Before I know it I'm back at Shelby with a day to pack t
he rest of my things in preparation for the trip. The flight over wasn't too bad. Since we were a small group of about 50 from the 'Replacement Company' assigned to the 278th ACR we were pretty comfortable on the 747. I had a whole 4 seat center row to myself =) It was pretty cool how we open carried our weapons on the flight too with current strict TSA security regulations in mind. After a 9 hour flight on top of an 8 hour wait we stopped over at a small military terminal in Germany for an hour. I grabbed
a hot dog and German juice drink to dabble in the cultural delicacies of Germany; too bad we were on orders not to drink alcohol or I'd have grabbed a beer. We got back on the plane for another 5 hours and finally arrived in Kuwait. After an hour long bus ride we arrived at Camp Buehring and settled into our cot-filled tents. Living out of a duffel bag, showering in converted cargo containers, and doing our private duties in port-a-johns, we were glad to hear we would only be staying a few days.Our first meal at Buehring was great though. Once we dropped our bags off on our cots, a few of us headed to the DFAC at 1-2 in the morning for midnight chow. After eating at the hole in the wall DFAC at Shelby for a month, Buehring's DFAC made me feel like a kid at Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. About the size of a standard supermarket, the DFAC had 2-3 entrees and 6-7 sides to choose from in the main line, an assortment of fried foods and made to order burgers in the short order line, a salad bar selection comparable to a Fresh Choice/Souplantation, a taco bar and a dessert bar with cakes, pies, and 6 tubs of Baskin Robbins with toppings. With it being midnight chow there was also a breakfast line with eggs, a selection of meats and potatoes, and made to order omelets and scrambles. On top of that, you could ask for however much you wanted and even seconds! We were all so giddy from the deliriousness after the long trip and buffet that people around us were watching and laughing asking us if we had just arrived. After gorging on half of the foods available I was quite certain that I would return home fat as a cow being pumped full of hormones. I believe the reason why the army stocked the DFACs in country so extensively was to fight the weight loss trend of service members occurring in the early years of the war in Iraq. Now, with stress levels declining and combat operations being put to a halt, many service members are putting on a lot of fat if they aren't disciplined with their diet or don't do enough exercise.
I had an interesting epiphany on the way to the shower one day in Kuwait. Walking in the fine sand in 85 degree heat wearing flip flops, shorts, and a t-shirt, it felt like I was on a beach. I realized that, if I didn't have all the duties and regulations in the back of my mind, the middle east could be a nice winter vacation destination. Strictly winter though since there isn't much water here and it was the beginning of March when I passed through Kuwait.
Leaving fantasy land behind, we went through a few more briefings, another MET session, and a useless rifle range session where we basically hip fired 10 rounds to ensure proper function of our rifles. The day before our departure from Camp Buehring we were given our unit assignments and told where they were posted. I'm not sure if I wrote about it previously but the 278th ACR deployed to theater about a month before we would. It is quite illogical to me how HRC(Human Resources Command) doesn't time our report dates and training better so we can train with our unit during the mobilization process or at least deploy with them. Some soldiers ended up getting to Iraq two months after the unit. If this happened and I was going to Afghanistan, those days of learning SOPs and getting into battle rhythm could easily cost lives if the unit was already immersed in full spectrum ops. Nevertheless, I was happy that I was assigned to a scout troop in a cavalry squadron: K Troop 3rd Squadron. I wouldn't be on a base packing up equipment for the withdrawal like I was worried I might; I would be doing something at least somewhat related to the MOS that I chose.
After four full days in Kuwait we packed our duffel bags and rucksacks onto pallets and boarded the C-130 that was taking us to our assigned bases. Our group was getting split up
to four different bases in the northern half of Iraq and us guys in 3rd squadron were lucky to be the first soldiers to get off the plane. After a 2 hour flight the C-130 initiated a combat landing , a series of evasive maneuvers, to decrease the chance of being hit by a SAM(Surface-Air Missile) or large caliber guns even though that chance was already slim to nil. It was fun though; like a small roller coaster. I never thought I'd be able to look through a side window straight at the ground from the inside of a plane that size.Once we touched down it was almost surreal. I finally arrived at my duty station; where I would spend most of my time for up to the next 9 months; where I would perform my duties that I recently traveled to three states and spent two months training for; where I might go through the most significant and life-changing period of my entire life: COB Speicher, Iraq.
Catch me next time! on the FANG show!! ;D
**I have a good clip of the landing into Kuwait but it was too large to post. I'll try to get it split and posted ASAP**
