It's oddly pleasant in Ali Al Saleem, Kuwait tonight. A comfortable temperature in the low 70s, with a breeze that almost feels like an evening in Florida. I can't sleep. My internal clock is flipped after our expidited travels, but maybe I can work that to my advantage tomorrow and sleep off the sweltering 120 degree heat that comes along with a Kuwaiti day in August.
Here is how we got here.
Back on the 27th of July four of us from TF Mad Dog departed our home FOB to make our way back to Fort Bliss, TX with the mission of linking up with our replacements and aiding them in the final weeks of preparation. We made it out of Sharana with no issues, and were streamlined through Bagram in a matter of about 10 hours and only one uncomfortable night in the Passengers Terminal. Getting in to Kuwait posed no real issues either, and we were making record time moving east.
Along with our personal gear, we were luggin around a large (3'x3'x4' ish) Pelican Case full of the medical records for our three units. We had no idea how heavy it was, but it took two of us with strained grips and grit teeth to carry it around. Until Kuwait it had all been military flights, and we just had to get it from pallet to pallet. Not bad. At the Kuwaiti Liaison desk we were informed that the funding code for our paperwork gave us priority just below that of Soldiers travelling on Emergency Leave, and that we would be flying commercially through the Kuwaiti International Airport.
Even better, except...apparently the culture surrounding the airport had a set of rules the US Military was obligated to screen Service Members through in order to avoid offending our hosts. These rules include: no shorts, no white t-shirts, no visible tattoos, no "out of country" logos, no open-toe shoes, etc. Having no knowledge of our full itinerary, two of us had no long pants. A trip to the base Post Exchange, and $50 later, we did. We play by the rules. Hours later, we face the young woman at the check in counter as her eyebrows raise when our giant box of files almost breaks the 120kg mark. My travel orders allow for unlimited baggage, but no piece can weigh more than 70lbs. Hmm.
The baggage assistants in Kuwait are aggressive. They come just short of taking your bag off of your back and putting on their carts to force their services on you. In this instance, these guys saved our tails. Only 20 minutes short of the ticket counter closing, these two gentlemen (who yes, smelled like feet) hustled us cardboard boxes to redistribute the folders and then got them taped up and wrapped in plastic. Of course this cost me another good $50 or so. Ultimately, we made it. No shortage of a sizable scene in a foreign country. Editor's Note: When we arrived in Texas and attempted to deliver this package, we were calmly told that no one would touch the files until our advanced party made it back, about a week ahead of us. What's done is now done.
For two weeks we got to hang around with our replacing counterparts, assisting in every way possible with "reality check" first hand knowledge of "how it really works". They are from South Carolina, they have fun accents, and they will do a great job taking over for us. Upon our return, it is on us to share with our Californian team their personalities, manning differences, and any perceived strengths/weaknesses in comparison to our makeup. In my baton-passing advisory role I hope to be able to post more often. Bookending this experience is better than all out abandonement, no?
As we raced the sun heading east, weather threw us a curveball coming into Atlanta. A 45 minute diversion to Birmingham was all it took for us to miss our flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam. No major crisis. Delta was able to rebook us on another flight just a few hours later, and it allowed us time for Pei Wei and Starbucks in the International Terminal. Fancy.
El Paso -> Birmingham/Atlanta -> Amsterdam -> Kuwait -> ?
We sat for about 30 minutes at the baggage carousel outside the Customs before a man came and brought our attention to a sign that had been posted no more than 10 feet from us. "Please come to Baggage Customer Service upon arrival" with all four of our names following. Our checked bags didn't make it out of Atlanta.
That earns us a free party day in Ali Al Saleem, in our same civilian clothes, with no hygiene items or bedding. At least I'm not sleeping, that's when you get funky anyway...
No complaints from me though, this has been quite an experience. We're almost there, and now I know all of the new guys. Cheers, K
