We started going through customs at noon on the 13th (Kyrgyzstan time), then loaded up the plane ourselves (I was in charge of the baggage crew) and left at about 6:00 in the evening. On board with us were about 100 Romanians.
So our first stop was Bucharest, a five and a half hour flight from Bishkek.
From there we continued two hours to Leipzig, Germany, so we could change planes. Unfortunately, changing planes also meant we had to switch out all our bags in below-freezing weather. Thumbs down.
It also meant having to pack in like sardines. While the first plane would have been big enough to spread out, this one had almost no spare seats.
And because our second plane was smaller than the first -- too small, in fact, to make the trans-Atlantic trip without a few other stops -- we had to stop in Shannon, Ireland. After refueling, we set out for Bangor, Maine. By then it was about 7:00am on the 14th. Here a picture of Pushaw Lake as we came in for arrival.
I think that flight was about five hours, too, but after roughly 24 hours of traveling I stopped keeping track. In any case, it looked like we would be home in time for dinner.
That's when I found out our plane had a mechanical problem. We sat there -- delayed -- for about another five hours. The worst part was when the plane we first got on in Bishkek -- the one we left behind in Germany -- arrived from Aviano, Italy with less than 100 Air Force personnel on it. After they spent just an hour or two on ground, we watched them take off for South Carolina.
:-(
We finally left Bangor at about 5:00 in the evening for our final leg to Killeen, Texas, and arrived in Texas Around 10:00. After turning in our weapons, we were bussed over to the post, where our new battalion commander greeted us with a (mercifully) brief speech before releasing us. After more than 40 hours, we were finally home.
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