Today dawned with my team stuck at FOB Hammer. The prospects were not good. The weather didn't show much signs of improvement early on. There was still a lingering fog and drizzle. I resigned myself to an extended stay. Rumors abounded that all flights were allocated to tactical missions once the weather cleared. Armed with all this knowledge, I took my time at breakfast. The Hammer Jammer was operational again so I made a stop to check e-mail. Then I walked by Green Beans for a cup of coffee. Being stuck in a FOB is nothing new to my team. The wait can be very boring though.
Around 1130 I walked back by my tent to drop off a couple of items I had purchased at the PX. I noticed some members of my team were parked outside waiting for me. Apparently, there were two Blackhawks parked over at the flight pad. The crew was at lunch. They were eventually headed back to Liberty Pad and might, possibly, have room for us. I quickly packed and jumped in the humvee. When we got to the pax terminal I had a talk with the pilot of one of the helicopters. She said they were flying to a couple of other FOB's, would return to Hammer, and then fly straight to Liberty Pad. The good news she had was that there was plenty of room for us. What a stroke of good fortune! I directed my NCOIC to drive back and get the rest of the team. We would not be stuck at FOB Hammer after all.
Once we were all gathered it was just a short wait for the helicopters to return. By 1300 we were on our way back to Camp Liberty. I could see the relief on everyone's faces. At 1330 we touched down at Liberty Pad. The only thing we needed to do at this point was get back to our hooches. Our truck was still parked over at BIAP. We all loaded on the shuttle bus. My NCOIC would pick the truck up later, after dropping off his gear at his hooch. The bus dropped me off at a stop across the street from my hooch. I stepped off into ankle-deep, oozing mud. We may have made it out of Hammer but we didn't escape the mud. Camp Liberty was in a state of mud emergency. I wasn't complaining though. We weren't in Hammer anymore.
Despite the mud, I was back in time to get in a workout. I gave my team the rest of the day off. They needed it as much as I did. Now I can get on with planning our next mission. I'll have some privacy for a couple of days too. My hooch at Camp Liberty isn't much, but it's the Taj Mahal compared to the VIP tent at FOB Hammer.
One more mission is complete. There are only a few to go. Then it's time to go home. Happy Birthday Brittanie!
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