The lost day we'll never forget...

Let me start by saying that at this time none of us have spoken to our families since leaving Ireland. If you all are reading this know that we are all healthy and in good spirits. We look forward to the mission ahead, but long to be back at home as soon as possible.

All in all we have been constantly on the move since Monday morning at 0345…a grand total of 58 hours (not including the time zones lost over the past two days). Below is what turned out to be our timeline, I’ll expand over the next few paragraphs.

ALL TIMES ARE CENTRAL STANDARD TIME

26 APR 2010
0345 – Wake up at Camp Shelby in preparation for flight
0700 – Manifest (this is where all personnel are called out by name)
0800 – Informed that plane broke down in Shannon, Ireland…flight postponed
1830 – Formation for manifest (postponed)
1945 – Formation for manifest
2000 – Leave Camp Shelby en route to Gulfport / Biloxi Regional
2115 – Arrive at Gulfport / Biloxi

27 APR 2010
0445 – Depart Gulfport / Biloxi
0745 – Arrive Bangor, Maine
0945 – Depart Bangor, Maine
1500 – Arrive Shannon, Ireland (County Claire)
1900 – Depart Shannon, Ireland
2230 – Arrive Bucharest, Romania
2345 – Depart Bucharest, Romania

28 APR 2010
0315 – Arrive Kuwait City, Kuwait (Ali al Salem Air Base)
0500 – Depart Ali al Salem
0700 – Arrive Camp Buehring, Kuwait
1200 – Arrive at Transient Tents (“Tent City”)
+8 HOURS (LOST) FOR TIME ZONE DIFFERENCES

Soldier baggage waiting for the flight...notice how easy it is to see those Alabama flags!

The travel arrangements were weak at best; due to the volcano in Iceland earlier this month we had to fly on a 757 (holds about 200 people) instead of a DC-10 (holds well over 300 and has lots more room). Apparently we filled the entire bottom cavity of the plane with cargo and then did the same thing with all of the first class seating.

Trying to catch a catnap at the Gulfport / Biloxi Airport on the concrete outside; it's about 2:00 a.m. in the picture and no we couldn't actually fall asleep.


The guys with their new neck pillows in Maine. Chad...please note that I've always made fun of people who have these and have spoken with disdain about these pillows for years and still refuse to actually spend money on one.


What we didn’t realize is that all of the pain associated with these flights began back in Gulfport / Biloxi. Granted we did have to wait over 20 hours for a flight to materialize, but the way the plane got packed wound up causing the greatest problems. Let me first say that our time in Bangor, Maine was excellent. The Maine Troop Greeters are located at the Bangor Airport and they do a wonderful job. Their sole purpose is to make us comfortable…they give out food, calling cards, handshakes, cell phones to call home…you name it and they’ll give it! The greeters (mostly veterans) are standing in a line when you depart waiting to shake your hand and give you a pat on the back; truly a wonderful feeling. They had a numbers board behind their counter with the amounts of personnel greeted since they started back in 2003; 1,088,938 Soldiers and 238 working dogs.

Back to the flights…I can’t say whether it was the folks at Camp Shelby or the professionals from Omni Air, but somehow the plane got packed incorrectly. Upon our arrival in Shannon, Ireland our flight crew had to change out. Immediately upon our new pilot boarding the plane he saw the way we had stacked duffel bags throughout first class and said it would have to change and after some work he also said that we were too heavy. Our layover in Ireland was scheduled for 1.5 hours, but it lasted for 4 hours. Most Soldiers weren’t too mad because Ireland is one of the few places where we are allowed to purchase one beer each…most Soldiers choose a Guinness since it is Ireland. I didn’t have a Guinness; however I did partake in their free wireless internet! Long story short we were 53 bags lighter leaving than we were landing. The wonderful new crew also decided that we were not allowed to carry knives (every Soldier has a knife) so we had to put them in a box and lock them up. The funny thing is that we all also have a rifle or a pistol, but no knife.

Our next stop was Bucharest, Romania. Romania has a very green countryside and looks like a pretty country. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to disembark the plane for the 2 hours in Romania so we stood in the plane and stretched our legs as best we could.

Henri Coanda Airport; Bucharest, Romania...unfortunately this is about all we saw of the airport.


The next and final flight landed in Kuwait City at 11:45 p.m. CST (7:45 a.m. here). We had planned to stay up all day and get a good night sleep so we wouldn’t have such horrible jetlag. What we didn’t realize is that we would actually be traveling or listening to briefings for the better part of the day and night. When we finally did stop moving around for the day we were at Camp Buehring and it was 8:00 p.m. local time. I’m pretty sure that Buehring is code for Bureaucracy…this place is considered to be “combat zone” but after listening to the briefings we all decided that Birmingham is more combat than Buehring. Any place where you walk around with reflective belts on so the oncoming traffic can see you better is not combat.

View of Kuwait City, Kuwait from the plane.


(NEXT MORNING)

It’s morning and we’ve all had a little sleep now. You would be surprised to know how cold it can get in an enclosed tent…no one expected the chill since it’s around 95 degrees outside. We were quite cold and slept on cots, but it was just nice to get a little rest. We should be here in Kuwait for another day or two before flying into Afghanistan. I’ll be sure to update you again once we arrive there.