Robert's Time In Iraq

To My Family and Friends,

Well my time in Iraq has drawn to an end.  February brought an end to waking up to "The Final Countdown" by Europe and the beginning of planning an executing my most important mission...returning home 2 weeks early.

My replacement showed up 1 1/2 weeks early and I was told that if I did not get on a C-130 out of Al Asad by the 2nd of February that I was not getting home until the end of the month.  So I did not waste any time.  I did a 3 day comprehensive, quick hand-off with my replacement and packed my bags.

I decided not to tell Davina and Corinne that I was heading home early...just in case I got stuck somewhere along the way. 

And I thought it would be a nice surprise for Davina and Corinne to wake up to.  Davina kept asking me if I could make it home for Valentine's Day...I was originally not supposed to make it home before the 16th.

My flight left Al Asad around 2330 hrs on the 2nd and I was on my way to Kuwait to out process the theater of operations.  They had us packed like sardines on the C-130...but I did not care...I was going home.  We landed in Kuwait around 0130 hrs on the 3rd and immediately started our out processing by turning in all of our gear.  There was 2 large bags of stuff I was able to get rid of.  We finally got to bed in our tents around 0430 hrs and had the remainder of the day to rest until the next morning. 

Around 0300 hrs the next morning I woke up to shower and pack.  At 0500 hrs on the 4th we started our out processing to catch our flight at 0130 hrs on the 5th.  I know this sounds like a lot of time to rally before our flight and you are right.  The Army and Navy (who run the scheduling and customs for the flights leaving Iraq) found it acceptable to continuously conduct about 45 minutes of work with us and then hold us in lock-down in small confined areas for hours at a time through out the day.  This made for a very long day.

Apparently we can not be trusted with our departure from the theater.  What I mean by that is that when we went through customs in Kuwait we had our bags x-rayed multiple times and then had to empty our bags of all contents to have everything individually searched.  After that we had to have our carry-on x-rayed again and we were then searched with a hand-held wand...all to make sure we did not take anything out of theater that we were not supposed to take.  I was starting to get worried we would be asked to strip down!

After that experience we were place in a fenced-in yard with tents to wait to be bussed to Kuwait International Airport.  Here we waited for almost 10 hours...I just kept telling myself to just be patient because I am going home.

Next we were taken to Kuwait International Airport around 2230 hrs on the 4th.  This was about a 1 hour bus ride.  Once there we were given our tickets and placed in another holding room to wait another hour.  We finally headed out to the jet around 0100 hrs on the 5th and the plane took off the ground at 0135 hrs...we were heading home!

Before I knew it I could see Ramstein Air Base out the window.  We landed around 0655, collected our bags, and proceeded through German customs and immigrations.  German customs and immigrations lasted all of 2 minutes...the Germans are a lot easier and faster than the Army and Navy customs. 

Like I said before, I was surprising Davina and Corinne.  So, a sergeant from the office picked me up and took custody of my weapon.  From there a work associate took me home. 

I arrived home at 0800 hrs on the 5th.  The rolladens were down so I knew the family was still in bed.  So I placed my bags under the car-port and headed to the outside glass door to our bedroom.  When I arrived I gently tapped on the glass.  Davina was sitting in bed reading waiting for Corinne to wake up.  She thought one of the neighbors were knocking on the door.  But as she preceded to the door she saw it was me.  There was some screams of joy, one bark from the dogs, and the door opened.

After we said our hellos I went down to Corinne's room to wake her up.  She is a heavy sleeper...but, after she finally woke up she looked up at me, slowly smiled, and said "hello Daddy!"  She then stood up and gave me a big hug.

It is good to be home.  It was a long 6 1/2 months...but, seeing Davina and Corinne made the trip home worth every minute of it...even our "holding pens."

I want to close by saying thank you to all our family and friends that provided Davina and I support during this deployment...thanks!

God bless and take care,

Robert