In the Combat Zone

An announcement came over the loud speaker. "Welcome to Kuwait. When I tell you, we'll file off the plane in a single line to load the bus. This is a no salute, no cover (hat) area. You can't take pictures at the airport," a man said. He wasn't in uniform. He probably was a contractor. There are tons of contractors here making tons of money in the Middle East.

The first impression of Kuwait is from the door of the North American airlines 767 jet. It is warm. Not hot. Maybe 90-95 degrees with a warm, sandy breeze blowing. It is October whent he temperature tends to drop. Someone told me 139 degrees is not unusal in the summer. I have about eight months to prepare for that

About 150 of us load busses just to unload again in an area off the tarmack. We are brought to three tents. One is the smoking section. Benches and tables are scattered about for the comfort of Sailors and the few Airmen we have. Bottles of water are on ice in containers that look like small dumpsters with covers. We are reminded to "hydrate" because the heat - among other things - can kill.

Military is filled with hurry up and wait. That happens at the airport in Kuwait. We hve to sit for three hours before we can load another bus and roll to Camp Virginia in Kuwait. It's Ramadan, a holy time of fasting and no work. Our local escorts are taking part. They won't be available until sunset when the fasting and work rule no longer applies. So, we sit, read, hydrate, eat MREs and talk. Some of us will stay in Kuwait for extra desert training. Others head to there destinations. I'm in the former group. Iraq is still days away for me. But I found out some positive news. I was told my yearlong deployment clock starts ticking TODAY. so officially, I have 364 days left (give or take a few days)!!

After our three our wait, we're back on another set of buses and prepare to roll out to Camp Virginia. "All curtains stay closed at all times. If you have any cell phones, do not use them at any time because 'they' can track us," said one of the female Sailors carrying an M16. She and another Sailor are selected as security detail on our bus, just in case "they" try to do something to us as we travel. It's official. I'm in a combat zone.

My watch reads 6:30 on Sunday evening in Kuwait. I'm told that's 11:30 Eastern on Sunday morning. Except for a couple of naps on the plane, I've been up since 6:00 am Saturday morning. The day doesn't end until we're fed and given a briefing at Camp Virginia. It's approaching 1:00 am here on Monday. That would be 6:00 pm Sunday night Eastern. Thirty-six hours ago, I started my journey from Ft. Jackson to Kuwait. But the rest of the journey still lies ahead.