Home At Last

I am still on active duty officially until 21 December, but until then I am on terminal leave. The Navy is still paying me, but I have accrued 28 vacation days that I get to use up before I separate from active duty again. the only thing that I have to do is report in to my Reserve Center on Monday so they know that I am back and endorse my orders to that effect. Beyond that, I don't know what I will be doing for the next month. I am going to relax for a day or two and then begin working on getting my life restarted.

Almost Home

I have finished everything that needed to be done. All that is left is getting to the airport tomorrow. If I don't miss my flight, I will be in Utah tomorrow afternoon at 1:45 and home maybe by 4:00.

For my sister in San Diego, I am sorry that I won't be here for Thanksgiving, but thank you for the invitation. I hope to see you again soon anyway.

Back in The USA

It took almost 30 hours, but I am back in the USA again. My group mustered at 1830 local time in Kuwait to ride to the Kuwait Airport. The only place that there wasn't a line to get through was boarding the plane itself. There were at least four other lines that we had to get through first. It was a good thing we started so early, because there was just barely enough time to get on board for a 0040 departure. Naturally i had the middle seat of the 2-5-2 configuration on the Boeing 777 for the 14 hour flight to Washington Dulles Airport. oddly, for such a long flight, it seemed to go quite fast, partly because I slept for about seven hours off and on and partly because I watched two movies that I had missed - Wall-E and Get Smart.

After sitting for 14 hours it was a pleasure to stand for the hour or so that it took to get through customs and security again at Dulles. On the flight to LA, I talked to a gentleman in my row for almost three hours, something that I hardly ever do. If you know me, you know that I can't even talk to friends for three hours straight, much less strangers. After LA, I had another short hop to Oxnard and finally to Port Hueneme Naval Station where I will demob. I spent about an hour checking and then found my room at the BOQ and went to sleep. I think I slept for about 10 hours, which for me is a record.

I almost didn't get a room, because my credit card company helpfully closed my account while I was in Iraq, because I wasn't using my card. It is remarkable how difficult it is to get along in the workd today without a credit card. I am going to have a lot of work to do getting all of that retarted when I get back home.

As for getting back home, the NMPS staff is trying to get me through their process and cleared by Friday so they can send me home on Saturday. They have a large group coming through then and don't want me to get stuck here because of the volume. So, it looks like I will be back in Utah sometime on Saturday. I don't have a flight plan yet, but I will let you know. See you soon.

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.