Deployment

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After 2 months of predeployment in Fort Bragg, everyone was anxious to get to our destination. We left Fort Bragg and stopped in Leipzig, Germany to refuel. From there we flew to Manas Air Force Base in Kyrgyzstan on what was my birthday, in southwest Asia just north of Afghanistan. So both our stops were in what use to be communist East Germany and the former Soviet Union. Go figure. The scenery there was gorgeous, but it wasn't long after we left that the Kyrgyz Parliament voted to close the base after the they and the U.S. failed to agree on a higher rent for the property. We arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan on December 10, and from there our unit started getting split apart. I ended up going to Camp Lightning by Gardez for 2 weeks, eventually ending up at Camp Clark. The weather in Afghanistan is entirely dependent on the very variable altitudes with which each town and base is located. It sleeted and snowed in Gardez, which sits at about 8000 ft, and within an hour of leaving and arriving in Camp Clark, we were sweating from the heat.

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Photos

Leaving for Afghanistan
Boarding the first aircraft for 20+ hours of flying

Departure
Boarding a C17A in Kyrgyzstan

Inside C17A
Ok its loud, no complimentary meal, no movie or stewardesses. Whats not to like?

Sleeping
Well, Im not really asleep, but I play a sleeper in real life sometimes.

Hindu Kush
From Alexander the Great to the Soviet Union's attempted occupation, no one has been able to stabilize this area for themselves, and I can see why. It is said to be the geographic population center of the world, which I find ironic.

Hindu Kush2
Another view of this historic unconquered area

Manas2
yes, they have rainbows in Russia too.

Manas
Different times of day offer different tints of color

Manas flightline
A cool shot right before takeoff

Bagram
Bagram Air Base is located southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan. It used to be the staging point for Soviet troops during their initial invasion. Now it hosts troops from many countries, and Soviet mines surrounding the base is all thats left of the former occupation

Gardez
Leaving Camp Lightning (Gardez) for Salerno.

Salerno
Arriving at Salerno to refuel and off to Camp Clark in a Chinook helicopter

Flying into Clark
You won't see Chinooks traveling alone-here another Chinook is with us coming into Camp Clark.

Arrival
Finally, we are here at Camp Clark.

Comments

[deleted_49612]

Hello Will :) Me and my boyfriend are reading your blogs with fascination. Keep em comming! It is good to read about personal experiences, to flesh out what we read in the news. Mel

[Will134]

Thanks:)
thank you for the comment-im only here for 7 more weeks but I will do what I can.