Kuwait Update

All of the business of getting out of theater is done now, except for the actual departure. Life is pretty laid back right now. They encourage casual dress, either civilian attire or PT gear, and nearly every minute is free time. It is called the Warrior Transition Program. For most of us it is a chance to decompress and start practicing being a civilian again. It is also a chance to not be responsible for anything at all for a couple of days before life intrudes again.

I will be leaving tomorrow night very late and will probably be traveling for close to 24 hours before I finally get to my next stop. The first leg alone is 14 hours long, non-stop. Hopefully I will spend a lot of that asleep, but certainly not all of it. I will have about a week in California outprocessing there before returning to Utah, which means I should have less than ten days to go. I am looking forward to seeing everyone.

Back In Kuwait

Yesterday was a long day. I was up at 0330 to get ready and finish packing for a 0540 show time at the airport. We didn't take off until just after 1000. After arriving in Ali Al Salem, we flight joined another for the trip to Camp Arifjan. First we had to load our gear into a truck, then partially unload it, because we had accidentally started loading gear that wasn't ours, then finish loading it. A two hour convoy finally brought us to Camp Arifjan where we had to unload the truck and sort ourselves into our assigned tents.

Today is a day off and most people are using it to sleep. Tomorrow, we start outprocessing. Mine will be fast. I turned in most of my gear and my weapons in Baghdad, so I have very little of that to do. All I have left is my armor. It is fortunate that I left my weapons behind. I gave them a good cleaning, but an armorer would probably have made me do it again before taking them back. Anyone who has weapons here will have to satisfy an armorer before thay are done.

I am not sure what I will be doing today, but looking forward to home. I might in fact be home for Thanksgiving. I think that whoever made my travel arrangements sent me out four days earlier than I was supposed to go.

Coming To A Close

Technically, I am not yet ready to depart, but what is missing is only a little bit of paperwork. All of my gear has been turned in, except what I am required to take to Kuwait and turn in there. I no longer have a weapon. That feels a little weird. My bags are packed, except for what I need to shower and change one more time. All I am waiting for now, is for 1700 to roll around so I can get my show time at the airport. I hope that it won't be in the middle of the night, but most flights south are. What I really hope is that show time will be tomorrow afternoon or later. Someone will have to drive me out to the airport and I don't want to spring this on them with no notice. Also, I have let one item of business slide that I really want to finish up before I leave.

I have noticed a bit of something that could be nostalgia seeping into everything I do. I am starting to do things for the last time. This happens with every chapter of my life that comes to a close, even the ones that were not especially pleasant. Everything I do or experience shapes my life and at the end of each episode, I start asking "what if" and "what next" questions of myself. I am not an adventurous personality, so I don't look forward to change. Even when it is necessary or good, I usually find myself preferring the status quo to the challenge of the new. Someday, maybe I will make a present that doesn't need to change so much.

The End of War

Today at 1100, ninety years have passed since the armistice that ended World War I and 63 years have passed since the armistice that ended World War II. Incredibly, there are still a very small handful of veterans of WWI still living. Actuaries say that the veterans of WWII are dying at a rate of more than 1000 each day. If you know one of them, there is very little time left to hear their story before they follow their buddies.

Veterans Day is an easy day to forget. Usually it means a BBQ and a parade, but it is also usually just another day off work. I wasn't even thinking much about it until I got into the dining facility for lunch. As I was going through the line, I saw that the DFAC crew had set up a POW/MIA table and a KIA memorial. Most soldiers do come home alive and fewer come home dead now than before. Still, the dead and the missing leave a hole in the lives of their family and friends.

My time of service has been thankfully short on excitement. I am glad to be coming home soon.

Happy Birthday Marines

This day in history, 10 November 1775, the second Continental Congress authorized the raising of two battalions of naval infantry to serve as security aboard naval vessels, for boarding and repelling boarders and for assaulting enemy forces on shore from the sea. A lot has changed in the 233 years that have followed. Missions have expanded and changed as naval doctrine has adapted to history, but there are no better warriors or fighters in the world. All of the other services periodically forget and have to relearn that they exist to fight. The Marines never have and never will. If you know a Marine, whether he still wears the uniform or not, wish him a Happy Birthday today.

Why Am I Still Here

Some of my office mates are wondering what I am still doing here at my desk when I am going home in only one week. They all said that they would be anywhere else but here. Truthfully, I am not actually doing much at my desk. My one outstanding task is very nearly complete. Most of my day, even at my desk, is more vacation than work. Tomorrow morning, I will be putting a couple of big boxes in the mail, so I dont have to carry anything home that I wont be using until I get there. I hope that will get me down to just one duffle bag, but probably not. I do have my travel itinerary from Kuwait back to San Diego, but I wont post it just yet. OPSEC is still somewhat important. I just hope that I get my flight out of Baghdad. That is the hardest part of getting home. From Kuwait, it is easy. Iraq to Kuwait is the most uncertain.

On Going Home

It is harder, apparantly, to leave Iraq than it is to get here. Getting here was just one long day. Leaving requires many visits to many offices to collect signatures that say I do not owe anything to anyone, turning in issued gear so I am not charged for it, and finally getting a seat on a flight out. One of the guys I went through training at Fort Dix with is going home early too. He has been jumping through hoops trying to get clearance for the last two weeks. He was supposed to leave last night, but he didn't get a seat. I helped him get to the airport today, where he hopes to get a seat from a no show.

For myself, I am waiting to hear from the people that I am supposed to turn my gear into. They gave us enough grief just to get it in the first place, you would think that they would be eager to get it back, but it has been three days and still no word. I have most of the signatures that I need. I just want to know how much lighter my luggage is going to be before I start mailing stuff home. The more I have to carry to Kuwait, the more I will want to mail.

I should also say that I probably wont make it home for Thanksgiving after all. I might make it to San Diego where I will demobilize, but I wont get back to Utah until almost December, if there are no problems getting a seat on a flight out of Baghdad.