Well, this is it! I was beginning to think that this day wouldn’t arrive; however, I find myself at this point. Tomorrow, I am leaving Camp Mike Spann and beginning my journey through the out-processing system. The Navy calls it the Warrior Transition Program (WTP).
From my reading of this program, they seem to have managed to push about 1 day worth of administrative matters into a 3 day process. However; that will have to wait. Upon leaving here, I have take a convoy to the German base to catch a flight to Kabul. My flight doesn’t leave until the next day, so I’ll have to stay in a tent overnight. It isn’t so bad though, because I’ve made some friends with the Germans there (speaking German really helps) and I intend to meet some of them that evening.
Now Kabul will be a different matter. I fly to Kabul International Airport (KIA) and have to await a convoy to Camp Phoenix. This part should be enlightening because despite repeated requests for information, no one seems to know why any of us are required to begin out-processing at Phoenix. All of the Navy administration and finance duties have moved to Baghram Air Field when the NAVCENT Liaison Staff set up shop there. So, I only know that I should be there a couple of days and then I’ll convoy back to Kabul International Airport and get on a flight to Baghram. I can only hope that my flight to Baghram will be the same day as I arrive at the airport.
Once in Baghram, I’ll continue with admin and finance out-processing for a couple of days. Once completed, I’ll get on a plane to Kuwait to begin the main part of the process; the WTP. At Kuwait I’ll be able to turn in my body armor, weapons and most of the other items that the Army issued me. Apparently, we also have to sit through ‘decompression’ briefs and talk to psychologists to ensure that we aren’t experiencing any post traumatic stress issues. For me personally, I think that the stressful part will be waiting to get on that plane that takes me back to my wife and daughter.
I’m really happy to be leaving for many reasons. The first and foremost of which is that I really need to be with my family. I need to be a contributing member and help raise my daughter. I’m truly tired of watching her grow up over SKYPE and hearing about her many discoveries and development rather than witnessing them. Sometimes I am truly amazed that she knows who I am!
Among other reasons that I’m happy about leaving is that I am truly burned out about the Army and the National Guard. Many of them are professional and well meaning; however I’ve discovered that the Army and the National Guard do not necessarily work well together and neither has any idea how to work with the other services. Much of that misunderstanding comes from their lack of understanding as to what experience and skills the Navy can bring to help the mission. It’s a bit disappointing when you consider how long we’ve been doing this mission with them. Some of the attitudes of the enlisted are such that they really do not understand that an officer is an officer, regardless of which service. I’ve have several (more than I care to think of) instances where I’ve been told that “Well, that guy’s just in the Navy” when told that a Navy O-6 ordered them to do something. This, more often than not, has come from Army E-7s.
Either way, I’ve had many great learning experiences here. Particularly it was a great environment in learning how to successfully meet mission requirements while coordinating between Army, Air Force, National Guard and Coalition Partners. I’ve really been happy that I’ve been able to utilize my German and gain more fluency. Additionally, I’ve made some good friends among the Germans.
There is some anxiety involved with returning home. My wife has been essentially raising our daughter on her own. Now I have to reintegrate myself into that family dynamic and learn how to live with my wife again. I have to discover my ‘place’. Also, as I’ve mentioned before, I am going to be looking for a job outside the military when I return. I have been keeping a keen eye on the news and the state of the economy in the U.S. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous. I have serious responsibilities to consider.
I can say that I haven’t been idle during this time. I have made use of networking with people here who have civilian jobs and working with contractors. I also intend to get my Project Management Professional certification when I get back home. My wife and I have also been making use of the extra money that I’ve made and saved since being here. We’ve paid off my car and our credit card. Now our only long-term bill is the mortgage on our house. Our long-term goal is to have enough in savings to be able to live and pay our bills for at least 8 months in the event of not having employment. I hope that it never comes to that, but it is better to plan for the worst. We are pretty much there right now, but we’ll continue to save nonetheless.
Long-term, I am worried about our mutual fund, IRAs and our daughter’s 529 education fund. Every day I hear on the news about how bad the economy is and how it’s only going to get worse. I really have been disappointed at this point with the message that President Obama has been giving. I recently read his 2006 book “Audacity of Hope”. I daresay that I’ve had that audacity and I still have some hopeful expectations. I was very impressed with what he had to say in his book and in particular his goals for America. I support these goals greatly. I only hope that we will be able to pull out of the current economic mess in time to see these goals come to fruition. The President, in my view, should be the greatest cheerleader for the nation. I fully support being told the truth without all the political spin. I appreciate it; however, I do not believe it is enough. Tell me the situation sucks and tell me it is going to take sacrifice and hard work. Then, tell me that you believe in us as a people and that we will succeed. Only recently have I been hearing the beginnings of such optimism. Before, everything was ‘doom and gloom’ and every time there was a speech, the markets reacted negatively.
I fully understand that the markets are influenced by much more than just a speech; however it cannot be ignored that the market is largely affected by emotion and confidence. Investors cannot be expected to be optimistic and the average consumer cannot be expected to spend their money if the President doesn’t show that he has that confidence. I consider myself to be a reasonable person and my reaction has been completely logical in light of the state of the economy and the lack of confidence I’ve seen. I have saved and saved and saved. We, as a family, aren’t considering buying a new car or making other expenses that are not absolutely necessary because it is fiscally irresponsible to do so in this economy, the future forecasts and the lack of confidence which is evident. Personally, I want to have confidence and I want to hope. However, I, as do many others, have responsibilities that are far too great to ignore. Eating and having a house is far more important that buying a flat screen TV or a new car.
OK, I’ll get off of the soap-box. I intend to continue this chronicle of events throughout my experiences of out-processing. I have not yet made a decision if I will continue this blog or another once I have returned home.
Take care…
Accelerate My Life? - Navy IA in Afghanistan
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Christmas Leave
Greetings. I hope all had a merry Christmas and happy New Year. I was able to go on vacation (Leave) for 2 weeks in December. My wife and daughter flew to Germany and we met each other there. We were able to stay with my wife’s parents in Bischofsheim, Germany. 
I left my camp in Mazar-e Sharif on the 7th of December and flew to Bagram Air Base. When I reached Bagram and checked-in, I was told that I could leave the next day for Kuwait. Now, we are allowed 15 days leave, but the time doesn’t start counting until midnight of the day we arrive to our final destination. This can be a good or bad thing. If you arrive home, say, 6:00 am, then you have 18 hours until your leave starts. Great thing! However; if you arrive around 11:00 pm, then you only have an hour extra. Not so great. Overall, it’s a decent policy, because you definitely get the full 15 days at home. You aren’t scheduled to fly back to Kuwait until the 16th day. Again, could be a good thing if you get a later flight.
So, I quickly did the math and figured that I would have to fly back on Christmas day if I left on the 8th for Kuwait and ultimately arrived in Germany on the 9th or 10th. For me, it was cutting it too close. So, I asked if I could hang out for a couple of days and manifest for my flight to Kuwait on the 10th. They didn’t mind, so that’s what I did. I had to live in a large tent for a few days in Bagram. I was able to get a couple of last minute things.
On the morning of the 10th, all those leaving for Kuwait had to muster at the terminal for a brief. We were then told to come back at 18:00. After wasting the rest of another day, I reported again to the terminal and waited around until we were able to board the plan. This didn’t happen until about 22:30. We took a C-17 to Kuwait, which is a large plane, but not built for comfort. Particularly when you consider that we had to travel in body armor and helmets. Thankfully, we were able to turn in our weapons and ammunition at Bagram.
When we landed in Kuwait, due to the time difference, it was about 03:30 (05:00 Afghan time). We immediately, upon disembarking the plane, were transported to a large tent for a few briefings. Mainly they had to collect our leave paperwork and split us into groups dependent on where we were traveling. See, although we were required to put in our requests for leave months in advance, the military does nothing for reservations until we arrive in Kuwait. At this briefing, we were told to return for a transportation briefing at 07:00. In the meantime, we had to get an assignment for sleeping quarters (another tent) and turn in our body armor and helmets.
Now, those of us who were flying to a destination outside the continental United States, were actually in a pretty good position. We were immediately brought to the transportation office, asked our destinations and then told to report back at 16:00. Those others who had to report back at 07:00 weren’t allowed much sleep time. I went straight to turn in my body armor, and then immediately to sleep. I woke up around 11:00 and took the opportunity to take a shower and get some food.
I later discovered that those who were leaving for the United States had to go through customs first. This entailed them having to muster at 12:45 and then had each of their bags emptied in front of a customs agents and searched. Once they were done with customs, they were sequestered to that area. This would be ok, if it wasn’t for the fact that they didn’t fly out until about midnight. Made for a long day for them.
At 16:00, I received my itinerary and told to come back at 20:00 to manifest for the flight. We didn’t actually leave for several more hours, but that wasn’t too bad. Around 23:00 we were transported to the Kuwait International Airport and told to check-in. At this point, we were on our own.
I took a Lufthansa flight from Kuwait to Frankfurt, Germany. I traveled in civilian clothes because of my destination. Those traveling to the United States had to take a military chartered flight and travel in uniform. I arrived at Frankfurt at 05:30, which was great because of the leave counting policy!
I can’t begin to describe how it was to see my wife for the first time since July. I’ve been on longer deployments, but this was somehow different. Maybe it was because I knew that I was only staying 2 weeks and then traveling back to Afghanistan. My daughter wasn’t there for my arrival due to the time. It was way too early to expect her to wake up and be at the airport. I was able to see her shortly after arriving at my in-laws’ house. That was great. She saw me and said “Papa” with a great big smile! I’m not too proud to say that melted me on the spot.
We had such a great time going to the Christmas market, an animal park, visiting with the extended family, just spending time together. We took our daughter to the Christmas market a couple of times. They had a carousel that my daughter just loved. She had never before been on one and it was such a treat for her. We also took her to one of the surrounding mountains to introduce her to a Toboggan. Again, she absolutely loved it!
I was also happy to see her be able to spend some time with her great-grandparents. The last time she had seen them, she was too young to really interact with them. She was playful and interactive with them this time.
Unfortunately, like all things, my time there had to come to an end. I’ve never been on a deployment before where I was able to take leave in the middle of it and see my family. Although, I would never trade this experience for anything, it was very hard to leave. Harder this time, than it was leaving the first time. I miss my wife and daughter very much. Seeing them again only emphasized how deeply I feel their absence.
Now that I am back, I can only hope that time goes by as fast as it went during the first 4 ½ months. I did receive some good news though. I should be leaving here about a month earlier than I was originally scheduled. The question will be, how long the out-processing will take because that dictates when I’ll ultimately be home.
Work here has been steadily increasing since my return. We have been informed that our camp is to plan for an expansion. This expansion should double our current size. The challenge is that the people in charge of sending the people are different and separate from those who help us with the preparations. We have to plan how to house 400-600 additional people and they will most probably begin to arrive before we are able to build more housing for them. The logistics involved are astronomical! We have to first prepare the land. Currently, it’s just an open area complete with sink holes and craters. We have to survey the land, level it and then build in the infrastructure. There is no water pipes, sewage, drainage, power grid, nothing. Once those things are in place, we have to build the living quarters, new gym and dining facility to accommodate them. Of course, we cannot forget the force protection structures that will be required.
Here in Afghanistan, it can take up to 120 days to get a project contracted and then more time to get the authorized funding. That’s all before the first preparations are started. The people can be expected to arrive much sooner than that. Hopefully, with all of our ‘bell ringing’, someone higher up will start to see the big picture and pay attention. Don’t get me wrong, many people see the problem, but it is still going to be a huge challenge to get the pieces in place and I have a difficult time seeing it being done in time for all these additional people. Things just take more time here.
I’ve included some pictures for you from my time on leave. I hope you enjoy them.
Later!
I left my camp in Mazar-e Sharif on the 7th of December and flew to Bagram Air Base. When I reached Bagram and checked-in, I was told that I could leave the next day for Kuwait. Now, we are allowed 15 days leave, but the time doesn’t start counting until midnight of the day we arrive to our final destination. This can be a good or bad thing. If you arrive home, say, 6:00 am, then you have 18 hours until your leave starts. Great thing! However; if you arrive around 11:00 pm, then you only have an hour extra. Not so great. Overall, it’s a decent policy, because you definitely get the full 15 days at home. You aren’t scheduled to fly back to Kuwait until the 16th day. Again, could be a good thing if you get a later flight.
So, I quickly did the math and figured that I would have to fly back on Christmas day if I left on the 8th for Kuwait and ultimately arrived in Germany on the 9th or 10th. For me, it was cutting it too close. So, I asked if I could hang out for a couple of days and manifest for my flight to Kuwait on the 10th. They didn’t mind, so that’s what I did. I had to live in a large tent for a few days in Bagram. I was able to get a couple of last minute things.
On the morning of the 10th, all those leaving for Kuwait had to muster at the terminal for a brief. We were then told to come back at 18:00. After wasting the rest of another day, I reported again to the terminal and waited around until we were able to board the plan. This didn’t happen until about 22:30. We took a C-17 to Kuwait, which is a large plane, but not built for comfort. Particularly when you consider that we had to travel in body armor and helmets. Thankfully, we were able to turn in our weapons and ammunition at Bagram.
When we landed in Kuwait, due to the time difference, it was about 03:30 (05:00 Afghan time). We immediately, upon disembarking the plane, were transported to a large tent for a few briefings. Mainly they had to collect our leave paperwork and split us into groups dependent on where we were traveling. See, although we were required to put in our requests for leave months in advance, the military does nothing for reservations until we arrive in Kuwait. At this briefing, we were told to return for a transportation briefing at 07:00. In the meantime, we had to get an assignment for sleeping quarters (another tent) and turn in our body armor and helmets.
Now, those of us who were flying to a destination outside the continental United States, were actually in a pretty good position. We were immediately brought to the transportation office, asked our destinations and then told to report back at 16:00. Those others who had to report back at 07:00 weren’t allowed much sleep time. I went straight to turn in my body armor, and then immediately to sleep. I woke up around 11:00 and took the opportunity to take a shower and get some food.
I later discovered that those who were leaving for the United States had to go through customs first. This entailed them having to muster at 12:45 and then had each of their bags emptied in front of a customs agents and searched. Once they were done with customs, they were sequestered to that area. This would be ok, if it wasn’t for the fact that they didn’t fly out until about midnight. Made for a long day for them.
At 16:00, I received my itinerary and told to come back at 20:00 to manifest for the flight. We didn’t actually leave for several more hours, but that wasn’t too bad. Around 23:00 we were transported to the Kuwait International Airport and told to check-in. At this point, we were on our own.
I took a Lufthansa flight from Kuwait to Frankfurt, Germany. I traveled in civilian clothes because of my destination. Those traveling to the United States had to take a military chartered flight and travel in uniform. I arrived at Frankfurt at 05:30, which was great because of the leave counting policy!
I can’t begin to describe how it was to see my wife for the first time since July. I’ve been on longer deployments, but this was somehow different. Maybe it was because I knew that I was only staying 2 weeks and then traveling back to Afghanistan. My daughter wasn’t there for my arrival due to the time. It was way too early to expect her to wake up and be at the airport. I was able to see her shortly after arriving at my in-laws’ house. That was great. She saw me and said “Papa” with a great big smile! I’m not too proud to say that melted me on the spot.
We had such a great time going to the Christmas market, an animal park, visiting with the extended family, just spending time together. We took our daughter to the Christmas market a couple of times. They had a carousel that my daughter just loved. She had never before been on one and it was such a treat for her. We also took her to one of the surrounding mountains to introduce her to a Toboggan. Again, she absolutely loved it!
I was also happy to see her be able to spend some time with her great-grandparents. The last time she had seen them, she was too young to really interact with them. She was playful and interactive with them this time.
Unfortunately, like all things, my time there had to come to an end. I’ve never been on a deployment before where I was able to take leave in the middle of it and see my family. Although, I would never trade this experience for anything, it was very hard to leave. Harder this time, than it was leaving the first time. I miss my wife and daughter very much. Seeing them again only emphasized how deeply I feel their absence.
Now that I am back, I can only hope that time goes by as fast as it went during the first 4 ½ months. I did receive some good news though. I should be leaving here about a month earlier than I was originally scheduled. The question will be, how long the out-processing will take because that dictates when I’ll ultimately be home.
Work here has been steadily increasing since my return. We have been informed that our camp is to plan for an expansion. This expansion should double our current size. The challenge is that the people in charge of sending the people are different and separate from those who help us with the preparations. We have to plan how to house 400-600 additional people and they will most probably begin to arrive before we are able to build more housing for them. The logistics involved are astronomical! We have to first prepare the land. Currently, it’s just an open area complete with sink holes and craters. We have to survey the land, level it and then build in the infrastructure. There is no water pipes, sewage, drainage, power grid, nothing. Once those things are in place, we have to build the living quarters, new gym and dining facility to accommodate them. Of course, we cannot forget the force protection structures that will be required.
Here in Afghanistan, it can take up to 120 days to get a project contracted and then more time to get the authorized funding. That’s all before the first preparations are started. The people can be expected to arrive much sooner than that. Hopefully, with all of our ‘bell ringing’, someone higher up will start to see the big picture and pay attention. Don’t get me wrong, many people see the problem, but it is still going to be a huge challenge to get the pieces in place and I have a difficult time seeing it being done in time for all these additional people. Things just take more time here.
I’ve included some pictures for you from my time on leave. I hope you enjoy them.
Later!
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