Not what I imagined
A couple of things first:
Just so you understand how far away we are from the fighting, soldiers in Iraq who need a short break come down here for 3 days of rest and recuperation (R&R) leave at this Camp. We are in a war zone technically, but this is a pretty well-off and secure post with a good set of ammenities for the realxing warfighter.
The more I find out what there is to do on this post, the less sympathy anyone is going to have for my deployment to this "war zone."
Now, back to our story....
When I was a young lieutenant in the 82d Airborne Division, my mind used to wander during the 2 hour plane flights before we jumped out. We were zipping over the North Carolina countryside at 200 knots and 500 feet above the ground and I was wondering what war was going to be like. Well... sitting in that plane with a 150 lbs of gear on me, I never could have imagined that 12 years later I would go to war and end up at the Army Component headquarters in Kuwait. A few times since I've been here, I have thought to myself that "this is not what I thought war would look like." Some of those times:
- While getting a massage at the health and beauty spa located 400 meters away from my billets (next to the ginormous PX).
- While zipping along the Kuwaiti freeways in a Japanese SUV at 80 mph armed and in civilian clothes.
- While eating 2 lobster tails in the middle of a desert
- While sipping a frozen mochaccino at Starbucks, also in the middle of the desert.
- While floating in an olympic-sized pool on a star&stripes floatie ring, still in the middle of the desert.
Just so you understand how far away we are from the fighting, soldiers in Iraq who need a short break come down here for 3 days of rest and recuperation (R&R) leave at this Camp. We are in a war zone technically, but this is a pretty well-off and secure post with a good set of ammenities for the realxing warfighter.
The more I find out what there is to do on this post, the less sympathy anyone is going to have for my deployment to this "war zone."
Now, back to our story....
When I was a young lieutenant in the 82d Airborne Division, my mind used to wander during the 2 hour plane flights before we jumped out. We were zipping over the North Carolina countryside at 200 knots and 500 feet above the ground and I was wondering what war was going to be like. Well... sitting in that plane with a 150 lbs of gear on me, I never could have imagined that 12 years later I would go to war and end up at the Army Component headquarters in Kuwait. A few times since I've been here, I have thought to myself that "this is not what I thought war would look like." Some of those times:
- While getting a massage at the health and beauty spa located 400 meters away from my billets (next to the ginormous PX).
- While zipping along the Kuwaiti freeways in a Japanese SUV at 80 mph armed and in civilian clothes.
- While eating 2 lobster tails in the middle of a desert
- While sipping a frozen mochaccino at Starbucks, also in the middle of the desert.
- While floating in an olympic-sized pool on a star&stripes floatie ring, still in the middle of the desert.
posted at 9/21/2005 10:12:00 PM
4 Comments:
Greetings from Wishful Thinking...
I do not believe this is what Gen. Sherman meant when he said "War is Hell". Still, we are very glad to know that you are not near flying pieces of metal. Do you wear a vest when you go out on the town?
Geee Whiz... you're making it hard for us to figure out what to stick in a care package when you have better services there than I have in the town where I work!
I'm glad to hear that you're comfortable though - it's the least they can do since you're 'on assignment' so far away.
As always,
Cali
There are many aspects to war, we mostly just focus on the bloody part of it. Regardless, you are doing your part. Thanks!
you're sipping on Starbucks mocha-whatevers and I'm still making my own coffee in the morning...unfair.
When do I get to go to "war" ?
-Art
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