Yesterday started the “real” time in Afghanistan. We left Kuwait in a C-17 and took the four hour flight in an Air Force plane with a non-functional A/C system. It was hot and uncomfortable. The flight itself was pretty uneventful until the end where they did some fancy combat landing. Basically it was like a roller coaster with a series of climbs, dives and hard banks. It was interesting and unnerving at the same time. It was unnerving because there were no windows and we had no idea where we were headed. One person ended up vomiting if that tells you anything.
It was kind of strange setting foot off of the plane and being in Afghanistan. I’ve spent the past six months reading books on Afghanistan and preparing for the moment of actually being here but nothing really prepares you for the feeling of actually being here. It was also strange to be on an active combat air field where cargo planes were constantly moving and being loaded/unloaded. F-15’s were taking off with afterburners roaring going on close air support missions, and helicopters were buzzing around like insects. It’s kind of like being at an airshow, but this time the show is real.
We spent a long time checking into the country and getting our baggage. Then we moved on to our “transient” housing. Transient is too nice of a word for where we are staying, it’s really more of a refugee camp. It’s a large tent probably 200 feet long by 75 feet wide. It has a couple hundred bunk beds in here, all of them with inches of each other. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail about the living conditions, because frankly, it’s an embarrassment. We cleaned up our little area of 7 bunks and filled an entire trash bag with garbage, and it wasn’t a little kitchen garbage bag either.
This base will be my temporary home for a few days, and then I’ll be on to my final destination. Where we are going is much cleaner than this place, because frankly, this place is a pit. It’s like a small city and feels more like a third world city than a thriving military complex.
Sleep was a little difficult to come by last night since people were constantly coming and going to catch flights. With 30 or so people moving out at 3am, it’s hard to stay asleep. Plus add to the commotion the airfield that is close by and busy all night long it makes for a tough night’s sleep.
It’s also quite chilly in here. I am being stubborn and refusing to dig my sleeping bag out, so it was a little cold last night, but nothing the fetal position didn’t take care of. Tonight, I’ll try using my poncho liner again, and if I get cold, I guess I’ll be digging to the bottom of my duffel bag to get out my sleeping bag.
Today we did a reception brief, which was ok. There was also a brief about what we should do and shouldn’t do while on missions. Then we did MRAP (our vehicles) roll over training. Finally, we spent the afternoon going over counter-IED’s.
The chow hall here is mediocre at best. It’s probably a dozen or so tents linked together. The only thing that I’ve found really palatable was the cold meat sandwich I had for lunch today.
We are at over 4750 feet elevation here and surrounded by huge mountains. When the air isn’t smoggy the mountains are really nice to look at.
Ok, that’s it for now, time to get ready for bed.
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