Although I didn't have to travel back in time 400 whatever years, I did have to cross ten time zones. That was kind of like time travel.No? Well, it was still quite a trek getting home.
My voyage home started at 3:30am (local time) on the 10th with a flight down to Kandahar. It can be hard getting a flight on a space available basis, so I just went for the early morning option. Plus, the extra few days in Kandahar allowed me to get my personal affairs in order for the next couple months. I turned in my weapon to the company armorer on the 13th.
My leave was scheduled to begin on the 16th, but that's based on arrival time in Killeen, so my flight was scheduled for the 14th. Unfortunately, just got to the terminal, we found out the flight was cancelled because of a higher priority. I had to haul all my baggage (including body armor) right back to the briefing tent. :-(
The next day we had to do the same thing: show up at 9:30 in the morning for the registration, manifest, and "don't do this" speech, then kill time until we had to be back at 3:30. This was followed by more chronocide in the waiting area until we boarded at 6:00.
We arrived in Ali Al-Salim, Kuwait after the three and a half hour flight and unpacked our stuff. We had until 0400 to turn in our body armor and helmet, which I did promptly -- I'm glad to get rid of the stuff. At that point, we had another briefing, and then we were released to eat, sleep, and do whatever until 12:30. I used this time to check into transient billeting and sleep for a few hours.
At 12:30, we started what they called "lockdown." Customs thoroughly checked our stuff and we were confined to a certain area of the base. It wasn't as bad as it sounds -- there were plenty enough places to sleep, check email, and eat overpriced Subway and Pizza Hut. There was also a steady stream of movies to watch, though I wasn't interested in anything they showed.
From Kuwait, we flew four hours or so to Leipzig, Germany, where we deplaned and went shopping while the plane refueled and got a different crew. I bought some chocolate and a bag of Haribo gummi bears to munch on while I read through the tacitly endorsed graffiti left in the terminal by the many U.S. military units that have passed through before us.
Then it was on to the U.S. For R&R flights, there are two starting points: Atlanta for everything east of the Mississippi River, plus Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. The rest of the country, from North Dakota to Guam, goes through Dallas.
My flight to Dallas landed at 8:00am on the 17th, whereupon I got a connecting flight to Killeen. During the layover, I availed myself of the USO, where I watched Iron Man and ate a yoghurt, and the Grand Admiral Lounge, where I used their facilities to freshen up for my family.
Flying into Dallas was a great experience. As we walked on the second floor around the central waiting area, everyone on the floor below clapped and cheered us. Then, as we got out of customs, there was a line of well-wishers there, including older veterans, who shook our hands as we walked out. Very encouraging experience.
My fifth and final flight was via turboprop down to Killeen, where these guys were waiting for me with a "Welcome Home" balloon.
No comments:
Post a Comment