Afghanistan Notebook

Hurry up and wait

While there’s nothing particularly significant of this night-time shot in the pallet yard at Camp LSA, I’m somewhat impressed by it. That’s because I shot it with my new camera using a flash and available light – something I couldn’t do with my old point-and-shoot. In the picture are Sgt. 1^st Class Ritchie Brunson, Hampton, (middle), and Maj. Tim Wood, Columbia.

I think the Army makes traveling as difficult as possible just so troops will want to stay put.

Take my trip back to Afghanistan as an example.

Granted, I had to travel more than 7,000 miles through 9½ time zones, but only about 20 hours of the travel time was spent getting from Atlanta to Camp Phoenix.

The rest was consumed by waiting.

Like waiting eight hours at the Atlanta airport to catch a flight to Kuwait.

Then waiting two days at Camp LSA in Kuwait to catch a C-17 to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

And hanging around Bagram for 12 hours waiting to catch a convoy to Camp Phoenix.

Soldiers, though, seem adept at playing the waiting game. They know that certain activities are perfect for filling blocks of time.

Those who bring along weapons, can kill hours just taking their rifles apart, cleaning, and then putting them back together.

Others will watch movies on their laptops or portable DVD players.

Reading is a popular pastime, too. I’m surprised to see so many readers among those in uniform. My guess is that there’s a higher percentage of troops who are readers than the general public.

And, there’s the soldier’s old stand-by for killing time – sleeping.

On this trip, sleeping was a chore.

While I did catch enough sleep on the flight from Atlanta, it was nearly impossible to sleep after reaching Kuwait.

At the camp, where soldiers wait for flights that will either take them home or to war, I was assigned to a tent with accommodations to sleep 16.

There always was commotion in the tent as people came and went throughout the day. Lights were turned on and off. Guys would enter the tent at 3 in the morning, cut on the lights, look for a cot, and then grouse about the Army not providing linen service.

Did they think they were staying at a Holiday Inn?

We left Kuwait late Monday and arrived about 3 the next morning at Bagram. The processing took more than an hour.

The next order of business was finding a ride to Kabul and Camp Phoenix. There was a flight leaving after breakfast so we opted to stay up and try to catch it. A good plan except that there wasn’t enough room on the plane.

The next shot was catching a helicopter flight, but that wasn’t leaving until the next afternoon.

Somewhat weary of bunkbeds and killing time, we looked at catching a convoy to Kabul. We were in luck. A convoy was scheduled to arrive at Bagram and then return to Camp Phoenix.

So we waited for the convoy.

It rolled in later that morning and initial plan was for it to head back in a couple of hours. There were delays, of course, and the convoy wound up leaving two hours than planned.

No problem, we just waited.

 

Gotta wait in Kuwait

Right now, I’m sitting in the MWR tent at Camp LSA, Kuwait and doing what seems to come naturally in covering the military – waiting.

The camp is part of the Ali Al Salem Air Base complex near Kuwait City where troops wait to catch a plane that’ll take them home or to war.

I left this place at the end of October after covering the first six months of the 218^th Brigade Combat Team’s yearlong tour in Afghanistan.

Now, I’m back for the 218^th’s last couple of months in Afghanistan.

I’ll get to a few places in Afghanistan where I haven’t been before, visit more troops, and cover the 218^th’s redeployment to the States. The unit’s 1,600 soldiers are due back in May. Some 200 already are home.

Of course, the story won’t end there. The State plans to stick with the troops as they make the transition from a world that seems locked in biblical times to one of shopping malls, high-speed Internet and indoor bathrooms.

And, we’ll track the soldiers’ ability to return to a “normal” life of not having to wear body armor or duck into a bunker after a mortar attack.

So, the ol’ blog is back in business and we’re ready to keep you updated on the 218^th’s progress.

All I need to do is wait for the next flight to Afghanistan.