Last night, Wednesday night, 13 August 2008, I arrived at my home of record. It was not uneventful.
It took me only two days to out-process in Norfolk, which is very good, but it took a little pushing on my part. It was in everyone’s best interest to get rid of me. The staff in Norfolk was very polite, but I found it odd that the Commander there never addressed us or said hello. I would think she would take a personal interest in that there were a couple people there senior to her and military courtesy dictates it. More importantly, we were all part of the travel fiasco and we thought she might want the story firsthand. We were wrong.
The best part of Norfolk was seeing my old shipmates Will and Pete and also seeing Pete’s family. Will, Pete, and I went out to dinner at a nice Tavern in Norfolk and talked about old times and new times. Those of us from this ship don’t get to see each other too often, but we never miss a beat when we do.
Yesterday, the Navy sent me from Norfolk to DC in the morning to out-process with my command there and then to Newark in the afternoon. I thought it was going to be a waste of the Navy’s money and my time to go there instead of taking care of things my next drill weekend and via fax for the three important pieces of papers needed. I was right. Anyway I flew to Newark Wednesday afternoon. At this point the fun started.
The scariest part of my tour was the flight from DC to Newark. We were on a little prop plane and experienced enough turbulence to unsettle me. My dad, Marion, and Stacey and the kids were at the airport to greet me. This was the time I waited for especially since I got to meet Alyssa for the first time. Aaron remembered me (as did everyone else). It was a great welcome!
Stacey had to take my car since she had to bring the double stroller and I had a couple bags. My car would NOT start in the parking garage. First stroke of good luck was the security personnel were right around us and they gave us a jump. However, the battery was not charging, so nothing else worked in the car such as windows or AC. Second stroke of luck is that my dad pulled out of the garage the same time as us and he could follow us home. That would prove to be very important.
We left the airport and missed the turnoff for the Turnpike and had to use Route 1. That ended up being a good thing since my car completely broke down and it was safer there than on the Turnpike. I wasn’t happy being in Elizabeth on the wrong side of the tracks with the kids, but AAA made it there quickly after making us a priority. AAA Plus is the only way to go. We transferred the car seats to my dad’s car and I stayed with the tow truck. I completed my only important goal since the start, making it home in one piece.
Feel free to post comments, I’ll be checking out the site and may make some other posts as things come up. I’m thinking of some type of After Action Report (AAR) for all of this. I know there are many people to thank and what better place than the blog at least for now. Also, my friend Greg, a shipmate with Will and Pete as well, is still over there and will be returning in the next few months.
I look forward to being in contact with all of you. Remember, the party is at my place on Sunday, the 24th starting at 1400. It will run well into the evening hours, so no excuses for not stopping by. If you need directions, please email, you can also use MapQuest. No need to bring anything, we’ll have it all.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Ramstein-Bangor-Baltimore-Norfolk
Here is the short of it. I made it to Norfolk this morning, Baltimore a little after midnight, Bangor a little before that. I started my out-processing, which will last a few days and it looks like I’ll have to stop in DC for no particular reason, gotta love the navy. I saw my old friend Pete today and will see Will tomorrow night here in Norfolk.
Here is about what happened from Kuwait. We left over 48 hours late without a reason why. It ended up being that we flew on an unsafe aircraft to Germany. The powers that be admitted it was unsafe after a new crew came on. We left Ramstein on time and ten minutes later the pilot turned it around saying the plane didn’t feel right and he refused to fly it over the ocean. That delayed us in Ramstein until the airline could scare up another plane. It was smaller and couldn’t fly as far, so we had to stop in Bangor, Maine for an hour or two.
We were bused to Mainz, Germany, about 1.5 hours from the airbase and ate dinner that night around 2230. Mainz is really nice with the Rhein going through if you have time to look around and aren’t over-tired and in the same clothes for a couple days. We left the next morning for the base again and were supposed to leave at 1700. Seeing some of the German countryside wasn’t bad. In between, arriving at the base and flying out, we had to walk into the base from the main gate to the terminal with our bags because the genius air farce airman wouldn’t let the bus on base, not even with an escort. We delayed about an hour from the 1700 because we couldn’t board fast enough. We lost another 30 minutes because the ground crew couldn’t find the right tow equipment to push us back from the gate. Then, we lost another two hours as they found a pothole in the runway from the previous plane. You can’t make this stuff up.
When we finally make it to Baltimore, there is no support for us from the navy and no one has a follow-on itinerary as was promised. We were left to fend for ourselves. The only saving grace was the USO. They really helped pick up a lot of slack where the navy and the air force were indifferent about our travel. I ended up paying for my own ticket to Norfolk as it wasn’t expensive and got me in here in a reasonable time.
That’s about it for now. I have to eat early tonight as I have a physical tomorrow and can’t eat past a certain time.
Here is about what happened from Kuwait. We left over 48 hours late without a reason why. It ended up being that we flew on an unsafe aircraft to Germany. The powers that be admitted it was unsafe after a new crew came on. We left Ramstein on time and ten minutes later the pilot turned it around saying the plane didn’t feel right and he refused to fly it over the ocean. That delayed us in Ramstein until the airline could scare up another plane. It was smaller and couldn’t fly as far, so we had to stop in Bangor, Maine for an hour or two.
We were bused to Mainz, Germany, about 1.5 hours from the airbase and ate dinner that night around 2230. Mainz is really nice with the Rhein going through if you have time to look around and aren’t over-tired and in the same clothes for a couple days. We left the next morning for the base again and were supposed to leave at 1700. Seeing some of the German countryside wasn’t bad. In between, arriving at the base and flying out, we had to walk into the base from the main gate to the terminal with our bags because the genius air farce airman wouldn’t let the bus on base, not even with an escort. We delayed about an hour from the 1700 because we couldn’t board fast enough. We lost another 30 minutes because the ground crew couldn’t find the right tow equipment to push us back from the gate. Then, we lost another two hours as they found a pothole in the runway from the previous plane. You can’t make this stuff up.
When we finally make it to Baltimore, there is no support for us from the navy and no one has a follow-on itinerary as was promised. We were left to fend for ourselves. The only saving grace was the USO. They really helped pick up a lot of slack where the navy and the air force were indifferent about our travel. I ended up paying for my own ticket to Norfolk as it wasn’t expensive and got me in here in a reasonable time.
That’s about it for now. I have to eat early tonight as I have a physical tomorrow and can’t eat past a certain time.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Delayed
The aircraft has been delayed at least 24 hours with no explanation given. Unfortunately, this is the Navy I remember. I'll update as I can.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Lock Down
Tomorrow after dinner we'll go into lock down after going through customs. I understand they are are real jerks when it comes to customs and we are not looking forward to it. After that, we wait around for many, many hours to board our flight. Lots of waiting, but we'll manage. Honestily, I don't think we are treated that well regarding travel. It was hell getting this far. I'll have my combat pillow with me though for rest and relaxation.
Today we have an afternoon filled with seminars designed to integrate us into the world again. We are so excited.
Yesterday was gear turn-in. That went rather well. It went relatively fast and we got rid of all our combat and field-related gear, at least 75% of which we never used. We also did our last cleaning of our weapons and turned those in. I'll miss Roxanne.
We'll fly overnight back to the States and then have follow-on flights to our processing sites. Therefore, we won't have normal sleep for two days. Why it has to be this way is a long story, but we are not allowed comfort or convenience if it costs the government money. The irony is that a little comfort/convenience would cost almost nothing and most of us can't figure out the logic of our travel itinerary anyway.
Our decompression phase (R&R type stuff) is going well. I think I mentioned we watch movies and went to the pool and eat. Reminds me a bit of my Boy's Weekend vacations to Puerto Rico with the guys. Maybe not. Yesterday though turned into game day for the guys. We played Yahtzee, Trivial Pursuit, and then a Risk marathon. Add in Mahjongg and Bridge and we are ready for senior citizenry. It was all fun though. In case you were all wondering, naturally I won big in Trivial Pursuit.
That's about it for now from Kuwait. Hope to keep some updates coming as we round the Clubhouse turn into the Homestretch.
Today we have an afternoon filled with seminars designed to integrate us into the world again. We are so excited.
Yesterday was gear turn-in. That went rather well. It went relatively fast and we got rid of all our combat and field-related gear, at least 75% of which we never used. We also did our last cleaning of our weapons and turned those in. I'll miss Roxanne.
We'll fly overnight back to the States and then have follow-on flights to our processing sites. Therefore, we won't have normal sleep for two days. Why it has to be this way is a long story, but we are not allowed comfort or convenience if it costs the government money. The irony is that a little comfort/convenience would cost almost nothing and most of us can't figure out the logic of our travel itinerary anyway.
Our decompression phase (R&R type stuff) is going well. I think I mentioned we watch movies and went to the pool and eat. Reminds me a bit of my Boy's Weekend vacations to Puerto Rico with the guys. Maybe not. Yesterday though turned into game day for the guys. We played Yahtzee, Trivial Pursuit, and then a Risk marathon. Add in Mahjongg and Bridge and we are ready for senior citizenry. It was all fun though. In case you were all wondering, naturally I won big in Trivial Pursuit.
That's about it for now from Kuwait. Hope to keep some updates coming as we round the Clubhouse turn into the Homestretch.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Happy Birthday!
Today is Stacey's birthday, so she gets the big shout out!
We've had a relaxed time here at Arifjan in Kuwait. There is a group of five of us hanging out. We went through combat training together and four of us were at ISAF and one was at the US base located down the road in Kabul, Camp Eggers. We took the shuttle to the movies a couple times and saw Kung Fu Panda and Hancock. Glad I didn't pay for them. Looks like we'll miss the premiere of Dark Knight. I finished reading another Michael Crichton book, Next. Loved it of course. He is the man. I got a good deal of reading done at night through the deployment due to the long list of things I did not have to do that I posted some time back.
Tomorrow, Monday, starts the actual Warrior Transition Program (WTP). Over the next three days, we'll turn in our gear, clean weapons, have a bunch of seminars, go through customs and wait for the plane. The weather has been all right, not too much over 120 that we can tell. The AC in the tents is holding up.
Please keep checking in, I'll keep posting. The journey is near an end, but not over yet.
We've had a relaxed time here at Arifjan in Kuwait. There is a group of five of us hanging out. We went through combat training together and four of us were at ISAF and one was at the US base located down the road in Kabul, Camp Eggers. We took the shuttle to the movies a couple times and saw Kung Fu Panda and Hancock. Glad I didn't pay for them. Looks like we'll miss the premiere of Dark Knight. I finished reading another Michael Crichton book, Next. Loved it of course. He is the man. I got a good deal of reading done at night through the deployment due to the long list of things I did not have to do that I posted some time back.
Tomorrow, Monday, starts the actual Warrior Transition Program (WTP). Over the next three days, we'll turn in our gear, clean weapons, have a bunch of seminars, go through customs and wait for the plane. The weather has been all right, not too much over 120 that we can tell. The AC in the tents is holding up.
Please keep checking in, I'll keep posting. The journey is near an end, but not over yet.
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