Tuesday, October 26, 2004
There and Back Again, Chapter 6
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. We're glad you could attend. Come inside! Come inside!
Saturday, 16 October
Well, I arrived at Kuwait International Airport about 9 PM lat night. Everything had to be done in proper military fashion. Which means we, finally, left the airport on buses that met us at the flight line about 11.
We made a quick pitstop so people could use a porta-john, and headed to Camp Doha.
Things worked for me at that point. Normally, if you are an exception to the rule, in a situation like this, you are shunted off to the side and dealt with last. Myself, and the few others in similar situations to mine were shunted off to the side, but we were dealt with first. While most everyone else on my flight was still getting sorted as to where they were going from here, and what office they needed to deal with. I was at the office of the 1st ID rep here. I took care of everything, and even had a chance to email my command and give them an update.
A little after midnight, I checked in with the people that will arrange my flight. I get to fly back to duty on a "space available" basis. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on what priority you are. I looked at the priority list, and I am at about the bottom of the list.
So, I have a cot in a warehouse. The office that arranges the flights is in this same warehouse. I get to sit here and wait for a flight to my next stop. (I am at least 2 stops from where I need to end up) They post the flight information for the next day between 2 and 5 AM. I stayed up last night until 2. They had nothing to post then. So, I took a nap until 5. At five the board had a full slate of flights for today. None of those flights were for where I was going. So, I settled in and got some real sleep.
Got up around 2 PM. I shaved and put my contacts in. (At least theoretically, I am not supposed to wear contacts down here. But, there are so many people ignoring that, ... I see so much better with them, and they don't fog up, or get sweat on them like glasses) The bad part is bright sunlight just kills me when I have my contacts in. So, I needed to get some other stuff anyway, I headed to the PX. I picked up a replacement for the toothbrush that I broke in transit, anc some batteries for my MP3 player. The PX here has an equivalent to our bazaar in it's outer court area. So, I went looking for shades.
It's funny. Before this war, Oakleys were, in general, not allowed for wear in uniform. The military frowned on sunglasses but realized that sometimes they were very helpful, if not necessary. So, they allowed them under certain conditions, and within certain style parameters. Oakleys were considered too "faddish" for wear in uniform. Well, Oakleys, for the most part, are "ballistic" eyewear, and offer excellent protection from sand and debris that floats through the air here. Those things can be especially harmful when you are riding down the road in a convoy in an open vehicle. So, the Army is encouraging the wear of Oakleys, and is even issuing glasses by the Wiley company that are almost identical to Oakleys. In certain instances, you can actually get in trouble for not wearing these glasses that just a few months ago you weren't allowed to wear.
To make a long story short (too late), one of the vendors outside of the PX had what appeared to be Oakleys for sale. Now, these are normally about $30 sunglasses (if not more expensive), and he had them for 2 pair for $5. HHHHHmmmm. That's right. I am now the proud owner of 2 pair of "Jokeley's". Actually, they feel pretty much like the real deal. The logos are all right. They are either really good copies (they probably don't have the safety glass in them) or someone made a five finger discount from a warehouse.
That's pretty much been the highlight of my day. I have about 10 more hours until they post new flight information. I, now, have batteries to keep my MP3 player going. I have a good book, and I have the ability to plug in my laptop. I have my favorite computer games with me, and my book of bootleg DVD's. (No internet, though.). So, I'm okay.
Saturday, 16 October
Well, I arrived at Kuwait International Airport about 9 PM lat night. Everything had to be done in proper military fashion. Which means we, finally, left the airport on buses that met us at the flight line about 11.
We made a quick pitstop so people could use a porta-john, and headed to Camp Doha.
Things worked for me at that point. Normally, if you are an exception to the rule, in a situation like this, you are shunted off to the side and dealt with last. Myself, and the few others in similar situations to mine were shunted off to the side, but we were dealt with first. While most everyone else on my flight was still getting sorted as to where they were going from here, and what office they needed to deal with. I was at the office of the 1st ID rep here. I took care of everything, and even had a chance to email my command and give them an update.
A little after midnight, I checked in with the people that will arrange my flight. I get to fly back to duty on a "space available" basis. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on what priority you are. I looked at the priority list, and I am at about the bottom of the list.
So, I have a cot in a warehouse. The office that arranges the flights is in this same warehouse. I get to sit here and wait for a flight to my next stop. (I am at least 2 stops from where I need to end up) They post the flight information for the next day between 2 and 5 AM. I stayed up last night until 2. They had nothing to post then. So, I took a nap until 5. At five the board had a full slate of flights for today. None of those flights were for where I was going. So, I settled in and got some real sleep.
Got up around 2 PM. I shaved and put my contacts in. (At least theoretically, I am not supposed to wear contacts down here. But, there are so many people ignoring that, ... I see so much better with them, and they don't fog up, or get sweat on them like glasses) The bad part is bright sunlight just kills me when I have my contacts in. So, I needed to get some other stuff anyway, I headed to the PX. I picked up a replacement for the toothbrush that I broke in transit, anc some batteries for my MP3 player. The PX here has an equivalent to our bazaar in it's outer court area. So, I went looking for shades.
It's funny. Before this war, Oakleys were, in general, not allowed for wear in uniform. The military frowned on sunglasses but realized that sometimes they were very helpful, if not necessary. So, they allowed them under certain conditions, and within certain style parameters. Oakleys were considered too "faddish" for wear in uniform. Well, Oakleys, for the most part, are "ballistic" eyewear, and offer excellent protection from sand and debris that floats through the air here. Those things can be especially harmful when you are riding down the road in a convoy in an open vehicle. So, the Army is encouraging the wear of Oakleys, and is even issuing glasses by the Wiley company that are almost identical to Oakleys. In certain instances, you can actually get in trouble for not wearing these glasses that just a few months ago you weren't allowed to wear.
To make a long story short (too late), one of the vendors outside of the PX had what appeared to be Oakleys for sale. Now, these are normally about $30 sunglasses (if not more expensive), and he had them for 2 pair for $5. HHHHHmmmm. That's right. I am now the proud owner of 2 pair of "Jokeley's". Actually, they feel pretty much like the real deal. The logos are all right. They are either really good copies (they probably don't have the safety glass in them) or someone made a five finger discount from a warehouse.
That's pretty much been the highlight of my day. I have about 10 more hours until they post new flight information. I, now, have batteries to keep my MP3 player going. I have a good book, and I have the ability to plug in my laptop. I have my favorite computer games with me, and my book of bootleg DVD's. (No internet, though.). So, I'm okay.
