Leaving Kuwait

Sunday, December 27th, we had our last training event in Kuwait. We had to head to another camp for the MRAP Egress Training. An MRAP is a wheeled up-armored vehicle used to transport several troops. This trainer is a mock up of an MRAP that they can roll over. So in full body armor we have to climb out of this thing. Below is a picture of an MRAP that I found on the internet.



We got back to Camp Virginia in the early afternoon. Soon after we got back we found out that we were leaving that night for Afghanistan. So everything I own got thrown into a seabag and we headed for Kuwait City International Airport. Here’s a picture of our tent in Kuwait as we were getting ready to leave.



All of our luggage was loaded onto a pallet and strapped down. We boarded a C-17 cargo plane and watched the cargo handlers wheel the pallets of our luggage behind us in the cargo bay.





The flight to Bagram Air Field was not that long, but a C-17 cannot be confused with a business class trip on ANA to Japan. At Bagram our group of IAs (individual augmentees) began to split up. Some were stationed on that base and headed off to their commands. Others were assigned to various camps or FOBs (Forward Operating Bases) throughout Afghanistan. Fortunately for me, I was able to fly to Kabul thanks to the space available on a Canadian C-130.



Like we did on the C-17, we loaded up into the cargo bay. Fortunately, this flight was only twenty-five minutes. We had to wait a while for a ride from Kabul International Airport (KAIA) to our base, but I was thankful that I made it from Kuwait to my final destination in one day. Many others are not so lucky.

This last picture is of me at the NATO base at KAIA. You can see the mountains of the Hindu Kush behind me. Also in the background on the left is a Bulgarian HUMVEE.