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!
