Welcome to Afghanistan! #1

6/18/12 (First letter)

Hello all!

Let me start off by thanking MariAnne for the idea to write a group

email.  She said it would be a good idea to start a blog...but I'm

"blog-tarded", so I figured I would send out a weekly (or bi-weekly if

things get too crazy) email to the family to keep everyone updated.

If I have missed anyone's email address, let me know and I will add

it.

So far, things have gone very fast, and very slow at the same time.  I

will start at the beginning.  the flights over here weren't bad.  Long

hours in commercial style jets.  Just like any normal international

flight.  Then we got to Kryz-sglhslg-istan (sp?).  We flew from there

to Bagram (a large post in Afghanistan) in a military jumbo jet

(C-17).  The kind they haul houses in or something.  They made us fly

in all our gear and had commercial airline seats literally bolted to

the floor.  If you think coach is crowded, try doing it in 50 lbs of

gear!  At Bagram we flew next to our final destination at Sharana.  We

flew in C-130's.  That is the much smaller, propeller version of the

C-17.  Only about 50 of us could fit in one of those.  The ride was

much less "smooth" however.  If you've ever seen car racing shows

where they hold their foot and the brake at the same time to get

maximum acceleration, you can imagine the start to this ride.  You sit

there listening to the engine rev, without moving.  Next thing you

know, your head is pressed into the back of your chair and you are

flying...very little runway time.  Then, to "confuse the enemy", they

stroll along in the air nonchalantly until it is time to land.  Then

they trick the enemy by dropping straight from the sky onto the

runway.  Your helmet is trying to take your head off so it can make

it's escape through the roof.  You have NO idea where you left your

stomach, and you're just thankful that it was a relatively short

flight and you emptied your bowels before boarding.

After sauntering off the tail end of the airplane (the sauntering is

involuntary at this point), we stand in line, pick up our gear and

head to our home for the next nine months.  Yes, I made it safely and

there are myriad adventures awaiting.  I will continue the adventure

next week with some more tales from Afghanistan.  If you have any

questions about anything here, let me know and I will include them in

subsequent emails.  Until then, goodnight!

Love,
Your (son, husband, brother, father, cousin, friend...)