waiting in Kuwait

Ok….I am STILL en route to Iraq. The good news is….I am in Kuwait. I’ve been here for several hours and am scheduled on a C17 to Baghdad at 0500. That is in 10 more hours! I was greeted in Kuwait by two very nice army guys who were expecting me and saved me form another 3 hour wait as they took me in their private vehicle to Ali Al Salem LSA Army Base. They have been my personal escorts and have made sure that I have gotten my luggage, found the latrines, ate some food, and got manifested in on the flight to Baghdad. I am now on my own as they have turned in for the night.

The flight here from Atlanta was a lot better than I had expected. The first leg of the flight was about 8 hours and we stopped over in Germany to refuel and change crews. We only stayed about an hour which gave me just enough time to stretch my legs, drink some wonderful German coffee and browse a neat gift shop. We then boarded the plane again and were off to Kuwait on about a 4 hour flight. I slept most of both flights which made the time pass quickly.

I am very excited to get to Al Asad, Iraq and begin broadcasting. It seems I have been caught up in a bunch of processing which I know is necessary but very time consuming. I am growing very tired of lugging my bags around and look forward to settling in at one base.

I have already met some very interesting people. There is the Marine Intel officer who I will probably run into again in al Asad. He is taking a straight hop to Al Asad, but I have to stop in Baghdad to receive my media credentials before heading that way. This will add another day of waiting before actually getting into Al Asad. I am scheduled to do my first broadcast at 2p local Iraq time on Monday which will make it 5am on The Cat Pak morning show.

Another interesting character I met at the airport in Atlanta while waiting to board, is MSgt Sams from Tennessee. He is stationed at another base in Kuwait which I don’t believe I will be visiting. That is too bad really, because apparently there is a Hum-V rollover simulator that would be neat to try.

Here at Al Salem, it’s mostly tents, dirt, rocks, more tents, a lot more dirt, and oh yes…a McDonald’s. There is also a KFC, donut shop, Chinese food place, and rec center. There is also a lot of dirt. (Did I mention that?) The men and women stationed here and those that pass through have minimal things to do but I haven’t heard a lot of complaining about it.

The best place to get the scoop on just about everything? The smoking area. I don’t smoke, but hanging out in the smoking area almost made me want to start. (Not really, Nick.) This is the gathering place of all the gossipers and is the equivalent of the water cooler at the office. From British soldiers, to Aussies, to Army reservists, to any other branch of service….they all meet for a good smoke and the latest gossip. The funniest thing is listening to all the “one-upping.” You know, someone tells a story and then someone else one-ups them with something better. Really a great way to pass the time if you can stand the smoke.

As I enter my 25th hour of travel time….I look at my dusty shoes, dirty pants, ratty hair, and dark-circled eyes. Yet…I am still SO EXCITED to be here. More to come…thanks for the prayers. Keep them coming!


Dana