Hello everybody, I wanted to let everyone know that I made it to Afghanistan alright. It was a hectic trip that ultimately took me over a week and 4 different countries. I first left Teresa and Nate and flew to Norfolk Virginia. I was stuck there for a few days waiting for my rotator flight. From there, I met up with about 200 other military folks and started our transatlantic journey.
We first stopped in Shannon, Ireland for about 3 hours, it looked like an amazing country from the airport. Teresa, we should definitely plan a trip to go there. When we landed, we were quickly notified that we were strictly forbidden to visit the fully stocked and well laid out bar. This was a shame as I was really looking forward to a true Irish coffee.
From Ireland, we made a quick stop in Kuwait and then ended the days flight in Qatar. This is particularly funny as most of you know, I spent six months there and also our unit is in Qatar right now. I was able to meet up with a few of the guys from Ellsworth. I was in Qatar for a total of 3 days before catching my final flight aboard the C-17 to take us the rest of the way to Afghanistan, My new home for the next 6 months.
I arrived late at night, was issued my ammunition for my M-4 and was quickly briefed on the current conditions on base. I finally made it to a bed and was given a few hours sleep before having to report into work. Everything here happens quickly and there really is no turnover time between leaving and gaining personnel. I had a total of 2 days to get acquainted with what the guy I replaced was doing. From here it is all work, there really is not much to do so most of us don't take days off and we average about 12 to 14 hour days. My plan is to make future post every week or so to let everyone know that I'm doing OK.
Below is a few pictures that I took so far from my travels here and what is like at Bagram AF.
This is us on our plane ride on the C-17 Dreamliner from Qatar to Afghanistan. Yes we had to get all geared up and that crap is not fun to wear.
I also was lucky enough to sit across from the blood.
Here we have a HH60 helicopter. This is pretty much identical to the Army Blackhawk just ran by the Air Force.
We got acquainted with the armament layout. Above is the 7.62 mini gun or Gatling gun, and the big 50 cal machine gun. This is probably the coolest part of my job, getting to mess with this stuff.
Those are the Himalayas in the background, quite a nice view. Though this part of the Himalayas is technically called the Hindu Kush. All I know is that it was not a fun drop out of the sky in the plane to make the runway.
Minigun
50 cal. and no, we don't get to shoot them. But we did ask.
Thank you everyone for your support. And Teresa, I thank you for doing the hardest job in the world alone. I love you and can't wait to be back home with you and Nate......and the dogs and maybe even the hamster!
