Military

Day 3 The rest of the unit arrived last night. I ended up working until about 0100 helping them get their bags off the truck and into the tents where we’ll be living for the next three weeks. There were lots of people so there were lots of bags. We spent about an hour just … Read more

Day 2 I spent the day checking out Camp Spearhead. Not a bad place really. I guess the air quality gets pretty bad some times. Summers hotter than anything I’ve ever experienced before. But the basic accommodations seem OK. Food is good, living quarters are endurable which is more than can be said of many … Read more

Day 1 Well, I have arrived at Camp Spearhead, Kuwait. I am now officially serving in Operation Enduring Freedom/Noble Eagle. The flight over was long, tiresome, and grueling. Glad it’s over. Now I only have to suffer through the two to four days of jet lag and then the 180 days until I see my … Read more

We arrived at the airfield at 0730 which, we were told, was when the aircraft was supposed to land. The aircraft touched down about 0810. A C-17 Globemaster is a big airplane. The aircraft taxied up to where we had our equipment position and we began loading. Or I should say, the equipment got loaded. … Read more

Well, managed to get everything done. Got everything packed, or nearly (I was missing my beautiful and talented wife every minute I was packing). I got the car returned. And I was even able to go out to dinner with several guys from the unit. We went to Fat City Steakhouse. It was very good. … Read more

Busy day today. Last minute shopping, sorting things out between ‘sent it home’, ‘pack it away’ and ‘pack it in the carry on’. ‘Sent it home’ is obvious. ‘Pack it away’ is the pile of items that can be packed in the bags that I won’t be able to get to until we arrive at … Read more

I hate colds. Actually, I hate being sick. I’m not sick very often and when I am I suspect that I am an awful patient. Anyway, I came down with a cold last night. Drugs seem to help. I hope it doesn’t get worse. So it sounds like we’re finally leaving on Saturday. At least … Read more

I put my kids to bed tonight. Probably the last time I’ll do that for a while. We all cried. The goodbyes make me sad. As my daughter pointed out, there would be something wrong if I were not sad. I still don’t like feeling sad. This poem has come up a couple of times … Read more

We completed and passed our FEP. We have been deemed qualified and ready to go and serve in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. I’m enjoying a few days of liberty before we ship out. I return to San Diego Sunday evening. I have the final goodbyes with my family to get through. That … Read more

One more watch. Monday morning we start tearing down Camp Cluster. That too will be a training evolution with folks looking on to make sure we do it right. It’s raining here. Hard enough that they are issuing flash flood warnings for the area. We’ll be packing away tents wet and dirty. That will mean … Read more