04 March 2008: Goodbye Iraq

My showtime? 0715. What time did I wake up? 0705. I don't normally oversleep. I jumped up and threw my uniform on. Then I rushed to the pax terminal to check-in. I made it. Then I returned to my hooch to finish packing my gear. I made my final coffee for the road. After giving the room the once over, I walked out and didn't look back. Then I drove back to the pax terminal to meet the rest of my team. We handed our bags over to be palletized. The waiting game for the flight began. Taco came to see us off. Yes, Taco also returned to Iraq. He extended his tour. Just like Hud, he's returned in time to see us off. Hud couldn't see us off. He's in Taji.

The day was bright and blue so there would be no question as to our flight. There was a large contingent of passengers. We were on a C17. That's also good news. A C17 is infinitely more comfortable - and faster - than a C130. At 1030 we rolled out to the flight line. Our plane roared up and disgorged a number of passengers. We eyed the folks arriving as we stood and waited to board. It was a scene remiscent of the beginning of "Platoon". It wasn't quite as melodramatic though.

I fell asleep before the plane even took off. I didn't wake up until we were making our descent. Looking around, it appeared I was the only person awake. We landed in Ali Al Salem at 1230. By 1300 we were standing adjacent to the same tents we had processed through a few months ago for R&R. Our ride wasn't waiting. We called. "They're on the way." The four of us waited for almost three hours. It was as though the Prodigal Children had returned. None of us were happy to be in Kuwait. If we could have redeployed straight from Iraq we would. It's a necessary evil though. We're here to attend the awards ceremony. We'll then redeploy as a unit. Remember that most of our unit spent the year in Kuwait.

Now we're at KNB (Kuwait Naval Base). Don't let the name fool you. There's no real hint of Kuwaiti Navy here. This will be home until such time as we all fly back to the U.S. I have said goodbye to Iraq. This time it's for good.