Well I got back to KAF on Thursday. The trip to Germany was fun while it lasted. I didn't get to see too much, as the Soldier I was escorting was kept inpatient and wasn't allowed to do much. And, since I was her escort, I needed to be available for her. She was able to get a 2 hour day pass and we walked down in to Landstuhl one day, so I feel like I at least got to see a little of Germany besides the military installation. I also was able to go see a the Dark Knight Rises while I was there as the movie theater at the PX was showing it. Very good movie, I definitely recommend if you haven't seen it.
Coming back to Afghanistan was an adventure all of its own. (as most travel with the military tends to be) I set out for the PAX terminal at Ramstein Airbase on Tuesday morning at 0600. There were a few flights that left directly to Afghanistan that day. They came and went without any seats being released on the flight because they were too filled with cargo. So, at about 1400 they bused us over to some Barracks to stay in. It was very similar to being in prison. We were back up at 0445 the next morning to head back to the PAX terminal. This time the guy working the flights had some brilliant idea that instead of trying for more direct flights to Afghanistan he would put us on a flight to Qatar and once we got to Qatar we could try to get a flight to Afghanistan. For some reason this sounded like a good idea to him, I'm not sure why.
The first flight to Qatar came and they started the roll call for the flight. There were only 10 seats available and there was a group of 19 of us trying to return to duty. I was the first of the 19 to sign up for the flights the day before, so I should have been the first name called, as the Air Force prioritizes its passengers based on the order in which they sign up, and other factors but none of those were in play here. Of course, the roll call started and I didn't hear my name. The roll call ended and I didn't hear my name. I went up to the desk to inquire and somehow my name was at the bottom of the list. I showed them my time stamp on my orders and they agreed that I should have been first on the list. Of course by the time they were able to comprehend that, the roll call had already closed and there was nothing they could do about it. So I waited some more.
The roll call came for the next flight to Qatar and this time everyone got on as there were 186 seats available as it was a chartered civilian aircraft. The only problem with this flight was that it was stopping in Italy on the way to Qatar, so we weren't going to get to Qatar until early the next morning. We got all ticketed, and waited for the flight. 2 hours after the time we were supposed to leave, they finally boarded us. Once on board, the flight attendants started a head count. Apparently they weren't very good at counting because 30 minutes later they were still trying to get a head count. The head count turned into going name by name of the manifest and everyone raising their hand to indicate whether they were here or not. Of course someone along the way went to reach for their air vent and was counted here when someone else's name was called, so even the name by name roll call didn't work. Finally, one of the flight attendants counted the whole plane herself instead of just having each flight attendant count their own section. Turns out that everybody was on the plane and they weren't missing anyone. They were just really bad at counting. So after almost an hour and a half after boarding the plane we were finally ready for take off.
When we landed in Italy, there was a group that was providing free food to all of us in the terminal. It was very thoughtful and very welcomed from all us still travelling on to Qatar. We were only in Italy long enough to service the plane and refuel, and then we were back on board. Luckily, the crew switched out in Italy, and this crew was much better at counting. So we were able to take off pretty quickly.
Once we got to Qatar, the real fun began. As soon as I stepped off the plane I was hit with a wall of humidity. It was very hot, and probably 1000% humidity, if that is even possible. We were all herded into a line to go through customs. And of course they didn't really have a good plan so everyone was standing around while the Air Force tried to figure out what do. There were only like 10 of us at this point out the 200 or so that flew to Qatar that were actually continuing on to Afghanistan. And the 10 of us didn't want to go through customs in Qatar as we weren't planning on staying. We just wanted to be pointed in the direction of the PAX terminal so we could catch a flight into country. This simple notion was too much for the Airmen that were working outside of customs in Qatar that night. They told us that we had to go through customs or we would be deported. I thought about inquiring into where I would be deported to and see if would be worth my while. A free trip back to the US sounded like a good idea. At that point though I would have even been happy with a deportation back to Afghanistan. Qatar was too hot for my liking. It was literally the middle of the night and just standing outside we were all drenched in sweat.
We were finally able to find an airmen with a brain and he escorted us over to the PAX terminal and put us on the next flight to KAF. So we hung out in the PAX terminal with strict instruction that we could not leave and wander around or we would be deported as we didn't go through customs. No problem, it was too hot out there anyway. I got about 1.5 hours of sleep in a chair while waiting for my flight to KAF. It finally came time to load up the C-17. Unfortunately, when flying on a military aircraft, you don't board and then shortly take off. You sit there and wait, and it is usually at least an hour. The aircraft are always hot (unless its winter, and then they are freezing) because they can't turn on the A/C until the aircraft starts moving. So we were baking on the aircraft. Luckily it wasn't too long of a flight. The beauty of flying on military aircraft is that you have a lot of freedom of movement once in the air. You can even lay on the floor of the plane if you want, and a lot of people do this to get comfortable.
When we finally landed at KAF, I was actually happy to be back in Afghanistan. I really don't mind travelling, but when the Air Force is involved my levels of frustration just go off the charts. Plus I think they make the trip back from Germany long and arduous on purpose, so those returning to duty will be happy to finally get where they are going. Oh and I forgot to mention, as we were boarding the plane in Germany, they were calling for passengers for a flight straight into Afghanistan...
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