R&R is a journey that, unfortunately, goes through Kuwait. Why is it a bad thing to go through Kuwait? Keep reading.
Today is the beginning of my trip that will eventually begin my R&R. That means the start of a circuitous journey that many soldiers have taken. It begins by flying from Iraq to Kuwait. It was an early flight for me, or supposed to have been. My show time was 0700. Most of my team is out on mission but those that are still in Balad came out to wish me well. Around 1100 I boarded a very full C130 for the hour flight to Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait. Since Kuwait time is an hour behind Iraq we arrived at 1130. We sat on the tarmac for about thirty minutes. It seems nobody knew we were coming. Welcome to Kuwait!
Finally, around 1210 a bus arrived and drove us over to the big pax terminal complex. Ali Al Saleem is the gateway to all military going to or coming from Iraq and Afghanistan. They have terminals for deploying, redeploying, emergency leave, TDY, R&R, and other purposes. It seems as though they’d have a well-oiled system after all the people they’ve had come through. It seems anyway. We waited for over two hours for our baggage pallet to be brought around. In the meantime, I went to a warehouse and turned in my IBA for storage (SOP for R&R). The folks in the R&R terminal checked me in and told me what time to come back. I then went to billeting and was assigned a tent.
Ah the Kuwait follies were in full force. Any U.S. Military installation in Kuwait is like band camp. Joes are allowed to wear civilian clothes – and they often do. It’s hard to tell who is military and who isn’t. It’s hard to tell if anyone is working. Everybody appears to be at the PX, the food court, the MWR, or just out wandering aimlessly. Quite frankly, I’m not certain if anyone actually does have a job here. As the evening fell I was drawn to the sound of live outdoor music (something that almost never happens in Iraq). It was a rockabilly blues band. They weren’t bad. Some of their music was really good. A lot of Joes were salivating over the bass player. She was a sleek, tall, and sexy woman. I could tell the wolves were gathering for the post-set love attempts. The crowd was the goofiest part. It was a mix bag of civilian clothes and uniforms. There were boys and girls sitting arm-in-arm. Shit, there had to have been a little lip-lock action somewhere in the shadows. I couldn’t tell who was military. Nobody acted military. It was a surreal scene that is only played out in Kuwait. It was easy to pick out the transient Joes from Iraq or Afghanistan. They were in uniform, staring in disbelief, and confounded at the behavior of the people around them. It’s an unbelievable, undisciplined spectacle. It’s 24-hours a day. It’s Kuwait. I can’t spend more than a few hours in Kuwait without getting overwhelmed by a nauseating feeling. The best view of Kuwait is always in the rear view mirror.
Thank God I’m only transient here. My next stop is R&R. It’s ok to lip-lock and wear civilian clothes in public back home on R&R. It’s ok to drink beer too.
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1 comment:
Well said.
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