Bagram Air Field (BAF) 2009

My Life in BAF
I have compiled various emails and letters I wrote home into one document which captures my experiences and thoughts at the time. I have resisted the urge to edit and correct my written history. This was the first time I read what I wrote over a year ago and I now realize how much I left out or left unexplained. I want to go back and fill in the holes, but I think it would take away from what I was thinking at that exact moment in time. I have kept it as I wrote with the exception of a spell check and a few minor clarifications. It appears the dates are out of order, but the first date you will see is the date of the email followed by an additional date which is the actual date of my journal entry. Enjoy!


04May2009
Hi everyone,


Life is good here at BAF (Bagram Airfield). I’m still working on my email access, but it seems to be getting better. Now that I’m here I have a better idea of care package needs. We have very little storage space in our room; you can’t believe how small the room is for 4 people. I seriously would rather live in an open squad bay. And, I’m not the only one who thinks that either. Food seems to be the most requested item. When people in my shop receive packages they take out a few things that they really want and then the rest is given to the office. I work with about 6-10 people on my shift. The nice thing about sharing is the storage. Each section has their own stash of food and toiletries. I’m currently sleeping with the box that Emergency Management sent, there is no other place for it. Most of you asked what to send so here are some suggestions:


bread (you can’t send enough of this) don’t worry about it being stale, just send bread, send bread in every package :)


tortillas

queso dip

coffee (no flavors, just plain 'ole coffee)

velveeta

nuts

dried fruit

chunky and smooth peanut butter

strawberry jam

swizzlers

gummy worms

chex mix style snack

jerky

salsa

pickles

crackers

pretzels

tostitos

fritos

french onion dip in a jar (and yes I do eat that) strange I know

febreeze air deodorizer

microwave meals like hormel

betty crocker microwave cakes/brownie

ravioli

individual drink flavors (no grape please) like crystal light and Tang Sport



08June2009
Hi Everyone,


It has taken me this long to get my account straight. I was having serious issues with my lap top. I hope this letter finds you all well. I have attached two letters/logs of my adventure to date. I friend of mine suggested I keep a log of my activities which I’m finding very difficult to do. I hope these letters will serve that purpose. I am also saving my emails both sent and received as a way to record my time here. I miss you all and enjoy the packages and letters. I have a work email also katrina.l.faulkner@afghan.swa.army.mil my address here is below. Some favorite items in the office are wheat thins, triscuits, easy cheese, otter pops, coffee, bread, nature valley peanut butter granola bars, dried apricots, almonds, and jerky. I would love to hear from all of you!!


27/28 May 2009
Well, I’m starting my second update and I have yet to send the first one. I’m still having major email problems with my personal email account. It’s very frustrating and no one to go to. Where is my personal IT guy? It’s driving me crazy.


I always knew I liked to work in a quiet environment, but I truly appreciate the quiet now. We have three separate sections from three different units in one room. We have ATOC (where I work), Maintenance Operation Center (MOC) and Command Post. We all have our own radio traffic, telephone calls, and conversations. Add to the fact that we have two gianormous TV’s which play sports the entire time and people’s various music playing. No exaggeration. Add to the mix that on my side anyway, most of us are type A types with smart ass remarks flying constantly. Oh, and throw in that some are cops in the civilian world. Makes for a very looooong 12 + hour day.


One of the gals from my unit ended up with kidney stones and was taken to the hospital last night. She is back in her room now on “quarters” and waiting to pass the stone. I couldn’t imagine being sick here. Base rumor has the bottled water gives you kidney stones due to the high mineral content. Hmm can’t drink the potable water as it is disinfected only for showers, hand washing and tooth brushing and now the bottled water gives you stones. Which brings up the tooth brushing; we are directed to not swallow any water while brushing. Strange place. We received an email stating that swine flu has made it the AOR (Area of Responsibility) and we all need to take caution. War, malaria and now swine flu. Which reminds me, when I get my first day off, I need to run to the hospital and get my next supply of malaria pills. I haven’t been very good at taking them, no big surprise, and we are entering malaria season. I’m not sure if its fact or fiction, but supposedly there has been a confirmed case on base. Yuck!


Katrina factoid-I hate to answer the phone or talk on the phone at home and pretty much don’t. I might look at the caller ID, but that is pretty much it. This goes back to my traffic days when I answered the phone everyday all day. Its karma. The two us who are Info Controllers answer the phone somewhere around 50 + times a day not including the calls we initiate.


01 June 09
Ok, I’m doing much better now. I finally had a day off and slept. I like my co-workers again and I’m smiling again. I still don’t get along with my supervisor and I still want to punch him in the face, but at least now I have patience for his stupidity. I'm still having problems with my email, so I’ll keep writing and maybe at some point I can send it out. One of the problems is that I loaded all my contacts into my Outlook account which I use for my Gmail account. Since I have to go thru a 3rd party internet provider, it screws up the configuration and Outlook does not work. And I can’t export/import my contacts because the file too large. WTF! Until then, I'll just keep writing.


I’ve met some friends and I’m getting out of my room more. I signed up for orientation of the A10 and F15’s. It was very cool. I got to walk on the wings, sit in the cockpit, full tour of briefing rooms, ready rooms, and life support equipment. It was very awesome. We got to sit in on all the briefings before a mission. It was pretty exciting I must say.


I received an award for “Starting Right.” I was top newbie out of our group which consists of 5 squadrons. I was supposed to go to Base Ceremony yesterday, but I was a sleep. I'm waiting to see how well that went over.


03Jun09
Last night I had snuggled up in bed with ear plugs, eye mask and 2 Tylenol PM’s on board when our hall was taken over by local workers, working on the electrical. I was quite annoyed and unable to sleep. Along with no running water, our electrical seems to come and go as it pleases. A few hours pass and high winds come shaking the entire building waking me. I once again fall asleep to be awoken by a loud siren trying to sound. It actually sounded like a dying chicken. After several attempts to alert and now fully awake, I poke my head out the door to see several women doing the same thing. No one knows whether the alarm was tripped do the winds or an attack. One girl says the big voice isn’t talking which it would be if it were an attack. At this point, I really need to pee and don’t care if it’s an attack or not, but rather thinking of the three flights down and the walk over. I leave a post it on my door, for accountability, and trek next door. People are driving and walking and the pizza delivery bicycle goes by. I determine it’s not an attack. When I return to my room, I’m fully awake now and no way able to go back to sleep for the remaining 2 ½ hours. I’m fully annoyed. When I arrive at work, I see we have another HR mission. 3 days in a row now. Sigh. Suddenly my annoyance is filled with sorrow as I realize that although it was not attack just a few hours ago for me, this person had been in one, somewhere. As I’m typing this, the office is downstairs participating in the Fallen Comrade Ceremony. What is HR and the Fallen Comrade Ceremony you ask?


We have one of the main hospitals in theater, so a lot of injured soldiers and Marines come here. When they don’t survive their injuries, we have the Fallen Comrades Ceremony. The flag covered caskets are driven down the main thorough fare with all hands lining the street on both sides. As the vehicle(s) pass, you hand salute until the vehicles have passed. I attended a ceremony the first week I was here. Three Army personnel didn’t make it. In the bed of the vehicles that passed, I saw the covered caskets and their buddies sitting in the back next their comrade with tears streaming. There are no pictures or video allowed. There is one official video made and this is given directly to the families and not for release. We go quiet hours and all operations stop, planes don't land or take off, no radio communications, all people working and sleeping are to report to the road. The vehicles go directly to the awaiting aircraft and loaded according to protocol and ceremony. These flights usually have regular duty passengers flying also and I always wonder what they think during the flight.


25/26 May 2009 2100z
I’m taking advantage of some down time at work and tying up a letter that I will email later. Time seems to be the biggest commodity here. As I type this, I’m sipping coffee from Jamaica (thanks to my hubby) and rediscovering my love for raisin bread. As a kid, I remember it was such a treat and would only have it when visiting Grandpa Mike and GiGi. When did I stop eating it or was it a memory reserved only for Fountain Valley?


The biggest question I recieve is “what is it like?” That’s a hard one, but I will start with my average day. Here is a snap shot.


11:45 pm- I wake up, take out my ear plugs and pull off my eye mask. I have my routine down to a science to get the last possible second of sleep. I grab my shower caddy and head to the bathroom. Currently our building’s water line is under construction and we have no running water. I head down the hall, 3 flights of stairs and walk next door. I brush my fangs, quickly pull my hair back and if I’m on time put a little mascara and eye liner on. Normally I'm not on time so I settle for the lip gloss in my pocket. I head back to my room, grab my rifle, drop of my caddy and head to the DFAC (chow hall). All of the chow halls have sinks and hand washing is mandatory. I’m told it is because we are in a third world area. I like the idea, but had never seen this before Stateside. I scan my ID card and grab a to go box. I make a salad, take some lunch meat and cheese for later and sometimes take a portion of whatever the entrée is. As I head out I take a single portion carton of “Hadji” milk and two cans of what looks like Diet Coke. I can’t read the label, but it looks like Coke. Hadji milk requires no refrigeration and I’m told has an odd after taste, I take their word and only use it in my coffee. I now head off to work.


12:15am- I arrive at work, put my rifle in the rack, settle in and start my day. Depending on the mission load, I eat my breakfast which is actually a dinner entrée. I then settle into my day and see what the day brings. Sometime around 6:00 am someone will go on a chow run and bring back food. If we are too busy, I’ll make a sandwich from the meat/cheese I brought in earlier. If we do have a food run, I eat oatmeal for breakfast, everyday with little change. The eggs scare me and once in awhile I'll have a biscuit with gravy which is good, but too fattening. It’s so easy to put on weight here with institutional food. I had the scrambled eggs once on the first day. I think the fact that it was once, explains it all. You can have eggs to order and at least you know they are real, but there is a disclaimer on the line stating that the eggs come from Asia and do not meet USDA standards and must have a hard yolk. Gross. Plus the color of the yolk is bright orange. Weird. Today is relatively slow, but very challenging. It’s taken over 4hours to do 30 min of paperwork. My primary tool is web based and it is not working very well. Very frustrating. I try and remind myself that the warriors at the FOB (forward operating base) don’t even have internet and I should be thankful for what I have. “Learn patience grasshopper.” More coffee needed. At the end of my 12 hour day, we will have shift brief and I’ll stay an extra 15-30 min. The other shift leaves on time. I’m not bitter.


12:30 pm ish I head to my conex box (my room). Our lodging is literally conex boxes stacked on top of each other with reinforcement. I share my space with 3 other girls and the space is very limited. The other 3 girls are on opposite shift so in one way it’s like having my own space, but on the other hand, it’s a bit lonely. I change clothes and then I usually head to the gym and do some treadmill for about 35-45 min. I’ve started to do some weights in an effort to lose my close to 40 arms. After watching others, I started to take their lead on the laundry. The rule is our weapon must be with us 24/7 except for the head and the gym. So, on the way to the gym I will drop off my laundry and on the way back I will pick up if I have a clean bag. Before I was walking back and forth dropping off my weapon, picking up my weapon etc. I try and stay clear of the PX because I usually just buy crap that I really don’t need just for something to do.


2:00 ish If I’ve gone to PX or some other chore this is pushed back to 3:00 ish. After the gym I trek to the showers next door for my 3min combat shower and then back home. Our showers are very nasty and I try to not look around. We have local contractors who come in everyday and clean and I tell myself that at the minimum it is disinfected. I try not to look up and look for a new color of mold. So far we have peeling paint with yellow, black and a pinkish colored mold. After my shower I do a little housekeeping.


3:00 pm I try to be in bed and have an hour of reading time. I take a Tylenol PM (which I’m out of and they don’t sell here) put in my ear plugs and pull down my eye mask.


4:00 pm zzzzzzzzzzzzz


After being inside all day if I have time after the gym, I try and sit outside and read for an hour instead of in the rack. The winds have picked up and it blows pretty hard here with sand going everywhere, so I don’t stay to long. I’ll wait until I get home for my microdermabrasion.


We are not allowed off base and I have not seen any of the culture, food, landscape etc. One of Capt.’s has access to a van so once in awhile he offers to take us to the other side of the base to eat over there. I’ve gone a few times just to break up the routine. I really don’t like eating again after work, but it’s a nice chance to see other things. From the perimeter road you can see the mud homes of locals and the occasional goat herder with his flock. We are in a valley of sorts and surrounded on three sides by mountains. They are still snow covered and when we first arrived the air was clear and the views were pretty. With the high winds, it looks like a black flag smog day and the mountains are just a brown fuzz.


I signed up at Anyairman.com (you can search by name) and I receive packages from very nice people across the country. I'm always surprised on what people think we need. I always write thank you notes directly to them and also post a thank you on the website (that one was for you mom.) As a result, we are fully stocked here on misc toiletries. Food and coffee is always welcome.


The base here is not like any US base. Its rather 3rd world. Go figure. The main roads are paved, but the auxiliary roads are paved with rocks. It’s kind of like walking on a riverbed every time you need to go to work, eat, gym, etc. There is lots of construction on base as the Army continues to improve the base. There is not enough billeting for everyone and temp tents and cots have been set up. The old ‘B” huts are being torn down to make room for more conex box buildings. Lots of clamshell tents used as buildings and old cement buildings being used as permanent structures. I think they are left over from the Russia era. The cement buildings look like something from Tijuana.


I love the care packages being sent in. Thank you all so much. I think I now have enough yarn to knit my own Afghani family, thank you Vic. And I don’t know who put the dark chocolate espresso bean trail mix in, but that was inhaled. I thought I would have a nibble and save the rest. Nope, gone in seconds. The music is good too! The bread and coffee is a hit too. And of course the snacks. I can’t say thank you enough for your thoughts and taking the time.


Well, it’s taken 2 days to write this and I haven’t even sent yet. So, I will wrap this up.


Katrina


13 June2009
Morning,


It is 0420 on Saturday, which means its 1650 Friday, that's yesterday for me. It’s kind of strange being in the future ;)


I think the Taliban must have deleted my spell check from my last letter. I went back and re-read looking for something. Yikes, I was embarrassed. From here on out, it’s the Taliban's fault.


If I have missed some one's email address, please forward to me. It’s been a challenge trying to get addresses.


Thank you for the emails, packages and snail mail. It is all so very appreciated. Nothing beats hearing the going ons from home. Even the simple things are great to hear such as the gopher tales and babysitting duty of a new grandfather.


EM folks- I have a favor... sometimes my emails end up in Mike Lee's spam folder. Can you follow up with a phone call and ensure he has received? Thank you!!!


All in all, everything here is going great. I was asked the other day in an email, outside of my hubby, what do I miss. I have not responded yet, because that is such a hard question to answer. Its everything and nothing. Outside of my family and friends, I don't have an answer. Our basic needs here are taken care of. We have food, shelter and I do feel safe which might seem strange to some, but I do. Outside of the basics, what I miss comes down to luxury items which are a want, not a need. I want my cat, I want my home, I want my own bed, and I want my "own" time. All of my wants are "things" that I miss, but not an essential. I think it really depends upon how you choose to look at life here. I try to not focus on the things that I don't have or items that I miss. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely looking forward to having those items when I get home and I'm definitely appreciative of the lifestyle we all have in America. When I'm standing in my own shower and enjoying the hot steaming water with no time limit, and Ali staring at me meowing for food, I will sigh with contentment and say, I’ve missed this.


Katrina


June 9, 2009

What a day, so busy and so behind in paper work….


June10
What a day yesterday. I was outbound controller and we had 16 missions during my shift. That’s quite a bit. Busy day.


I’m walking up the stairs to work and one of the misc. MOC guys says goodbye and wishes me a good a tour. I ask if he’s leaving today and he says probably tomorrow and he doesn’t know if he will be at work. We say our goodbyes and off he goes. It’s a strange reality. My reality/perception was formed by years of “MASH” I think. Everyday it’s the same people and nobody ever leaves. When I arrived here, I didn’t think much about how long other people had been here or when their rotation home was. In the past week several friends have left and it’s a bit odd. I go to the gym almost every day and run into the same people and say hello. Wally always says hello and I look forward to the friendly face. Sometime last week Wally disappeared. I kept looking for him, but he’s gone. Every morning I write an email to Albright saying good morning from his friendly info controller. After speaking on the phone and radio over 30 times a day and not really meeting, we decide to eat chow together after work. It’s my choice and it’s a tossup between Ruth’s Chris and the BBQ place. Having never been to bbq and there not being a Ruth's Chris, we go to BBQ. I’m quite excited. As we meet up and start chatting, I realize he leaves the next day! What? How can this be? He is my routine. How can this person be leaving? Every day at 0700, I yell over to MOC, “Good Morning MOC.” I get “Good morning ATOC.” Two weeks ago, MOC guy went home. New MOC guy has picked up the routine, but it’s not the same. New MOC goes to the gym and we say our hellos. He seems to have replaced Wally for the gym hello, but New MOC is only here for 30 days. Sigh.


I’ve picked up a few sayings over here. When you work with the same people every day for 12 hours, you pick up things. Part of my vocabulary now includes: Really. Serious. What the devil? And must be the Taliban. These sayings can be placed into any conversation. What the devil? Where did that aircraft come from? Must be the Taliban. Serious? Really! Try it yourself and you will see.


12JUN09
I was very excited to watch the progress of our building getting water. The pipes had been connected, the American foreman said it should be within a day or two, they were just checking the chlorine level. The pipe trenches had been covered over with dirt and what seemed odd to me were concrete sidewalks had been poured over the fresh trenches. It would seem running water was on the way. Nope. Grapevine says “they” ordered the wrong size water pump. Sigh. What do I miss over here? Having a toilet on the same floor as I work and live on.


I don’t know if it’s the shared opinon in that our supervisor is a bonehead or that her friend rotated home, but the girl I work with, she and I are working better together. Now that she is more focused on work, we actually are a great team together. And it could be, that I'm less stressed out and getting into the groove myself. As she approaches her 30 day mark here I see the same cracks of stress. Stupid Policy!


The base went through an exercise yesterday which I find very amusing. It seemed the purpose was an accountability drill. That I understand, all the units were calling in, different operations centers were stood up, lots of activity. If something were to happen, it’s important to have accountability. Part of this exercise was to send out teams around the work centers looking for unexploded ordinances and casualties. We are playing war during actual war. Doesn’t that seem strange? Other exercises include putting on all of our garb and heading to bunkers, treating for injuries, working from alternate work centers, etc. Should we not be trained prior to arriving? If we are not trained, then there is a fundamental problem with the overall Air Force training and exercise standard. God, I miss the Marine Corps. A few weeks ago, an officer was in our work area, whom I had never met, and he was talking about how he plans these exercises as part of his responsibilities. Before I realized I was talking with a Lt. Col., I said exactly that. If we are not trained properly, the problem should be fixed at the home station, not here in the AOR. He laughed and completely agreed and wanted to know if I was always so direct in my opinions. Hmm that would be a yes. At least, I’m tactful. ;)


I’m very proud to state that I have not washed my coffee cup in over 3 weeks. Random fact.


14 June 2009
Oh my, what day. Yesterday all of our systems were down. It amazes me how dependent on computers/internet we are. The mission went on of course, but it was all reaction and no preparation. All in a day’s work I suppose. There was a bit of excitement when I got to my room. An Army person was contemplating suicide in one of the buildings near our barracks and the whole area was cordoned off and the main road was closed. I assume the lack of sirens means the situation was defused. Very sad.


Chris- Disclaimer, don’t read anymore. I take no responsibility in the condition of my hair when I arrive home. I once had a thought that I would like to grow old gracefully and wondered at what point I would stop coloring my grey hair. Well, let me tell you, NEVER! My hair is pulled back just about every hour of the day and I have not seen it “down” outside of the shower since I’ve been here. Every day I see my temples and the line of grey grows. It’s very disturbing to me. I tried on my day off to have my hair done, but the gal at the counter could only shove a color chart at me and motion something about only having these blonde colors, try again next week. That did not instill much confidence I must say. I promptly went to the PX and purchased, sigh, Clairol. The box has been sitting in my wall locker for 2 weeks now. Yesterday after work I took the big step and read the directions on the box. I made the trek next door with all my supplies ready. I got into the shower, wetted my hair, towel dried off and went to the sink. I pulled on the supplied gloves, mixed up the goo and began to apply to my hair. The box said apply to grey first and then to the rest of the head area. As I'm applying goo, my towel keeps slipping off, so I'm trying to keep my towel on with goo gloves, while keeping my goo hair from getting color all over my face. After several towel malfunctions and a bottle later, I claw clip my goo hair up. Where my gloves end the dye starts, the sink has brown all over it, the tile wall has brown, the soap dispenser has brown, and my ears have brown. Now I sit and wait in my now brown stained towel. As I sit and wait, I make the mistake of looking up, big huge paint chips are ready to fall. I wonder how often I’ve left with paint in my hair. Tick tick tick. 10 min to go. I read the other side of the directions; the side with all the warning labels and don’t use this product if statements. Our water is so heavily chlorinated that after a shower, you smell like you have been swimming. The warning label doesn’t mention chlorine, just heavy metals. Directions go into the trash. Ok, time to rinse. I go back into the shower, flip my head upside down and try to “dampen hair into a lather” and then “rinse until water runs clear.” Needless to say, the shower side walls are now brown and the standing water that fills up the basin is brown. I think I went over my 3 allotted minutes of water with this little adventure. I towel off and inspect my work in the mirror. The grey is gone and I attack my ears with Vaseline until they are a nice rosy pink and the brown is gone. Trek back to my room.


21June2009
Good Morning,


As most of you are starting your day, I just finished my work day. I wanted to let you all know an attack happened here at BAF during my shift. The story has hit main line news and I wanted you to know that I’m safe. I won’t tell you not to worry about me, because I know you care and that is the root of your concern. In an earlier log, I described a Fallen Comrade Ceremony. It was during this ceremony, today, when we were attacked. I was already on duty, but immediately went back to my work location. It was much like activating the EOC. Instantly phone calls were made and accountability checks completed; at least that part of the exercise from last week paid off. All of our personnel were accounted for very quickly. The enemy used this vulnerability, the act of respect and reflection, to their advantage. Changes have already been implemented to ensure the Fallen Comrade Ceremony will continue and the threat lessened to personnel. I don’t want this note to alarm you, but know that I’m ok and I’m ok being here.


Again, thank you for all the support you continue to give me. It would be much harder without it.


Katrina


23June2009
Hi everyone,


Here is the next installment of my adventure. When I first created this list, I randomly picked people and since have received request for people to be added. If you are on the list and don’t want to be, I certainly understand, just let me know and off you go.


As always, thank you for the support, packages and letters.


Katrina


16Jun2009
I'm back at work after a great day off. I first went to the gym for a quick a run and then went to “my” picnic table. There is an area outside of our barracks that has a covered area with benches, a table and music usually playing. There is also a picnic table with its own roof and a building they call “Town Hall.” There are also two flag poles (US and Afghani). The whole area is called “The Flags.” Very original. I usually read every day at the picnic table for sun and air. After being in the cave for approx. 13 hours, being outside is lovely. On this particular day, I met Panda. His real name is Miranda, but fly boys and some of their support people get call signs. I'm finding out that life here at BAF is a small world. Panda and I start talking and realize we know some of the same people. Panda knows Special, Bingo and Forrest. Special sits next to me every day; Forrest is the Lt. Col previously mentioned and Bingo works with Forrest and comes to the office from time to time. About this time, Forrest and Bingo walk up and join us. Sitting outside with a book also gives me the opportunity to people watch and watch the going ons. Between the two flagpoles a monument of sorts has been built and I’ve chatted with the two workers and we always exchange hellos when they come by to check the work. The two workers drive around on a Gator – JoDee, gators are cool here – with a pink bicycle horn and one of them has an NRA sticker on the butt stock of their M16. Yes, I did honk the horn. How could I resist and it actually broke the ice and started us talking. After hanging out, I went to my room, showered, and crawled under the covers and watched a movie and munched on cashews. I fell asleep and woke up when my roommates came home. Julie said something and I mumbled something and went right back to sleep. I woke up and did some reading in bed and took a few cat naps. When Julie woke up, I got dressed and headed to the picnic table. I had previously made a date with a few co-workers to have a picnic with the treats my lovely husband sent me. Julie went off to the PX and I asked her to bring me an iced coffee. This is my weekly treat to myself. It’s so yummy and I look forward to it all week. A small group of us have now gathered and we dined on smoked oysters and clams, salmon, peppered water crackers, crab, various marinated vegetables and cheese in a can. We enjoyed it so much, we decided to do this every Monday; a bit of civility amongst the chaos. To enjoy a meal not in front of my computer terminal, not out of a Styrofoam and outside is truly heaven. I have a few items unopened and I'm hoping the next package arrives before Monday with reinforcements. I do not think my words can describe what a great day yesterday was. The group broke up and I continued to read my book. (Cori, please send books 5 and 6 of the Outlander series) Everyday there is big hoopla meeting at the town hall where just about every Air Force officer attends. The first time I noticed this was around day 3 of week 1. As I sat at the picnic table a few officers came by and sat down. Then a few more. Next thing I knew full bird Colonels, Lt Col’s, numerous Major’s and Capt’s and swarmed “my” area. I thought to myself, self, is this officer country requiring me to make a quick stage right. I told myself I was here first and just stayed put. After 20 min or so, they all disappeared into the town hall and I realized it was a meeting. Good riddance.  It’s now approaching that time when I get converged upon with all these officers. Forrest walks by and yells they should name it Faulkner’s corner. I then realize I could be a part of someone’s routine. I notice the same people every day at the gym and see the same people walk by the flags. Is there someone who walks by the flags and looks for the girl with the book? Am I a part of their routine? Yes, all is right with the world, the book girl is there. Or, hmm I wonder where she is today, did she go home? Full circle I suppose- little ripples in the pond that are all related. I talk with Panda and Forrest comes back by and I give him a package to deliver to Loco an F15 pilot, yes another call sign, crazy ass pilots. I finish my book and head to my room. I get book 3 out and start that one. My day is done and it’s off to bed for me.


Update on the Army person. While chatting with Panda the “incident” came up in conversation. Across the street from the picnic table/barracks is an office tent. An Army person was being reprimanded for something and wasn’t taking it very well. He decided to take his MSgt and office staff hostage. For the safety of others, “they” evacuated the barracks and most of the people waited in front of the barracks. A sniper had been positioned on the top floor of one the barrack buildings. You have a tent office then a rock road with the barracks area running parallel. Think cross fire between the individual and sniper. Where are the bystanders standing around? Someone realized what the danger was and the bystanders were told to go back inside outside of danger. I don’t feel danger from the insurgents; I feel danger from my own kind!


18Jun2009
Julie had her first day off on Tuesday and we spent my off hours together. Even though we our roomies/bunk mates, we never see each other since we are on opposite shifts. We thought we would get pedicures and walked down to the PX. Now, before you get all excited and say despairing remarks about the Air Force think back to my wanting my hair colored and this is an ARMY Base. Enough said. We walk in and they don’t have any openings until 1600. By then I will be tucked into my rack and snuggled up with my book or will be sleeping. We walk out and she promises to return. She is a smoker so we part ways; she goes to the smoking tables and I head to the PX for some US flags. The line is more than I’m willing to wait to wait for and return the flags to the shelf and go to the smoking tables. I find amusement in the fact that these tables are collocated next to the porta potties and they smell. Julie has met a fellow smoking friend and the three of us are chatting. He is probably in his late 50’s with crazy Bagram white hair. Crazy only because it’s windblown and not shaved. It’s actually a “normal” length for any male not in law enforcement or in the military. Crazy long for us military folk. We decided to move on and there is a secret garden that I want to go to. It’s a bit of a walk down Disney Drive, but I talked Julie into it. I was there during dark hours and I wanted to see it in the light. We start walking and when we find it, it is much farther than I had remembered. My only land mark was to look for the big black widow unit emblem. This “landmark” turns out to be a very large stained glass hourglass with the bottom triangle red. So, it wasn’t actually a spider with legs. What can I say, it was dark. We walk in and I find it lovely. It’s very old with a now dry rock bed that is manmade. It looks like at one time it had water running. It is designed in a square with cement paths making a cross and four small squares. At the point where all four corners meet in the middle, one path is flanked by sitting lions. At the four corners a cement pad is there with a picnic table. The small squares have overgrown grass and tended to rose bushes that have full blooms. I find the whole area very tranquil and enjoy it. Julie finds it eerie and thinks we don’t belong there. We eat our snack at the table and leave. I will return on my own and enjoy the tranquility in silence. As we walk out, guess who is driving by? Yep, crazy hair smoker. He offers us a ride and we gladly jump in. As we drive, I ask him about the secret UAE chow hall. There seems to be several secret places here at BAF, you have to be in the know. He actually has eaten there and offers to show us. UAE offers local/Indian food, but is only open during certain hours. He takes us there and we find out it is currently closed but will reopen in a month or two. Julie and I decide to try again and keep checking. As we are driving, crazy hair tells us about the underground bar. It’s open to civilians and we are told the Brits, Ausies and the Polish go. He tells us all about it and how the bartender will announce “No Americans Tonight” as the Army MP’s are coming. He goes on to describe how he would drive by the barracks and a female American friend would jump in. He would take off and she would change clothes, hide her rifle in the car. Ok, just a few years ago I would have been all over it. I’m seriously thinking I’m either old, or sigh, responsible. Now when in THE hell did that happen?


22/23Jun2009
Ahhh back at work after a day off. I can’t believe how one day can be so wonderful. What a great day. The night of the attack was my Friday so to speak. After getting off work, I took a quick nap and planned on meeting some friends for a run. Up to this point I had only ran on the treadmill and I have not ventured outside. Chip stood us up, so Panda and I went for a run. Due to recent events we couldn’t do a perimeter run, but we ran the main drag which was a good run, two times up and down for 45 min. What a difference outside makes. I think I actually gained 5 lbs by breathing all that sand/crap into my lungs. After a quick shower we all met up, Chip too, and headed to chow. We went to the BBQ place, which I consider a treat, and had chicken and ribs. Yummers. We then walked about looking for a movie. There are a few places around BAF where they show movies, but Sunday night must be hopping here because every place was packed. We also needed a phone center so Chip could call home. I knew of a place the others had not heard of and we headed there. The movie was listed as The X Man, but what played was The Kingdom. Chip had a hard time with the opening scene so recently after our own incident. He was only approx. 50 ft from one of the huts and he’s taking this hard. He shortly left and made a phone call home. After the movie we headed to the Green Bean and had cold beverages. Not the type I would have preferred, but cold none the less. The following morning I had a lazy day. I cleaned my room, changed my sheets, and read a little. It was lovely.


Now drum roll please…. I have a working toilet, yes, on the same floor as my room. I know. It is hard to fathom. The shower only has cold water, I will still trek next door for that, but I can now pee with only a short walk. It really is the small things in life that bring me pleasure. And, hopefully the sanitary conditions will be a little better. Can you imagine what the bathrooms looked like being cleaned only once a day by lazy ass contractors with all these women? One working floor of facilities for 5 floors of women, the word nasty comes to mind.


Julie came home early today and started her off day early. She thought it would be grand fun to spend time with Katrina since she slept through my day off. I thought I was going to lose my mind. She obviously has not read the “How to Guide” and I suggest Bill send her an email with the basic rules. She comes in and announces the time. I know what time it is. Time for me to keep sleeping until the last possible moment. She then decides to “nest” and is rooting around organizing. I give up and get up 30 min early. I not so nicely ask her to stop what she is doing to give me room to get ready. Our space is very tiny and only enough room for one person. She sits on the bed and proceeds to talk to me. I know, she has a death wish. I give her the look which just makes her laugh and she says she is glad she knows me already because this alter ego is a real bitch in the morning. Yep. I grab my basket and head to the bathroom, on the same floor thank you very much. I come back in and finish getting ready. I then tell her it’s ok to talk to me, now that I’ve been up for more than 5 min. OMG she was chipper.


I'm working on the cheese connection. I'm dying not having cheese every day. We have a March plane (my home station) that comes here almost every week. I have a friend who knows people stationed at Ramstein, the leg prior to arriving here. I spoke to Ramstein ATOC today and asked if it would be a problem having a cheese package delivered to the aircraft via ATOC/RAMPCO for delivery here. They said it would depend on the crew. Ha! I have that part covered. Once the friend connection has been confirmed, I get cheese from Germany. Score!! I can almost taste that yummy dairy goodness.


29June2009
Hi Everyone,


Hope this finds you well. Here is the latest in my adventure. Enjoy.


Katrina


24Jun2009
Thank you for the feedback on my log/journal. It really has surprised me. I have never liked to write. I find it very painful putting pen to paper. I write my thank you notes only because it’s a necessity and they are very short and usually very late in coming. In school/college writing was a chore. The night before any paper was due; I would burn the midnight oil and somehow produce a paper to turn in. I would rather be tortured than write a paper. Before coming here a good friend of mine who was in Vietnam kept on me to keep a journal. I said I would, but inside cringed with the thought. I packed a journal and even slept with it under my pillow for the first month. I could not bring myself to write in it. I received emails from friends/family asking the same questions and I couldn’t find the time to respond. So, the idea of keeping a log and writing from time to time at work was born. I have insecurities that my writing will be full of grammar and spelling errors or worse the content will not be all that interesting. I asked Bill several times are you sure people liked it? What did they say? What do you think? It’s the fear of looking stupid I suppose, but I write and still send, telling myself if people don’t like it they can hit delete and I'm none the wiser.


29/30Jun2009
WOW, where did the week go? It’s been busy here during my shift and I have not had much time to write. I just finished having my day off and I'm back at it. I'm outbound controller today which is the busiest of the three controllers. I'm finally in the swing of things and my stress level is now manageable. Think of a fast paced activation where decisions are made at a constant stream, constant follow up/coordination of varies work centers, ensuring work centers are doing their job, task master if they are not, taking in of information from varies sources, taking in high profile information from higher sources and the dissemination of information, fixing the screw ups of higher sources, ensuring work crews are following the timelines to get aircraft departed on time, ensuring work crews are downloading cargo to timelines, and on and on, plus all of the side chatter and noise. It’s just plain crazy. Some days I like it, but most days I really don’t. I wasn’t crazy about my job when I only did it one weekend a month and now I'm seriously thinking of a job change when I get back. I made 20 years this year, but I'm not ready to leave yet, but I can’t do what I'm doing, especially if we come back here. Yes, there is talk of an activation in 2011. Cats out of the bag on that one now; EM- are you breathing yet?


Oh just in, we had to evacuate one of our flight line areas do to a fire. The cause was unknown with lots of rumors. There is no danger to personal, but our peeps had to leave the area. Now this I find amusing. Just before arriving, the construction of Kilo ramp was completed. Kilo was built away from the rest of the ramps, taxi and runway areas due to it being “HOT.” Our “HOT” pad is used for aircraft carrying hazardous materials such as ammo, flares, projectiles, etc. If there were to be an accident, the explosion of cargo would not then affect surrounding areas and have a domino effect. There are numerous areas all over base that are still live mine fields. When the base was Afghani they had the sense to lay mines in a grid pattern, not so much when the Russians came to town. They just laid them everywhere with no rhyme or reason. Our folks go out and clear the fields and make room for new construction. There are these huge all metal vehicles, metal tires even, and they drive over the field and turn up the ground with this tiller attachment. The mines are then brought up to the surface and collected later. If one happens to go off, the vehicle just shakes and the people inside change their shorts. So, back to Kilo. Around our HOT pad are live mine fields. Again, this area will have live ammo on it. It sounds silly to me to have a HOT cargo area next to a live mine filed. Now, add the fact there is a fire in this same location. Hmmm. Looks like the fire started due to a pre-emptive strike. OH YA!! Take that you rat bastards. Because of the fire and evacuation, our missions on the ground will probably delay, which means work for me. Our peeps are back on Kilo now and we will need to try and catch up. Fortunately, any delay code will not go against us for the next few aircraft. The ripple effect will hit us though. We are now behind on the aircraft and this could affect future planes that need to leave or arrive. We will not receive a grace on those.


When I first arrived I seldom saw a Marine on base. They were very few and far between. Lately they seem to be multiplying. I was walking down Disney with Panda when a group of Marines were walking towards us. I always get a little nostalgic when I see them and have a deep sigh. There were some officers in the mix and I rendered a very sharp salute. I thought I heard one of the Marines yell something about “kill” not all that uncommon; I answered back with a Devil Dog bark and kept walking. They barked back and I smiled to myself. Panda looks at me like I have lost my mind. Having never experienced my bark, he said his Air Force ear drums were sensitive and were still ringing. You can take me out the Marine Corps, but you can’t take the Marine out.


It is official. I'm turning 40 this year. Prior to coming here, I noticed my vision was a little off, I just thought it was how hard I worked at my desk. In the past few weeks, I’ve told my co-workers that BAF is making me blind. They said BAF doesn’t cause blindness, but something else does… ;) I have been here awhile. I went to the hospital yesterday and had an eye exam. I wasn’t sure if it was eye fatigue from the dual computer screens, 62 inch TV screen (18” from my face), wind, sand or just plain eyes close to 40, but I could not focus any longer. The first gal did a preliminary exam and then I was seen by a Major. She was very nice. She goes home soon to Pennsylvania and we chatted as she did her thing. She seemed like a person I wanted to get to know better, but alas, she is an officer and going home. Yes, I am slightly nearsighted. Sigh. I picked out some frames and they certainly are not the BCG’s (birth control glasses) of yesterday, but still, I have eyes close to 40. My glasses will be ready in 5 days and she gave me a prescription to take home for civilian glasses.


The first month I was here was very difficult for me. I had the ghetto room from hell, adjusting to BAF and the feeling of isolation. Outside of work there was no one to talk with, no way of decompressing from the day. The first few weeks I was here, I worked with the people our unit replaced and had no real connection. Once our people started to rotate in, it was nice to work with friendly faces, but I was and still am, apprehensive to really talk with any of these folks. If I say so and so really bugged me today, will it turn in to unit gossip? Will it be blown out of proportion? And, it is also not appropriate for me to talk with lower ranks and that whole military issue. I wasn’t left with many opportunities to just “be.” When Julie arrived, it was a God send, but I only see her once a week. My only outlet was reading at my table every day. By meeting Panda, Chip and the others, they have been my lifeline. Work is no longer my only priority, only thought, only reason. I meet my friends now and chat about work, home, our family, and the funny things about BAF. We have stories that mean absolutely nothing to anybody else like Ass Monkey that makes me laugh just by typing it. On my day off, we “go” to the movies and hang out like normal people. I have noticed my stress level here at work is much more manageable. I think it is a combination of knowing my job better and being more efficient, but more importantly I have an outlet. Like all relationships whether work or personal, I believe it is important to have connections/relationships outside of that so you can bring something back. Just knowing that I have something to look forward to after work helps me smile throughout the day and realize that whatever it is at the moment, it’s not so bad.


I showed Julie my last update since she was a big part of it with the whole waking up in the morning bit. She laughed so hard and gave me her insight. Very similar, but I guess I was a bigger bitch than I thought. We both laughed. She liked my log and wanted to be cc’d as well. She liked reading a different perspective on the same issues. After thinking about it, I told her we should trade at the end of tour. It would be interesting to read once we were home. She agreed.


Summer has hit BAF and the low 80’s has been replaced with mid 90’s. When I got here I set a goal of running the perimeter which is about 8 miles long. Silly me thought it would be good to run it this past Sunday. I got off work, changed my clothes and met my run partner. We took off each carrying a water bottle. The day before I had run 4 miles on the treadmill and my expectation was to at least run 3 miles before I started walking. I think I made it 100 yards. I was dying. It was bloody hot and dry. Our run turned into the death march from hell. Did I mention it was hot? Somewhere on the eastside we reached a conex box turned small PX. Water, must have water. No water, but they did have non-alcoholic Beck’s. What the hell? It was some cruel joke being played by the gods. Not to be persuaded, I knew of the eastside chow hall where there is cold water for free. Off we go. We never did find the chow hall and we never did get water. Along the way, I think we took some wrong turns. I'm not sure, but by this point I was delirious. When we got back to the main base portion, we were the walking dead. I could barely lift my feet to take the steps back to my room. When I arrived at my three story conex box, all I could do was look up at the stairs. Somehow I made it to my room, gathered my shower basket and headed to the showers. When I reached the end of the hall I looked at the shower entrance and thought, how cold could the shower possibly be? Although we have running water and flushing toilets now, we still do not have hot water. It wasn’t bad, but it was cold. During the movie that night my calf cramped and all I could do was laugh at myself for being a dork. When the movie was over, I could barely get up out of the chair - my knees, legs, entire body was jello.


30Jun2009
I am completely overwhelmed right now. I walked into work and had FIVE packages waiting for me. From whom you ask? My EM family. You all ROCK! TJ, thank you. Kelly thank you. The office, thank you. What a great feeling knowing that you all here with me. And I crack up on some of the things you all send, makes me laugh. Glitter nail polish. Really? I love it though. I did take pictures wearing my peace sign earrings in uniform just so you know. You all are awesome. I can’t wait to see all of you and have one huge party.


03July2009
Hi everyone,


Here is the next installment. Miss you all.


Katrina


Fyi- thanks for the concern on the 4th. All was well here. A little action south of us and we provided some air support, but nothing here local.


Gotta keep it general and not very current :) lose lips and all


03Jul2009
First off, I owe a shout out to Gerard and Crystal. Thank you for adding to the EM packages. All of you are awesome in your support. And I can’t forget Oceanside FD either!


The MOC guys are never quiet. They talk all the time. Most of the time its idle chit chats with very little interest on my part. This morning was different though. We had a quiet moment and their voices traveled over to our side of the room. The four of them ranged from early 20’s to early 40’s and each had a different take on divorce and relationships. I sat quietly doing my work and eavesdropped. Not one of them was bitter, angry, or named called. It was just four guys talking. Talking about the court process, wanting to keep visitation, how they were handling custody while being here. They talked like friends, open, sharing, being vulnerable. Not all that different from girl chit chat. The young ones sat, listened and absorbed the information. The older ones shared life experiences. The day has moved on as has the conversation; its back to hot rods, mechanical issues and silly boy stuff, but this morning still stays with me. Boys are just like us.


As with most bases we have civilian contractors here. I was not prepared though for the amount of these civilian contractors. I’ve noticed two types of contractors; US citizens who are DOD employees and the largest employer, KBR. KBR employs Americans, Europeans and Local Nationals. Local Nationals make up the majority of the working class. They do our laundry, clean our buildings, work in the chow hall, work in the PX, work in sanitation, etc. During our initial briefing when we arrived, our very animated and motivated Wing Commander told us it was each of our responsibilities to stay vigilant and challenge these contractors; ensure their badges are visible, ask to see them, make them aware we are watching them. Do not become their friends, do not become overly close, but be polite and respectful. I have a pretty good sense of self perseverance and although I am respectful of the LN’s, I don’t like them working so close to me. I see some of these people when I drop off my laundry and we share a laugh over something funny or we exchange on opportunity to learn from each other. The laundry man told me an Airman left this coin behind and wanted to know what it was. I told him it was a quarter worth 25 cents. He asked if it was a dollar and I told him four quarters make a dollar. He then looked at the quarter with a puzzled look, if it’s not an American dollar what’s the point seemed to be the look. I run across others and they seem to have a look of disdain. Why are you people here in my country? I would probably ask the same question if I were in their situation. Maybe. I won’t go into my personal politics, but I have attended briefings and my small backyard understanding now has a big picture outlook. I still agree with our presence, but my opinion is better educated. So, why work on base if you don’t like us? The American dollar I suppose. The dynamic is all very interesting.


05Jul2009
I also feel like a big juicy pork chop. Something they are not supposed to like or enjoy, but can’t help but drool over. When making the trek next door for the ever elusive hot shower, we women folk have to pass work crews. These crews seem to be always taking a break. With the various shifts and schedules, women are always taking showers and they are always on break, and I wonder why we still don’t have hot water in our building. A few of us girls have chatted about our experience and all of our stories are similar. We feel uncomfortable taking what I call the walk of shame to the showers; at least our toilets work and this now minimize our treks. Then there is just the normal walking around on base. They have no reservation about appreciating the female form by gawking and obvious staring. I’ll people watch and it’s amazing to observe. All women are pork chops here. I wonder if it’s true unchecked appreciation or rather a lack of respect. Is it ok to look at us that way because we are American and they would never disrespect their own women by being so open with their stare? Is it my own lack of understanding for their culture? I don’t know, but I know I don’t like it.


Several days ago it came to light that there was a credible threat on BAF by a suicide bomber. A worker. The base heightened security and we all took various precautions. The next day a brief came out reminding us all of our duty to challenge and to be especially watchful of cell phone usage. This is a privilege only and is clearly stated on the ID cards of workers who have this privilege. Nothing happened, but it was a reminder to not get complacent and be aware your surroundings.


I'm quite pleased with the base hospital. Both my encounters have been very positive. My first one being my back and the second being my failing eyesight. I received my email yesterday stating my glasses were ready for pick up. I showed up today and in less than five minutes, BAM! I had glasses. I’m still getting used to them and I get headaches wearing them, something I did not have before. Since I don’t need them for normal reading, I'm constantly taking them on and off. Of course I was initially teased and had to grow some skin, but I’m getting used to them. It could be worse; at least they are not BCG’s.


I did find it interesting that at the patient check-in counter there was a basket full of condoms. Sex is not illegal here; the military cannot forbid sex as it is a human right. Go figure. What they can do is make a long list of rules that pretty much makes it impossible to have sex. There of course is no adultery; you cannot visit the room/floor of the opposite sex, no sex in public, etc. All no brainers. So why the free condoms?


Then I visit the PX for some supplies and see one area of particular interest. The section has a full stock of condoms to include vibrating condoms and pregnancy tests. Serious? Who are these people having sex? I kept trying to look at the different options, truly fascinated and couldn’t read with people walking up and down the aisle. I didn’t want them thinking I was looking for purchase, so every time someone would walk by, I would turn and look at the next set of items which was black people hair products. I don’t know what was more conspicuous, me looking at condoms or at black hair products; and of course I’m laughing the whole time at myself. I’m sure I was a sight to behold.


Water Update. There is no update. Rumor has it we get hot water in three weeks. I’m not buying it. If I have no expectations of taking a shower in my own building, then I can’t be disappointed. I expect to continue the walk of shame for my remaining time.


07Jul2009
Another week down, just returned from my last day off. The last group of people who had been extended leave this week and when they do, we will no longer have personnel to cover days off. Up to this point our one extra person has made us “fat” and when Hampton leaves we will be back to normal manning. We are expecting new folks at the end of the month that are active duty, so I hope the training will be minimum and they will come in ready to rock and roll. Now I know how the Texas folks felt when we arrived.


As happy go lucky as I think I am, I'm learning that I like my routine. I don’t like all these people leaving. It messes with my wa. I don’t like it at all. Hampton is just another reminder in the long list of people who have left and will be leaving shortly. MOC left last week. I think he will be one of the ones I keep in touch with. He lives in Florida and we exchanged Face Book and email info. Did I really just say that? One of my roommates left a few days ago. Her bunk is empty and waiting for the next person. The other gal leaves the end of this week with Hampton. I still have Julie though, but the way it’s looking she will leave before me. I think I’ll cry when she leaves me. Even my eating habits are routine. I go to the chow hall every night and take out two salads for my shift. I might go “crazy” and grab some turkey and Swiss cheese for a sandwich, but that’s living on the wild side. Our Sr. Master Sergeant knows I like oatmeal and I can’t leave the desk to go to the chow hall, so everyday he brings me a bowl of oatmeal. Salad and oatmeal. Every day. That’s a little too much routine for my taste, but that is my day.


I was reading the OCRegister the other day and I started watching the beach webcams. It made me home sick. I watched San Clemente and Newport, but was disappointed with Seal Beach; it just showed a light pole base and the sidewalk. Steve- you need to work on that. What I wouldn’t give to hear the ocean and smell the salty air. I used to think I was a water person in general. My dream home could be either a lake house or beach cottage. Not so much. I definitely need the ocean. Just watching the webcam gave me a fix of that same feeling of the instant calm that comes over me. I don’t need to swim in it, but need the smell, the sound and the ability to watch the waves roll in. That goes on top of the list of things I miss. Cheese is a close second.


We have an HR today. Yuck. From what I see, we have 8 in country today traveling. Heavy fighting in the south; I’m sure you can get the details on the nightly news. I'm not sure if it’s a good thing or not, but being in ATOC I’m sheltered from the HR’s to some degree. I see the paperwork, process it, and ensure the plane takes off on time. My job is done. Talking with Julie and Fegurgur, they actually see the caskets. Julie moves them and loads them on the aircraft. Fegurgur is our ATOC ramp rep and watches the process to ensure timelines are kept. Their perspective is very different from mine. I can turn it off and see it as a piece of cargo to ship, a piece of paper to process. I can shelter my feelings and mind from it. They don’t have that luxury. I don’t see the bags labeled disassociated parts when the body is not identifiable. I don’t see the caskets. I don’t have to participate in the ceremony. I see a piece of paper. I suppose I'm not truly sheltered, but I can build that wall of comfort and keep it separated.


Ok, tangent here. I just read a letter from home and to protect the innocent I won’t mention names… a cave? Seriously? I can’t stop laughing. I don’t know if its tears of humor or tears or sorrow. How do you live in a cave? With kids? In the summer? In Nevada? Maybe they should move here where it’s the norm. Just a thought.


17July2009
Hi Everyone,


Here is the latest chapter of My Life in BAF.


If you get the hankering to send something, below is my address. I can always use bread. Any kind of bread. We eat it like crazy. Personally I’m craving an avocado sandwich with bacon. So, maybe some avocados :) Don’t worry that someone else is sending these items, it will be eaten. I have to say, the most ingenious wrapping so far has been the cammo wrapped cheese wiz. That rocked!!!


The cheese connection is on as of today. Sounds like a drug deal. Bond gave me the name and location of the drop off. I passed this on to Panda. Panda emailed his contact in Ramstein. The friend will then deliver the package marked for Bond to Special Handling. It will be stored in the refer until Garcia can deliver to the aircraft who will then fly directly here and delivery said cheese. It’s nice to be an aerial porter at times :)


11July2009


It’s turning out to be a good day. It started off rather crappie with a raging headache and a sluggish start, but it’s all good now. It’s been a slow day at work and the airlift forecast looks good for the remaining portion. I called work which was extremely painful. I can call 949 for free (send me your number and I’ll try to call). I call Camp Pendleton, another reason to love those Marines, and through the moral line I get transferred. I can’t call the office directly because they are 714. I call the non-emergency 949 and ask to be transferred. The operator keeps putting me on hold which disconnects me. I call back and say don’t put me on hold. He asks if this is an emergency, I tell him I’m calling from Afghanistan and to transfer me. While technically I am not a true emergency, and although I was calling the non-emergency line, in my mind I am an emergency. Click. Dial tone. I call back. Click. Dial tone again. Ok, now I’m sending emails to the office asking for help. Something is wrong with the OCSD server and my emails are being sent back (Bills too). It appears one of mine gets through and I wait a few minutes I don’t know Vicki is working out the problem and I dial again and finally get transferred. She doesn’t answer her phone and I leave a message. More emails and I realize where she was and try again. As luck would have it, I can’t get a line out of Pendleton. I keep trying and finally get connected to the hill AND he transfers me with no further issues. I would love to have seen the can of whoop ass Vicki opened up on him. In his defense, there is a time delay and maybe he couldn’t hear me. Right?


I caught Vicki, Donna M and Janell in the office. I love to hear their voices and hearing our song in the background cracks me up. Dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me…


I have found my methadone for Zappos.com. Since I can’t wear my Naughty Monkeys here, I needed an outlet. Meet my new online shopping friend... drugstore.com. It’s like walking the aisle of Long’s Drug Store except there is no ice cream cone waiting for you. They have everything. Smashbox has a new eyeliner that is wonderful. After a full 14-15 hour day, including the gym, it’s still on. Amazing. They have lotions, potions, food and snacks. I love it. And the best part is they ship to APO addresses. Bomb diggity.


I do miss my Naughty Monkeys though. And my Rainbows. Oh to be barefoot.


14July2009
I'm walking the yard, part of Duty Officer responsibilities and what do I see in the cargo yard? A big white box from Zappos. What? Who is wearing real shoes? Must be the same girls who buy condoms and are having sex. Damn them. I took a picture of the box upside down on a pallet. Oh…. Zappos. How I miss the feeling of walking in the front door and having 3 shipping boxes full of shoes waiting for me.


I'm going to try and attach a few photos from a recent CAS (Close Air Support) Tour. Miranda was able to schedule a private tour of the A10’s. One of the Officers he works with is a pilot and he flies once a week to keep up his hours. Two Sundays ago, four us headed out. Although this was my second tour, it was a blast. The four of us acted like children and took pictures of each other’s asses, which just received looks from the Major. He really should lighten up.


Sunday is my favorite day of the week. It’s finally “my time.” Julie thinks I'm nuts, but I don’t sleep for 24 hours or so. After I get off work around 1230, mind I’ve been awake since around 22-2230, I do some sort of PT, shower, eat and hang out with friends. I usually end up watching movies and chatting until around 2200. There are few rooms set up around base for movies. These are just random rooms with chairs and a big screen TV. I believe they all have a popcorn machine and the air conditioning is always on. I can’t say that the majority of movies are spectacular, but it’s cool and relaxing. I then head home and Julie comes in shortly after and we chat for a bit longer. Before you know it, it far past midnight and I’ve been up for 24+ hours. The way I look at it is, not to be crass, but I can sleep when I'm dead.


Damn it! Hampton just left. This is his third aircraft and third try. Bagram is like Hotel California at times. He came by the office, gave us all a hug and sent a goodbye email. I don’t think I can do this anymore. I can’t meet anybody else. I can’t say goodbye to another person. I just don’t have it in me anymore.


4 hours later- I was following the radio traffic and the aerial porters were loaded first on the aircraft. It’s nice to have a choice of seat when military aircraft makes Southwest cattle call look glamorous. At one point, the radio was passed around and everyone started to call in with their call signs – atoc 7 signing off, pax 5 out, atoc 1 God Bless… I sat here at the controller desk and tears rolled down my face.


The next big round of people to leave will be our people from March. That won’t bother me as much because I know I will see them in a few short months. There are only a handful of us staying behind, and we will be the ones to meet our replacements and to work side by side with them. I don’t know who I will be then, maybe I can handle the goodbyes better, but right now, “they” are just numbers and I don’t want to know them.


16July2009
Something I have learned from all of this, meaning my life at BAF, and hope I don’t lose when I return to the reality of life is to enjoy LIFE. This doesn’t come from a doom and gloom “I could die at any moment” type of thinking, but rather having the simple things stripped away.


I hope to not lose sight that every moment counts, every memory made and every relationship means something; coffee with a friend, a short overseas call, a quick smile as you pass a stranger, nothing is insignificant.


It shouldn’t take me coming to BAF for me to stop and smell the proverbial roses, but it did. As I look forward to returning home and getting back into the rhythm of life, I want to remember my time here. I want to remember to not take the present time for granted.


11Aug2009
Sorry for the long delay. I’ve been receiving emails asking if I was ok. I am, just regrouping I guess you could say. I’ll be sending some pictures soon of Cheesy Tourist day once I get them off my camera.


Hope you all are well. I miss every single one of you!


Katrina


04 Aug 2009
WOW, it’s been weeks since I’ve written anything down. So much has happened I’m not sure where to begin. First off, I’m not dead, but I have threatened to run away with the circus. I’ve been busy with new responsibilities and stress over promotion and extension drama. I guess I kinda shut down and put my head in the sand. That is what I do when feeling overwhelmed and have the feeling of absolutely no control over my life.


There always seems to be drama. No matter how hard you try to stay out of it, it’s always waiting around the corner to suck you in. This particular case started back at March right before we left for our deployment. Our Unit had several Master Sgt vacancies and our Commander decided to hold an interview panel for those who met the qualifications. There were two us selected for promotion and we were told we both would be promoted in October once we returned from our deployment. By the end of the weekend it had been changed to Aug. The Commander thought it would be nice for the two us to be promoted while serving here and having the experience as a Sr. NCO in a combat environment. There has been drama surrounding the promotions from the get go. The two of us ended up traveling together here and her actions were observed by everyone in the group. As with anything, news got back to our home unit and as with every deployment the rumors began. I heard both of our promotions would be held until October as the Commander wanted to re-weigh his decision. I heard we would be promoted on schedule. I heard she was not going to be promoted and I was being caught in the net with her. I heard I was not going to be promoted period. It was enough to make me drink. Oh that’s right I can’t drink. Ok, it drove me a little crazy. To add fuel to the fire, mid July she makes a very large mistake; she ends up receiving paperwork over the incident and once again the rumors fly. Will she be promoted? Will they promote me without her? Crazy! End of the day, we both were promoted Aug 1st to Master Sergeant. I’m very happy. It’s been a long time coming and I certainly think I deserve it and have earned it. But oh the drama leading up to the 1st. That I could have done without.


08Aug2009
I just can never seem to find the time to write anymore. Let’s see, in the past few weeks, I’ve changed shifts, been promoted and changed jobs. Whew. This new schedule has really taken its toll on me. I now work noon to midnight. I hate the hours. Errands that need to be run that I normally could take care of after work, I can’t do now because just about everything is closed. I go to the gym and go to bed and sleep until it’s time to go to work. I’m such the night owl and it’s hard to get up early to take care of things even though it would be the same amount of sleep. I also miss out on my sun time. Plus my friends are all asleep when I get off. That’s the worst part as the only time I get to see them is on my Sunday. Tomorrow we are meeting for coffee (of course) and we are doing cheesy tourist photo op day. Who knows what we will find. We try and entertain ourselves with things to do. Last Sunday was taken up by running all my errands. Yuck.


On my previous shift, my supervisor was supposed to be training me on the duties of the Duty Officer. Since we had such a wonderful working relationship and he’s such a duck with an i, I learned very little. Can you hear the sarcasm? Oh and did I mention a few us spoke with senior leadership and told them he has a problem with females and he needs to be dealt with? Coming from me, you know it’s bad. In preparation for the turnover of new people arriving and the few staying on extension, it was decided that Bobbett and I would swap shifts. It would give us both the opportunity to experience the opposite hours and the different situations that arise. This new shift is incredible when it comes to the people I work with, the training I’m receiving, everything in general. It’s a night and day difference. It’s a wonderful opportunity to be the Duty Officer for the busiest Aerial Port in the Air Force right now. We are breaking records every week/month with the amount of cargo and passengers we are moving. The numbers are mind blowing. Truly an opportunity of a lifetime. I have three young men who work for me and they never cease to amaze me. They are the sons/brothers I never had. They are gross, inappropriate and hysterical all at the same time.


I recently discovered MOAC (Mother of All Coffees). Out of all the things here, The Green Bean is wonderful. It’s the Starbucks of remote US bases. Another thing I miss on this shift is my daily coffee date for an iced coffee. Sigh. Anyway, yesterday I had my first MOAC. Its coffee with 4 shots of espresso. It was so yummy delicious. I had another one today. They are the bomb diggity. It keeps you wired all day. It’s like crack, all it takes is just one and you are hooked. AND to top it off, yesterday one of our guys brought in a large carton of German milk. One of the aircrew brought it in. I know, can you believe? It was real 4%. Rich and creamy. This brings up the issue- still no cheese. How can a girl survive with no cheese? It’s killing me.


And I can’t forget the drama over the extensions. It’s been such a roller coaster ride. The original ten had our names submitted around 45 days ago. We still have not heard if our extensions have been approved. For a short while I was not extending and thought I would be home end of Aug beginning September. Although the extensions still have no formal approval it looks as if they will. Or so they say. The group I came over with has less than 21 days and still no final approval. It’s very frustrating.


11Aug2009
I’ve had MOAC’s everyday now and am I personally responsible for getting the office hooked on them. Plus during Cheesy Tourist Day, I got Chip and Panda hooked. I think the Green Bean should give me some kick backs.


Ok, Cheesy Tourist Day was a blast. Chip stood us up in the beginning and met up with us later. He overslept. Panda took me to the crow’s nest in the old Russian Tower. The building is now used as office space but the top is all windows with a great view of BAF. I took lots of pictures. We then headed to breakfast where we took more pictures. We did a little shopping at the Hadji Mart, then off to the movies and yes more pictures. Chip found us and finished the movie and we then headed off for MOACs!! We then headed for the BBQ shack and back to the movies. During this time we are taking pictures of street signs, silly things like the pizza delivery motorcycle just as you would do if we were on vacation and you take pictures of things you normally never would. It was definitely fun. One of my favorite photos is with me sitting in the Commanding General’s office with my feet on his desk, leaned back in his chair with his phone next to my head like I’m talking. I’ve promised not to share the photo until all innocent personnel have rotated home. It’s a classic! You just have to look for the fun side of life here and go with it. I could have stayed in my room all day and slept or watched movies on my laptop, but it would not have been nearly as fun.


The night before was fun also. We have two rigger shops on base. Riggers “rig” the parachutes and prepare the drops. Recently I met one of the shops and made friends with the crew. They have the best set up by far. Hands down!! It’s something out of a movie set. They are completely self contained and don’t have to leave their little area. They have two buildings; one for quarters and the other has common living space; full kitchen, living room, and a ping pong room with washers and dryers. At the end of the two buildings they have it set up with a “tiki” bar, grill, high top bar, card table, and….. a pool! The area is decorated with Christmas lights, netting, and neon bar lights. It’s truly like walking into another world. It was a nice get away from the rest of BAF. It’s definitely a by invite only type of place, so who knows if I will get a chance to go back, but I wouldn’t mind going for a swim. They had chem. lights floating in it for lighting. It was all very cool.


Well, its 10:33 pm and our Capt just invited us all to an extension meeting tomorrow. He told me the news under the threat of death if I shared before the meeting. Our extensions have been denied on the Wing level here due to politics. The Afghani head jefe has not approved the bumping up of personnel numbers and our “10” is a part of that. It’s crazy I’m telling you. Capt. says there are back door ways and that is in the works. Who knows when I’ll be home. When you get the email for the party, I guess we both will know.


Well, it’s been long enough and I will send this out and stop the rumors of my death.


18Aug2009
Here the latest and greatest. See you all soon.


Love you !!


Katrina


15 August 2009
Well here is the latest news, hot off the press…. All of our extensions have been denied. What does that mean? I will be coming home on my original time frame- the first week of September. I didn’t write much about it until these past few letters because unfortunately, the yo yo of being bounced around and the constant misinformation is the norm for the military. I tried to limit the news about my return because I anticipated the information changing several times, which it did. I have to say, I’m kinda done. I’ve enjoyed my time here at BAF and I think I have made the most of stay on my off time. No matter where I travel for work, I always try and make every trip fun and find the unusual in life. That I can say I have accomplished. I speak of areas I’ve seen here and the people around me look at me and say, “I never knew that was here.” Hmm I did. I have great photos and a few friendships I will have for life. When it comes to the work side of things, I have a much different view. I came and I served, but I wonder what did I really do? I think I have hit the deployment wall. I was asked today if I met any of my goals while here. Not really. Other than my personal fitness goal, the answer would be no. I’ve learned a lot about myself, so maybe that’s the reason why I am here. Now comes the challenge of going home. Sounds easy, but is it? How do you go home to a place where no one around you has experienced what you have; The good, The bad, The ugly and The flipping hilarious? I think I have laughed more in the past four months than I have in my entire adult life. How do you share the silly jokes that are not so funny? How do you explain the walls that were built to survive here? How do you explain how you found the color in life again? How do you explain when you heard the whistle of a rocket how you just stopped and waited for it to pass without a second thought? How do reconcile two realities: the one here and the one that kept going without you? I’m coming home….


17 August 2009
In two weeks time I will be leaving BAF and headed to Manas for a few days. From there Mr. Toads Wild Ride will begin and my travels home. At some point, we will arrive in Baltimore, our first stop in the States, which is the hub for all homecoming service members. Lessons learned from past conflicts have been “we” will never treat the returning service members so horrific. Groups have come together and made the promise that it will never happen again. Various organizations of people will greet us and welcome us home. I’m assuming it will be very similar to the send off we received when we left. Our last stateside airport was in Maine and local Vet Groups were there to greet us off the plane and they had a place where we could borrow cell phones to call home and offered general support. It was set up like a USO, but was independent. We still don’t have concrete dates, but at least I know it’s the end of the month. Its progress.


I had my one of my last two days off yesterday. It was a good day. Chip, Panda and I spent the day together. Of course we did. Those two have been wonderful and I feel very fortunate to have met them both. Chip is doing much better with being here. I think it’s because he and Panda are such good friends. Panda makes sure his mind is kept busy by going to the gym and dinner with him every night. Unfortunately I am working and cannot join, but we do have our Sundays which are our fun days. This Sunday we spent most of the day up in the crow’s nest, the old Russian Air Traffic Tower. It has windows all the way around and it was pretty cool to see BAF from up there. We took pictures from all directions. At one point the burn pits fired up and we took pictures of that also. I figure when I file my lawsuit for the respiratory problems I will have, I now have proof of the smoke plume traveling over BAF. We hooked up our laptops to the big TV screen and watched movies and the boys taught me how to play spades. I don’t have the strategy down, but it defiantly was fun. It made me think of Matt J. as he is an avid spades player, or is it hearts? We then headed to the chow hall for dinner. I have lost my will to eat. It all tastes the same, looks the same and smells the same. EWE! I took two bites of “grilled” chicken and pushed my plate away. I had eaten almost an entire bottle of macadamia nuts earlier, so that proved to be my dinner. The highlight though was eating ice cream in the cones Bill sent. That was awesome. Hadji filled our bowls with strawberry ice cream and we then filled our cones our selves. People around us kept looking and were jealous that they were not the beautiful people that day. I had an extra cone and gave it to a girl at a neighboring table. You would have thought it was manna.


My morale is still low which seems strange to me. I am actually going home soon and I should be happy about it. Other folks have the same “low” so it must be normal. I remember when I was close to graduating Marine boot camp I had similar feelings. After weeks and months of hating being there, being yelled at, told when to eat, when to sleep, when to shower, that last week of freedom came and was at hand. I was going to leave and have to survive on my own, make my own decisions. It was a scary feeling of leaving the nest and being responsible for yourself. Obviously I’m not 19 anymore and I’m past the point of making my own way in the world, but it is similar feeling. After months of doing exactly the same thing every day, not making major life choices, I have to leave. It’s a very simple life here. Go to work, go to sleep, get up. Repeat. It’s a parallel universe. With little or no effort from me, life (back home) went on without me as I went on without home. I have changed just as home changed. It’s a bit strange. When I left, Bri was still living at home, and now I’m coming home to empty nest. Life has moved on.


I just got back from picking up my runners bib. I’ll be running a 5k tomorrow. It’s during my normal sleep time, but I keep passing them up hoping for the next time. I’m running out of next times. I signed up for the half marathon in Sept. also, but I’ll be home and will miss it. Damn shame.


18Aug2009


Why are all my near death experiences here somehow related to running? After work I took a 2 hour nap and ran the 5k. I can honestly say, “I ran this 5k and all I got was this lousy 2XXL T-shirt.” I then went back to bed for another nap and came to work. The run was ok, but the air conditions are atrocious. I immediately got the BAF cough. UGH! And I was almost spit on by some Army guy. Gross. He’s lucky!


What else is going on? Just getting ready to go home. I bought a gorilla box to send most of my stuff home in. I really don’t want to bag drag home. I’ll start going through my worldly possessions and either keep for my remaining time, throw away, or ship home.


That’s it for now; my next letter will probably be from the road- headed home.




Katrina


05Sep2009
This is my last installment. See you all this Wed!!


Katrina


29AUG2009
It doesn’t matter how many times I go through it, goodbyes seriously SUCK. I went through my last good bye a few days ago. Panda left and headed home to Colorado. Again, it goes back to routines and how routines seem to make everything better. Maybe that’s something we all search for. Following a routine gives us a sense of security. We get a morning cup of coffee, drive to work the same way, go home the same way and on Mondays take the kids to soccer, Tuesdays is dry cleaning day and so on. How much does it bother us that the route to work has changed due to construction? Is it that much of an inconvenience or is really the disruption of our routine? The routine that makes us feel safe. So, my routine has been thrown to the wind. The little things that made my day easier, the ability to vent, the chance for conversation over a MOAC (Mother of All Coffee), and the chance to laugh over the little synchronicities of BAF life are gone. My sense of security has been rocked. My last goodbye will be in a few days, but it’s very different. One, I will be the one leaving and two, the people I will be leaving I will see again back at the unit.


I’ve started out processing which also adds to the disruption of my routine. It’s a bit unnerving and stressful. I sent one of my suitcases home last week and sent another box home yesterday. I’m down to living out of my suitcase and counting how many pairs of chones I’ll need to get me home. The lack of information is the worst. The Air Force only soft forecasts us leaving BAF 5 days prior with a hard forecast of less than 24 hours. Now we have known for a week or so, that we are leaving the region out of Manas (Kyrgyzstan) on a rotator on Sep 2, but we still don’t know when we are leaving here. Plus there is the time when we arrive in Baltimore. We don’t know what flight we are on to Ontario. Are we spending the night in Baltimore or do we have a layover and straight through? And, we just found out (somewhat) how much time we get off when we get home. All subject to change of course. Damn I need that drink!!


I finished most of my out processing today. That’s a big stress off of my shoulders. I also found out I’m working up until the very end. More than likely my show time at the passenger terminal will be 0230 in the morning. I’m expected to work my shift from Noon to Midnight and then go to PAX at 0230, then wait 7 hours until the flight, flight time of 2 hours, and then more out possessing in Manas. I’ll sleep when I’m dead I guess.


I went to the riggers shed last night. They were going to cook me a farewell dinner which was very nice of them to offer. When I arrived they had just received an emergency drop and dinner was looking grim. I sat looking at the kitchen and couldn’t help myself. I whipped up some pasta with tomatoes and shrimp. And maybe I threw in a little Chianti the Italians delivered the day before. As I crushed the garlic it hit me, that is what I miss. I miss cooking. I woke up this morning and my fingers smelled of garlic. It was a heavenly smell that brought me home.


The theme here seems to be routine and this pretty much sums it up. Botich and Bobbett went to the Green Bean to get the office MOAC’s. As Bobbett places my order the counter man asks/states “Oh, these are for Miranda.” Bobbett told him Miranda (Panda) went home, but these were for the girl. I have a specific way of ordering my MOAC and even my ordering is a routine it seems.


02sep09 (I think)
The journey home has begun. I had no illusions it was going to be easy, but I had my hopes. The night before we left, BAF had a beautiful lightening storm. It was a panoramic light show all the way around. Bobbett and I stood on the veranda at work, ok maybe not a true veranda, but the landing on top of the outside stairs, and watched the show. The following day you would never have known. It’s now Monday, the day we leave and I head to work. Absolutely craziness. I work 2 hours and then I’m released from work 6 hours prior to our show time at the terminal. We show for customs call at 8pm and find out since we are not going directly to Manas, the hub airport home, and going to Kabul first, we do not need to go through customs and we have a later show time. Since we will not be kept in a sterile environment we will clear customs later. The group of us (15) hangs out and reminisces on the past 4 months and generally laugh for the next 5 hours. We are taking a C130 which is configured for PAX with center seats down the middle and two baggage pallets. Think of the inside of a small airplane and put a row of net seats down the sides so you face in and a row of seats down the center that holds two rows, each row facing out. Now picture sitting in one of these net seats and your knees are interlocked with the guy sitting across from you. Yep, that’s a C130 configured for PAX. Fortunetly, I was able to grab a seat in the middle facing out that did not have seats across. This space was utilized for our backpacks and misc crap that those of sitting in the near area had. It’s now around 0130 and we are off. It was a short flight to Kabul and then we were off to Manas. That was around a four and half hour flight. I put in my ear buds and listened to some new playlists that were given to me and hunkered down. Kitty Corner across from me was one the biggest black Marines I had ever met. He was huge. I put my legs at an angle and propped them up on people’s backpacks and he was able to have my area for his legs. I’m not sure what time we landed in Manas, which is in one of the stans, I think its spelled Kyrgyzstan, I’m not sure. We go through some steps here and are told to be ready at 2330 for our bags to be locked down and then we would be in lockdown at 0220. Our flight was leaving 4 hours after that. Most of us slept if you can call that and took showers. Manas is set up as a transient staging location only. Think base fire camp meets MASH minus Hawk Eye and Hot Lips. We girls are in a green canvas tent with cots and the guys are in some huge clamshell tent and I think they have bunks and lockers. Showers are in a tent as well and the restrooms are some type of trailer with chemical toilets that you find in an RV. I’m definitely not in Kansas anymore and I’m not sure where I actually am. Now the upside to being here is you are allowed two beers every 20 hours. The group of us met up later and partook in our two beers, to say it was comical would be an understatement. 15 people, who have been sober for 4 mos, put 2 beers in them at 8% alcohol and it’s funny. More laughs, more stories and “did you ever know” stories came out. Two riggers from Steel Beach showed up and joined our table. One of them has family near Orange County and I invited him and his family over when they are in the area. He actually gave me a heads up on a great sushi place over on Lake Forest. It’s the best he’s had and considering he’s Japanese, I’ll take him at his word. Our little get together breaks up and we head back to our tents to grab a quick nap before our 2230 show time. As we slept, Delta decided to cancel or slip out 24 hours. Yep, another great day in Manas. As the team chief for a group, I changed our hotel reservations in Baltimore and fought with Delta on the phone trying to get our connecting flight home changed. It still amazes me that we were left on our own. It seems the people responsible for making our travel and ensuring we leave (TMO) only care about making that initial reservation. They were unwilling to help us change or make new connecting reservations. Ever try to call over sees on a phone that disconnects at 15 minute intervals due to security reasons from a country called Kyrgyzstan? At least we have a place to stay in Baltimore, but even trying to reason with Marriott was like banging my head against a wall. I think I used up all my patience and grace for the month last night. What to do in Manas? Hmmm Went to the gym, took another shower and I’m getting ready to try for a nap. We are all just rolling with it, but it does get a bit tiring. It would not be a big deal adding one day on, but now we arrive home in California on a Friday, on a holiday weekend and we still need to in process back in March. This one day has actually cost us 4 days. Depending on no more delays and how quick we can in process, we might have to be at March on Tuesday and Wednesday. And that really does not work for me. I have a hair appt on Tuesday and a party to attend on Wednesday! Not to mention the others who have plans made. Botich had a baby two weeks ago and he is anxious to get home, Kraft’s roommate will be leaving for Norway and she’s been feeding the pets, we all have lives and we all want home.


04Sep2009
I’m currently sitting in my hotel room sipping coffee at the Courtyard Marriot in BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Incredible. To say the past 24 hours has been a whirlwind would be an understatement. We left Manas around 0600 on 03 Sep and arrived in Baltimore around 8pm on the 3rd. We left Manas for Turkey where we dropped off some folks and picked more up. It was a strange feeling when dependants and young children boarded the aircraft. I think we all assumed like coming over, it would be a flight of just people like us redeploying home, not families or regular military. To hear crying babies was odd and while having a beer last night, we all had similar comments. I enjoyed a nice cold beer with my breakfast. I was hoping for a Mexican beer to go with my spinach omelet, but Bud Light would have to do. It was very yummy and I decided to have another. Thinking of the longest leg of the trip, 9 hours from Germany to Baltimore, I stayed awake and watched movies on my IPod and the in flight movie. From Turkey we headed to Ramstein Germany. It seems word had gotten out that the alcohol was free and the limited amount of Bud Lights had disappeared. What’s a girl to do? Our lunch selection was less than desirable, so I ate my hard roll with butter and my “biscuits” with the soft cheese. I think this “cheese” is the European version of Laughing Cow; a nicely foil wrapped triangle of spreadable white stuff, but hey, it was cheese after all and better than what I have had recently. With no Bud Light, I opted for red wine with my crackers and cheese and nestled in with Linda Ronstadt on my IPod. We landed in Germany and a few us were able to have a pilsner, but our layover was quick, down with the beer and a dash to the gate. Next destination -Baltimore. I tried to sleep as much as I could on this leg to make the long flight seem a little more bearable. I curled up in a ball using my two seats and had my head on the isle side arm rest using two pillows and my neck roll with my knees in my chest. Sleep came and went and it was nice to finally close my eyes. I put on 50 First Dates and fell asleep to Drew Barrymore laughing. I think the dinner meal had to be the worst I have ever had on any flight. It was some sort of pasta and to make matters worse Delta had not restocked the adult beverages. All we had was what had been stocked in Manas. Seems I had the last of the red wine and all that was available was Budweiser. The Bud was as good as my pasta. Yuck! There was hard alcohol, but it just was not appealing.


And here I am, in Baltimore. The feeling that came over me when we landed was one of complete relief and a feeling of truly being home. My eyes welled up as I looked outside through the little port hole windows. It looked like any other airport we all have seen, but this time it was different. It was truly coming home. After collecting our bags, we zipped through Customs and were greeted by the homecoming group. People clapped, cheered and shook our hands. Yes, my eyes welled up again. Anyone who has gone to a baseball game with me or has stood next to me during the National Anthem knows I well up on those occasions too. I just can’t help myself. Even as I type this, I’m truly crying just thinking of how to describe how I feel.


Before our travel began we had debated about the layover and how some people just wanted to go straight home while others wanted the layover and a chance to sleep and shower. The layover has been much needed. We checked in and agreed to meet in an hour to find food and drink. It sounds like a lot of drinking, but one beer makes us giddy after four months. The hotel had put us all on the same floor and as we opened our doors I think you could hear the collective sigh. Our room was bigger than our conex box AND we didn’t have to share it. The first thing I did was strip my uniform and yes had a beer naked. Oh it was heaven. Next came a long hot shower and no shower shoes. It’s the little things I’m telling you. As I was showering, the water level kept rising and I paid little attention to it. When it reached the bottom of my calf, I realized this wasn’t normal and opened the drain. After 4 months of standing in dirty shower water that didn’t drain, it took awhile for it to hit. I had one set of “civies” to wear that looked like it was just unpacked from a C bag- oh wait it was  To say I looked like a wrinkle bomb had hit me is an understatement. Not caring, I met the group and we were off for food. I was so tired I actually didn’t want to go, but I could not not go either. I had a yummy black and blue (Guinness and blue moon) nachos, crab soup and a NY strip sandwich. The food on our table looked like we had not eaten in about 4 months. To my own surprise, I really was not up for drinking and partying it up and when they kicked us out due to closing time I was relieved. We had some fun shenanigans on the walk home and crashed Keogh’s room since he had not joined us. At some point we all were stuck in the elevator and had to ring for them to let us out, rode the baggage cart down the hall, and decided to crash the pool. At that point, I sneaked off and headed to my room. All in all, we were behaved, just loud I’m sure.


I think I’m used to sleeping only a few hours a day and no matter how hard I tried, I was wide awake after only 4 hours of sleep. I woke up completely sideways across the bed. I haven’t done that since I was kid. It was a short rest, but very deep.


This layover has been much needed. I couldn’t imagine going straight home. Everything is a bit overwhelming. We all thought we were going to die on the shuttle ride from the airport to the hotel. It was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Keogh felt carsick, I felt disorientated, we all were asking how fast the driver was going and thought we were being bounced around. The driver was going 45mph, anything over 15mph is fast! The walk to the restaurant, the expansiveness of everything, the people; it makes me a little lightheaded. This morning I’m hiding out in my room where I don’t have to see anybody.


Well this it. I’m going to send this off with a picture of me and the aircraft that took me home. I hope you have enjoyed my random thoughts through this adventure and you were able to gain some insight into this part of my life. I don’t talk much about my military life, and until this deployment I don’t think most people realized I was even in the military currently serving. Writing these tid bits has been helpful for me as it will be a reminder of my thoughts and more importantly, helped me process what was going on around me. Thank you to each and every one of you for your support. Your emails, care packages, prayers and thoughts were never taken for granted and helped me through the rough patches. My gratitude to you all is immense.


I hope to see you all this Wednesday at the party.


Katrina