Experiences

Boy, time flies when you’re havin’ fun, right? It seems like I apologize every post for letting an increasing amount of time go by in between blogs, and I think this one tops them all. But here I am now, so live and let live.

My last post was about how I couldn’t wait to go on leave and get back to Ohio. Well, I managed to do that (it only took me a week to get home from here!), taking 18 days of rest and relaxation. For the most part, it was well enjoyed and it was good to see friends and family. A couple of unexpected events occurred, but what does not kill us will only make us stronger. It was strange to be in a war zone where it seems like anything can happen, and then all of a sudden I find myself in a US airport, eating McDonald’s and having iced coffee (can‘t complain about the Big Mac though). No one there seemed concerned about a war going on; they dealt with the hustle and bustle of daily life. I received some applause and handshakes and a couple of thank yous, but it still felt like I’m fighting a forgotten war. I was out of place because there were no explosions, no vibrations from shockwaves, and no sirens telling me to take cover. After about a week or so I bounced back and was fine. But at first I felt like I shouldn’t have been there. It was weird because it’s home.

Of course, getting back was much quicker then getting home, even though I went from Dayton to Atlanta, then to Ireland, spent the night in Kuwait and Bagram, Afghanistan, and then finally made it back here to Salerno. My flight from Bagram to here was delayed because a raging battle in Khost had shut down the dirt airstrip. Good thing we were still sitting on God’s green earth when they found that out. I was sad to leave loved ones, and when I got back I was glad to be finished with flying for the time being.

Being back in it is more comforting than not; I am not falling in love with war, but it’s all I’ve known for the last 8 months. I’m not complacent, but it’s not a stranger to me. Today confirmed that.

A large blast ripped through the Khost Police Force’s main entrance to Salerno this morning. They have a gate before a vehicle gets near our main gate, and it was attacked by a suicide bomber. The blast rocked the FOB and everyone immediately went into defensive mode. A buddy of mine recalls seeing “truckloads” of bodies in the back of beat up Toyotas being moved to the hospital. Some were dead, some were alive. None were US soldiers.

Later on, an abandoned vehicle was found; the enemy had gotten one of their vehicle born IEDs stuck in a ditch. Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel came out and had a heyday turning the explosive laden vehicle into dust. They announced the controlled detonation over the loudspeaker, which was a good thing because the explosion sounded world ending. It was the biggest boom to date for me, and would have been dastardly had the ditch not ended their mission. Thank God for ditches that eat heavy, bomb ridden trucks.

The stupid thing about the whole situation is that the world could have known the details about what had exactly happened before we did. Forty-five minutes after, an article was found on Yahoo! describing the events. So much for operational security. There must be an Associated Press guy around here somewhere, sniffing around for trouble or monitoring all radio channels. I picture a little sniveling man with a CNN hat and 4 cell phones hooked to his belt, typing away on a laptop with a grin on his face. I want to knock out the guy I just pictured in my head. It’s ironic that I went to college in earned a degree in his very craft.

With ever increasing hostilities and an endless supply of fighters coming from everywhere to get a piece of the Americans, it doesn’t look like we will be leaving this country anytime soon, regardless of who wins the race for the presidency. I just hope that we can continue to see victory as we have these past 8 months, and that we can all make it home alive come the end of the year. Must be signing off for now, because I need a few hours of shuteye. I hope you are all enjoying the Summer Olympics in Beijing, as we try to watch via satellite whenever and wherever we can.

Cheers,

-J