Welcome to Iraq

Finally after a rather boring stay at Camp Virginia we were told that we definitely had a flight out of Kuwait and that we had to be up at 0300 to finish packing and load the now hated semi truck. The truck and buses showed up at 0500 to take us back to the airfield. Once at the airfield we were put back into the tents from the day before which did nothing to convince us that we would actually be leaving that accursed place anytime soon. But to our surprise the KBR representative that is in charge of scheduling and departures came into the tent about 2 hours later and gave us the loading brief. The brief was humorous because it was the same rules that apply to civilian aircraft such as you cant bring weapons or explosives or liquids onto the plane. This was ridiculous to us as we were all carrying automatic rifles, body armor and live rounds ( bullets). After all we were getting ready to head to Iraq a war zone for goodness sake. So back out to the packing sheds to pallitize all our gear once again, it did not go as well the second time around. The guys that were in charge of loading pallets were not as good at it as the guys from the time before so this time we ended up with an extra pallet of stuff somehow. We then went back to the concrete pad where they split us up into 3 groups as we were all going to fly on 3 different planes. The leadership wisely put most of themselves on the first flight just in case all the flights did not take off on time, good call. After waiting around in the sun a bit more they started calling off names and once again we loaded the buses to go to the flight line.

As we started toward the flight line we saw the C-17 once again but of course we drove right past it and instead pulled up behind a C-130 which is a much smaller plane. The plane was running when we got there and I started having a serious flashback from my days with the 82ND Airborne. It had been 21 years since I had been on a C-130 and the last time I was in one I was loading up for a jump ( Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane ). As I entered the back of the plane with all my gear I got a whiff of the cargo straps and burning fuel that seriously brought me back to those days, it was weird. There were a lot of us to load and it was obvious from the beginning that several people had never been on a C-130 and did not know how to properly sit or how to buckle in as the loading process seemed to take forever. I was the last person on for my side which proved to be a very bad deal for me. The seating in a C-130 consists of webbed straps on a light aluminum frame which can be fairly comfortable when the plane is not fully loaded but in this case proved to be ungodly horrible. There are four rows of seats, two on each side divided by a web strapping "wall". So basically you pack in like sardines with one of your legs on either side of the legs of the person sitting across from you. At the back of the plane the row ends and then there are another set of seats set back about 12 inches for the aircrew to sit in. I was the last one on my row and literally had only one ass cheek on my row with the other half of me halfway onto the crew seats. This resulted in the uncomfortable fact of having an aluminum bar that stabbed me mid thigh for the entire flight. I honestly believe this is the most uncomfortable I have ever been in my entire life, and looking back on my life that is something to be said. We finally all got seated and they started loading the pallets, not only did they fit about 50 of us on but they crammed two of the pallets in there also, the pallets are about 12 feet by 12 feet so to say it was a little cramped is putting it mildly. Once they shut the rear door the heat really started to kick in, I was literally dripping with sweat within a few minutes, mind you this was a 2 hour flight. Most of us had stopped drinking water well before the flight as the bathroom facilities on a C-130 consist of a metal tube set into the wall about halfway up the rear ramp so that was a definite no go. I completely stopped sweating within 15 minutes of sitting on that plane, not a good thing. So off we went into the glorious sunrise for our trip into Iraq, I couldn't wait as by that time I figured nothing could be worse in the whole world as being on that plane.

The flight was unremarkable except for the fact of looking at my watch every 3 seconds to see if we were there yet. Once we got to the Iraq airfield the plane dropped like a rock and came in for a quick landing. They do not fly in low then land easily there as people will shoot at the plane so they basically dive bomb the runway and come to a screeching stop. Finally the rear doors open up and I get my first glimpse of Iraq.

It turns out Iraq is just as flat,hot and ugly as the rest of the wretched region. Once the pallets got unloaded we were able to get off the plane. This proved to be a little more difficult than loading as every ones legs were totally numb and we all felt crippled but we finally all stumbled out and followed our guide off the runway. We were met in a parking lot by the company of guys that we were replacing there in country. It was a bit of a letdown as we were all wearing our body armor and combat gear and these guys were just wearing their basic uniforms. I most definitely did not feel as if I had just landed in a war zone. Once we all had gotten off the runway they had us drop our gear on some buses and led us to the local chow hall for some much needed lunch. The chow halls here are just as crazy if not more than the ones in Kuwait. I had a delicious lunch of bottled water then headed back to the buses to wait for everyone else to finish eating. I loaded myself onto the bus and promptly fell asleep. Once everyone was back we left the airfield to go to our SHU's which would be our home for the next 9 months.

A SHU is a portable square or rectangle metal building. The square ones are 4 mans and the rectangle ones are 2 mans unless you are an E-6 staff sergeant or above then they are considered singles, rank has its privileges. They are set up in areas called pads and have about 30 in each row and about 6 rows. I have to say it is the best living arrangement I have had since I came back on active duty. I am in a 4 man which I consider to be better than the 2 mans. The 2 mans are usually reserved for the E-5 sergeants. The 4 mans are really just 2 of the 2 mans joined together in the middle. Each SHU has an air conditioner so if you are in a 4 man you have 2 air conditioners. There is a bunk an end table and a wall locker for each occupant. You also have 4 electrical outlets per person although two of mine are occupied by the Internet router and the air conditioner. We also have hard wired Internet which is awesome, the only problem I have with it is that they are charging us 85 dollars a month to use it which I think is a crime personally, I will be writing someone about that one of these days.

Once we all got off the buses we got into a mass formation and they started to issue out the keys for the SHU's.Once you got your key you went to your SHU to make sure the key worked then you were able to grab your gear and load it in. I was so excited to finally be able to unpack my bags for the first time in months, it was awesome. The rest of the day was spent unpacking our gear and exploring the base, our new home for the rest of the year.

As I said earlier we were all split up into three groups, my flight and the one that followed left on time ( the second plane came in 2 hours after us ) but the third plane was delayed and those guys did not land until 0100, talk about a long day. So after a much too lengthy stay in Kuwait and an incredible urge to kill the Air Force we all finally made it to our destination in wonderfull Iraq.