Greetings from Kuwait
We landed in Kuwait about 2330 local time and made it to our training area about 0230. We are 8 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so you can figure what that was for you. We were travelling over 24 hours. :(
As you can guess, we had a few briefs to receive, then unloaded our stuff. I'm trying to get on this time zone, so I took a shower, shaved my face and head (I look like a fat Mr. Clean), grabbed some breakfast (normal DFAC fare), and hit the sack about 0630. I finally rolled out of bed about 1100 just to force the issue and start getting used to the local time. Good news is that we don't have any training today or tomorrow, so I'll have a little time to get acclimated. Things here in Kuwait are a little laid back but it's still a combat zone. There's a concert tonight featuring some band from Georgia...can't remember their name because I've never heard of them before. There's a 5k run on 4 JUL as well. Little things of home. :)
We had a 2 hour layover in Shannon, Ireland. It was 55 and rainy (typical Irish weather but already I'd kill for it right about now. It's over 100 degrees at 1100 and getting hotter). There was a pub in the airport so you know I had a Guiness but only just one. I had to take advantage of the opportunity. Guiness is definitely different over there. The countryside that we saw was as beautiful as I thought it would be. I would love to take a vacation there.
The whole trip wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. We had four legs of the trip: 1 hour to Bragg, 2 hours up to Maine, 5 hours "across the pond" to Ireland, and 7 hours to Kuwait. I was able to sleep some on the plane but I'm looking forward to racking out hard tonight. Watched a couple of in-flight movies, finished my book, ate and slept and the time went pretty fast.
Couple of neat things that happened on the trip. In Maine, there were about 40 volunteers to meet us at the airport at about midnight. They took some pics of us and will post them to the web. I don't have the web address, but I'll post it here as soon as I can. I could have borrowed a cell phone and called Sara but I needed to wait until I was done travelling. Saying goodbye was hard enough without having to do it every leg of the trip!
When we landed in Ireland, I was among the first 10-20 people off the plane. As we walked into the terminal, some of the civilians started to applaud as we came in. It made me a little emotional at first thinking that maybe we have more support overseas than the media tells us. We came to find out that a lot of them were Americans abroad but there were quite a few Irish who were asking us about where we were going and for how long. One Irish guy was buying beers for a few "Yanks."
So now I am settled into Kuwait for 2-3 weeks of training before I head north to my "home." I'll write more later but I wanted to let folks know that I'm safe and sound in theater.
God bless!
As you can guess, we had a few briefs to receive, then unloaded our stuff. I'm trying to get on this time zone, so I took a shower, shaved my face and head (I look like a fat Mr. Clean), grabbed some breakfast (normal DFAC fare), and hit the sack about 0630. I finally rolled out of bed about 1100 just to force the issue and start getting used to the local time. Good news is that we don't have any training today or tomorrow, so I'll have a little time to get acclimated. Things here in Kuwait are a little laid back but it's still a combat zone. There's a concert tonight featuring some band from Georgia...can't remember their name because I've never heard of them before. There's a 5k run on 4 JUL as well. Little things of home. :)
We had a 2 hour layover in Shannon, Ireland. It was 55 and rainy (typical Irish weather but already I'd kill for it right about now. It's over 100 degrees at 1100 and getting hotter). There was a pub in the airport so you know I had a Guiness but only just one. I had to take advantage of the opportunity. Guiness is definitely different over there. The countryside that we saw was as beautiful as I thought it would be. I would love to take a vacation there.
The whole trip wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. We had four legs of the trip: 1 hour to Bragg, 2 hours up to Maine, 5 hours "across the pond" to Ireland, and 7 hours to Kuwait. I was able to sleep some on the plane but I'm looking forward to racking out hard tonight. Watched a couple of in-flight movies, finished my book, ate and slept and the time went pretty fast.
Couple of neat things that happened on the trip. In Maine, there were about 40 volunteers to meet us at the airport at about midnight. They took some pics of us and will post them to the web. I don't have the web address, but I'll post it here as soon as I can. I could have borrowed a cell phone and called Sara but I needed to wait until I was done travelling. Saying goodbye was hard enough without having to do it every leg of the trip!
When we landed in Ireland, I was among the first 10-20 people off the plane. As we walked into the terminal, some of the civilians started to applaud as we came in. It made me a little emotional at first thinking that maybe we have more support overseas than the media tells us. We came to find out that a lot of them were Americans abroad but there were quite a few Irish who were asking us about where we were going and for how long. One Irish guy was buying beers for a few "Yanks."
So now I am settled into Kuwait for 2-3 weeks of training before I head north to my "home." I'll write more later but I wanted to let folks know that I'm safe and sound in theater.
God bless!
5 Comments:
It's a group called the Maine Troop Greeters.
http://mainetroopgreeters.com
They actually started back in '91 greeting troops returning from the Gulf War. According to their site they've been there to greet nearly 500,000 troops.
Happy travels. Stay safe.
Glad you landed safely! -hug, hug- Being past military myself, we understanding folks at home are with you in spirit and we'll be watching your blog like a hawk to make sure you're okay.
Love, Valindria
Keep us up to date on how things are going. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but it's for you T.....GO HAWKS!!!! (that ought to be worth a pretty good laugh)
Cyclone Al
Cuz, I'm very glad to hear you made it over there safe and sound. Now lets keep it that way until you get back home.
I look forward to reading about your adventures!
Goose
I just returned a few months ago from my one year tour in Iraq. The relationships I had with my Chaplain's were the best of my career. Your presence makes a difference to the Soldiers.
Good Luck, Stay safe, and God Bless
Post a Comment
<< Home