Sorry for being out of touch for awhile - as expected, connectivity can be a challenge out here. A lot of troops are here now, packing the gym, the chow halls, training, flights out to Iraq and Afghanistan, and the internet options. There are a few free ones, but the wait is atrocious and I haven't figured out the paid wireless. I finally broke down tonight and paid for one of the internet cafe-type stations and at $5/hr, it's not cheap, but not too expensive either. But, pages are crawling because of the demand, I think, so I'll write a quick update and post my previous entries and be gone.
The past few days haven't been hard. On the contrary, I have lots of time on my hands. But, that's the opposite of what I've been used to, and it sucks to just be waiting. Initially, I expected to go through about 2-3 days of training and then catch a flight out of here to Iraq. I knocked out most of the training (including cleverly, or so I thought, infiltrating my way into one of the coveted Humvee rollover training simulator slots). All I had left was one single class of the MRAP (Mine Resistant Armor/ambush Protected) rollover training and I could punch my ticket. I arranged to get a ride out to another base where I could then catch a flight to Southern Iraq. Packed everything up and said good riddance to my dusty tent and cot.
We made it there in about an hour, during which I got to see some of the bunkers that were destroyed during Gulf War 1 (the Kuwaitis never rebuilt them for some reason). My LNO tour guides also pointed out the flag pole at the Kuwaiti base (now Ali al Salem airbase) where supposedly the Iraqi invaders strung up the Kuwaiti commander, used him for .50 caliber target practice, then left him up there as a warning. Guess that's why the Kuwaitis were a little upset.
Turns out that signals were crossed and the flight ops people said there were no more flights out that day and possibly one the next. I got on the phone and found out that I could either take my chances waiting there, or the Division Air Ops guy could bump someone off a rotary wing flight (helicopter) on Fri. I decided to take the bird in the hand and returned back to the same crappy base I thought I wouldnt have to see for another six months.
So, with any luck, I'll next update you guys by the end of the week once I hit Iraq and actually start what I came here to do. I've got some photos to put up too. Great to hear that some of the Dartmouth staff are reading this -- Dave C. mentioned that Dartmouth has a lot of history with the 10th Mtn Div, so I'll have to read up on it.
The past few days haven't been hard. On the contrary, I have lots of time on my hands. But, that's the opposite of what I've been used to, and it sucks to just be waiting. Initially, I expected to go through about 2-3 days of training and then catch a flight out of here to Iraq. I knocked out most of the training (including cleverly, or so I thought, infiltrating my way into one of the coveted Humvee rollover training simulator slots). All I had left was one single class of the MRAP (Mine Resistant Armor/ambush Protected) rollover training and I could punch my ticket. I arranged to get a ride out to another base where I could then catch a flight to Southern Iraq. Packed everything up and said good riddance to my dusty tent and cot.
We made it there in about an hour, during which I got to see some of the bunkers that were destroyed during Gulf War 1 (the Kuwaitis never rebuilt them for some reason). My LNO tour guides also pointed out the flag pole at the Kuwaiti base (now Ali al Salem airbase) where supposedly the Iraqi invaders strung up the Kuwaiti commander, used him for .50 caliber target practice, then left him up there as a warning. Guess that's why the Kuwaitis were a little upset.
Turns out that signals were crossed and the flight ops people said there were no more flights out that day and possibly one the next. I got on the phone and found out that I could either take my chances waiting there, or the Division Air Ops guy could bump someone off a rotary wing flight (helicopter) on Fri. I decided to take the bird in the hand and returned back to the same crappy base I thought I wouldnt have to see for another six months.
So, with any luck, I'll next update you guys by the end of the week once I hit Iraq and actually start what I came here to do. I've got some photos to put up too. Great to hear that some of the Dartmouth staff are reading this -- Dave C. mentioned that Dartmouth has a lot of history with the 10th Mtn Div, so I'll have to read up on it.
Hey L.
ReplyDeleteI just caught up reading your blog from the beginning, I've also subscribed to it too. Just wanted to tell you, you're in our thoughts and stay safe!
Adrian