I’m back to feeling 100% and have a couple weeks to catch up on as I began my travels last Sunday and didn’t have an opportunity to add anything until now. The trip was supposed to last one week; however, it has evolved into at least a two week ordeal. Not surprising once you discover all the uncertainty that surrounds intra-country travel here.
I needed to visit four FOBs, all located in the South. Kandahar Air Field (KAF) is a large NATO base that serves as the main hub for that region; equivalent to BAF in the North. I scheduled my flight from BAF to KAF for Sunday, 13-Dec-09. My business dealings would only require a day at each FOB. In theory, I shouldn’t have any problem making it to each of the four FOBs and back to BAF in a week tops. Now, remove all logic and reasoning, leaving only a chaotic mess and you have the reality of the situation.
My show time for the flight to KAF was 0330. I packed Saturday night and got to bed early in hopes of getting rested for the upcoming trip. That didn’t exactly go as planned due to all the noise and commotion in the tent. I woke up at 0300, stuffed my sleeping bag, gathered all my gear, and headed outside to the pick up location. Ops showed up and told me there was already a delay. Show time was now pushed back to 0500. They said I could go over to the terminal early or stay at my tent and get picked up later. I decided to go ahead as scheduled since I was already up and packed. They got me checked in and manifested on the flight. 0700 was the estimated boarding time.
Surprisingly enough I was wide awake and initially didn’t mind waiting around. I did some reading and had a couple cups of sub-par coffee just for good measure. At 0600 they called for all passengers on my flight to palletize our luggage. Anything we didn’t want to carry on was placed onto a large pallet to be stowed in the cargo hold of the plane. Afterwards, I took a break from reading and watched some TV. ESPN was hyping the Heisman ceremony. An hour later they finally announced the winner then switched to college basketball. This was the most TV I’ve been able to watch since my arrival in Afghanistan.
Even that got boring after a while. People watching was great; civilians and military personnel from all over the globe packed into one place. If you’re here long enough you develop the ability to distinguish between soldiers. The way they carry their weapons indicates whether they are in active combat or just stationed on base. Beautiful women and Special Forces operators stand out the most amongst the sea of people.
It was now 0900 and quite obvious that the flight was delayed, if not cancelled. Ops showed up just as the announcement of our plane’s maintenance issues was given. We were then manifested to a new 1200 flight. I’ve learned to keep a stash of food in my backpack for times like these when you can’t make it to the DFAC. Power bars, trail mix, and poptarts served as breakfast and lunch.
Finally, at 1230, they instructed all passengers on our flight to come to the service desk and collect our IDs…wait for it…because the flight was cancelled. Shocking! The only thing that made me feel a little better was hearing a couple other guys say that they had actually flown all the way to their destination, circled, and returned the previous day. What a joke. We then waited outside the terminal for Ops to pick us up and return to our tents.
An hour later I was dropped off and told the new show time was 1600. I grabbed something to eat at the DFAC and then took a nap. Just as I was getting up and about to go to the pick up point, one of the other guys said our show time was pushed back to 2300. I headed to the office to check my email, charge my phone and iPod, and then back to the tent to get some sleep. Once again, that turned out to be a wasted effort. I got up at 2230, stuffed my sleeping bag, gathered my gear and once again headed to the pick up location.
Back at the terminal, I watched some NFL games, read, and listen to some music. Hours later our flight was changed for the fifth time. Operating on maybe six hours of sleep makes that kind of announcement even more frustrating. Wheels were up at 0700 on the C-130 Hercules military plane. The flight was an hour long and most people fell asleep. I listened to music and shifted positions the whole flight. The vest and helmet we have to wear are far from comfortable. However, when it comes to toting them around, it’s much easier to wear than carry as 50lbs of dead weight.
There you have it – a little insight to the joys of traveling here in Afghanistan. Whether it is a charter or military flight, there are always changes. I’ve since made it to two other FOBs (via marine CH-53 and charter MI-17 helicopters) and am back at KAF awaiting my trip to the forth. The problem is that the last FOB has limited accessibility and it will probably take a week to make it there and back to KAF. I will be lucky to get to BAF by next Sunday.
My time at the various FOBs has gone as expected. The setups are far better than BAF. The most obvious difference here in the South is the terrain. It’s in the middle of the desert and mostly flat, wide open plains in all directions. The temperature is noticeably warmer as well. Just before my trip, snow had actually fallen on the base in BAF. Here in KAF, it’s in the 50s during the day, which is very comfortable.
That’s about all I can think of to catch everyone up on the last couple weeks. I’m posting some more random pictures…
No comments:
Post a Comment