleasant. It was like I imagine California weather to be, though I’ve never actually been to California. One of the first things that caught my attention was the beauty of the sky. Colors were strewn across the sky similar to a Florida sunset. I imagine that no matter how desolate a place may be, there is always beauty to be found in the sky.

In the Dark

I only had a few minutes to glance at the sky before we boarded a bus to the place where we would catch our flight. The first wakeup call to war, was that before we departed, two shooters were assigned to the front of every bus, and we had to close all blinds. Goodbye to the sky for now, and hello to darkness. Quite darkness at that; either everyone was tired or if anyone was like me, I thought that keeping quite would somehow make for a safer journey.

Baggage Unloading: Assembly Line Style

Our baggage followed us to Ali Al Salem, on two large trucks…and of course no motorized baggage claim. No problem. We formed a long assembly line, and unloaded a truck full of Army green duffels like they were hot potatoes. Took all of about 20 minutes. Luckily we had plastered Red Cross patches to the end of our duffels, so they were easily identifiable.

Coffee…in the Desert.

Since we wouldn’t be manifesting on our flight till around 2am, that left us a few hours of down time. I’m somewhat sad to say that there probably aren’t too many places left on this planet of ours that haven’t been taken over by McDonald's. I have yet to figure out why McDonald's is held in such high esteem. Maybe my readers, if any, can help me out on that one.

But I have to say that after a year of living in Washington State, I am a sucker for coffee. I immediately wanted to call my good friend Laurie Goddard, a coffee connoisseur in my mind, and happily report that there was a coffee shop in the desert called Green Beans.

Flight to my new home.

Not too many hours after enjoying a cup of coffee, we were bussed out to the flight line.

And….

With a flak jacket weighing firmly down on my shoulders, a helmet heavy on my head, and clumps of sand in my boots, I buckled into the side of a C-17 and sat in anticipation for the next step of my Red Cross adventure –a four month sojourn at Joint Base Balad in IRAQ.