Chris's first letter

Day one, Kuwait.

I want to write you while I still remember the details of my travels. As I write this, I am at the airport in Kuwait, more specifically, I am in a large and well-appointed bus in the convoy gathering area right outside the flight line. They tell us that we will leave in a matter of minutes for Ali Al Salem, about an hour and a half drive from here.

After I left the Raddison, I was taken to the Dallas airport by none other than a Kuwaiti driver! He has family in Basra, Iraq and visits the country often. An interesting turn of events, I thought. Once at the USO terminal area, we were treated to some free food and coffee and our bags checked in standard, gruff military fashion. With minimal hassle we were able to check our bags and headed off to find some “American” food. It was all I could do to avoid McDonald’s, as there were 6 of them in the terminal, but eventually we settled for TGI Friday’s.

Army training was good for me, in a way. I believe that I have grown more patient. Perhaps the amount of care and efficiency that the Air Force so regularly demonstrates is partially to blame for my inability to brook incompetence. I’m not sure.

I digress. Once we boarded the flight we had the mandatory hour-plus delay due to mechanical failure, and then we were off! It was an exciting and sobering moment, to say the least. It was to be my last breath of American air, the last smile from a passing civilian, my last chance to immediately contact you. So, the flight lasted for roughly 9 hours, during which they showed 4 movies (only one of which I could stand watching) and served us some really decent food. It was a North American flight, an airline that I’d never heard of until today. We touched down in Leipzig, Germany and were informed that we would have a brief excursion to the military terminal while the plane refueled.

You will remember that I woke you just before 0400 today. I apologize for the hour, but I thought it best to use the opportunity to call while I knew the chance existed. At any rate, I did not buy anything but post cards, a chocolate bar, and two drinks (all German labels, I still am not sure what one of them is…) because everything was expensive and I didn’t want to tote it around on my journey. My carry-on is rather heavy and cumbersome due to the fact that I have every expensive personal item in it.

We took off again en route for Kuwait and reached it at about 1000 your time. It gets dark early in the winter in the desert. This place has already left an indelible impression on me with its awkward concrete structures rimmed with barbed wire, the late afternoon sky set ablaze by the setting sun, and the dust. Dust is everywhere. I should explain about the sky. It is beautiful, but would seem strange to you. Imagine driving down HWY 50 into Sacramento. In the heart of the city, it is smoggier than you have ever seen it, but the smog is not caused solely by emissions. Rather, the filth in the sky is comprised of dust and of the detritus of civilization. It forms an impenetrable, translucent layer that positively shimmers in the heat.

Day two, Kuwait

So, we drove to Ali Al Salem AB in Kuwait last night. The ride positively sucked—I had to pee the entire hour and a half and the Kuwaitis must love speed bumps. We got our quick inprocessing brief and got checked-in to “billeting” in short order, which was good because it was about 2300 by the time we got our stuff loaded into the 12 person tent. The showers are good and the PX is small, but adequate. Picked myself up some sheets to cover the bed (they don’t provide bed linens or pillows, so I’m immensely glad I’d bought a $3 pillow at Ft Lewis and hauled it half-way across the globe so I could sleep comfortably. The sheet plan worked for about 3 hours…then I realized that the temperature in the tent was, like 63 degrees. I had to roll-out the sleeping bag the Army issued me. Good thing I had it, too; I was freezing.

After showering, hitting the McDonalds for a quick Big Mac (I got a picture of me in front of the McDonald’s sign I’ll have to send you), and talking to you on the phone, I hit the rack for the night. Oddly enough, I didn’t sleep long. I’m still a light sleeper and the amount of noise that freaking military guys make is egregious. So, around 0630 I headed to the DFAC (Dining Facility) for breakfast. Let me tell you, that was an awesome experience! I had fresh kiwi, coffee, French toast, and sausage links. There were doughnuts and made-to-order omelets, as well. The food was good and they were showing Fox News and the military channel in the facility. I met some Aussie military there…their uniforms are retarded looking; like a camo paint ball fight gone wrong.

Anyway, I’m typing here in my bunk because I’m too tired to head out and explore any more this morning. Sleep is calling and I’m considering answering.

***

Day three

So, the day was not nearly as interesting as I’d hoped. I got some information from the AF here in Kuwait and they were like “hey, man, don’t stress.” Eminently helpful. So, I hit the rack really early because we found out we are flying out to Baghdad at around 0430 today.

Hopefully there will be many more letters like this one. Feel free to share whatever you wish of this letter or future ones with my parents or whomever. You can even put it on the blog (minus dates, if you please).