I never said I was headed straight back to Balad. We've still got work to do. Yet, today was my last to wake up in Camp Liberty. Having packed the night before, the only thing I needed to do was wait until time to report to Liberty Pad. There would be no delays today, no weather hold. It was clear and warm. I swept my old hooch one more time and made certain I hadn't left anything behind. After grabbing a lunch to go, I headed over to LP for, perhaps, the last time ever.
Liberty Pad was humming with activity. Helicopters were flying in and out at regular intervals. The waiting passengers cycled through frequently. I sat down and ate my lunch. Our flight was to depart at 1330. They weren't kidding either. Those birds were right on time. I barely was able to finish lunch - gulping down my drink as I strapped on gear. My team loaded quickly and we took off. Unfortunately, we had to make a stop at BIAP for fuel. The reason I say "unfortunately" is because fuel stops require all the passengers to exit the aircraft. So less than five minutes after strapping in we were unbuckling and climbing back out of the helicopters to wait. About twenty minutes later we were on our way.
Our destination was FOB Warhorse. I like to call it Hell. We don't have fond memories of the place. None of us were happy at having to return to Hell so close to our redeployment. It's our job though. As you can guess, there's a BCT needing our assistance. We had a pleasant surprise waiting on us when we arrived.
We landed at Warhorse around 1500. Our ride wasn't there yet. Once we were clear of the aircraft, we gathered around a concrete barrier to wait. I looked around and said, "Welcome back to Hell!" Everyone laughed. It was apparent that something was different at Warhorse. The place seemed practically deserted. This tiny FOB used to host three full Brigade Combat Teams. It's designed for one. The last time we were here the place was teaming with Joes and equipment. Every street was lined with combat vehicles, every tent or CHU was full, and every open space had containers packed in like sardines. As we waited for our ride we could see that the streets were empty. There was an absence of containers. We saw only random Joes. The FOB was livable. Our ride showed up - a sergeant - and he explained that there was only one BCT now. My entire team was housed in CHU's (last time they were packed in tents that were 80-deep with Joes). We found the DFAC to be empty, the gym had no wait, the PX was absent of long lines - Warhorse had become a place where privacy could be had.
I took the time to walk around the FOB. Our training wasn't until the next day. The "National Forest" is still here - albeit in much disrepair. The Green Beans has moved into an all new food court. There's a putt-putt golf course in the middle of the food court (are you fucking kidding me?). Everything else is pretty much the same. The boulevards just aren't lined with Strikers combat vehicles and Abrams tanks. Walking around still brought back the unpleasant memories of 140 degree heat and moondust. I'll always remember Warhorse for that.
So here we are at FOB Warhorse. It's not exactly Hell anymore. Perhaps our final mission won't be so bad after all. I still don't want to get stuck here due to weather. I've almost got one foot out the door now.
Liberty Pad was humming with activity. Helicopters were flying in and out at regular intervals. The waiting passengers cycled through frequently. I sat down and ate my lunch. Our flight was to depart at 1330. They weren't kidding either. Those birds were right on time. I barely was able to finish lunch - gulping down my drink as I strapped on gear. My team loaded quickly and we took off. Unfortunately, we had to make a stop at BIAP for fuel. The reason I say "unfortunately" is because fuel stops require all the passengers to exit the aircraft. So less than five minutes after strapping in we were unbuckling and climbing back out of the helicopters to wait. About twenty minutes later we were on our way.
Our destination was FOB Warhorse. I like to call it Hell. We don't have fond memories of the place. None of us were happy at having to return to Hell so close to our redeployment. It's our job though. As you can guess, there's a BCT needing our assistance. We had a pleasant surprise waiting on us when we arrived.
We landed at Warhorse around 1500. Our ride wasn't there yet. Once we were clear of the aircraft, we gathered around a concrete barrier to wait. I looked around and said, "Welcome back to Hell!" Everyone laughed. It was apparent that something was different at Warhorse. The place seemed practically deserted. This tiny FOB used to host three full Brigade Combat Teams. It's designed for one. The last time we were here the place was teaming with Joes and equipment. Every street was lined with combat vehicles, every tent or CHU was full, and every open space had containers packed in like sardines. As we waited for our ride we could see that the streets were empty. There was an absence of containers. We saw only random Joes. The FOB was livable. Our ride showed up - a sergeant - and he explained that there was only one BCT now. My entire team was housed in CHU's (last time they were packed in tents that were 80-deep with Joes). We found the DFAC to be empty, the gym had no wait, the PX was absent of long lines - Warhorse had become a place where privacy could be had.
I took the time to walk around the FOB. Our training wasn't until the next day. The "National Forest" is still here - albeit in much disrepair. The Green Beans has moved into an all new food court. There's a putt-putt golf course in the middle of the food court (are you fucking kidding me?). Everything else is pretty much the same. The boulevards just aren't lined with Strikers combat vehicles and Abrams tanks. Walking around still brought back the unpleasant memories of 140 degree heat and moondust. I'll always remember Warhorse for that.
So here we are at FOB Warhorse. It's not exactly Hell anymore. Perhaps our final mission won't be so bad after all. I still don't want to get stuck here due to weather. I've almost got one foot out the door now.
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