Vacation

I am home. Well I am back at JBB, and this place is my current home.

Ur was amazing. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am really happy that I was able to take part in it. I guess I should start from the beginning.

We left on Thursday, but tried to leave on Wednesday. However, on Wednesday there was a terrible sand storm and a handful of planes were leaving so we kept getting delayed and finally around 1700 they canceled our flight, so that means we had to try again on Thursday. The great thing about flying in the military is they can do whatever they want to flight times and they are not obligated to tell you. It's quite amazing in that terrible sort of way that toys with your emotions and wrecks havoc on your day.

The next morning we had to be back at the "airport" at 0530 and we waited there all day before we finally got on a flight sometime in the afternoon/evening. I was wished happy birthday over the loudspeaker by my friend who works there on behalf of "the family." While waiting on our flight we had enough time to play Fact or Crap, Would you Rather, and Monopoly. I brought the first two games (thank you Caroline and Kayanne) and Monopoly was already at the airport. That's right, we were able to play one of the longest board games ever before we left for Kuwait.

We had to fly to Kuwait before flying to Ur. Don't ask me why...it's the Army. If it doesn't make sense then that is probably the SOP. So we get to Kuwait and have to spend the night there in tents on bunk beds. I was on the top bunk. Story of my life. Keep laughing Jane, Kayanne, and Caroline. I did.

We had to get up way early on Friday (I don't remember but it was before the sun was up) and catch our flight to Ur. We made it to Ur in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing and seeing what the base at Ur had to offer. It felt much more military than JBB. The reason for that is one there were hardly any contractors and two there were hardly any Non-Tactical Vehicles (SUV's if you will). So it actually felt like a military base.

Friday evening at dinner we hashed out a great mission for the 90th since we don't have one anymore. I will explain that at a latter time and post. Anyway, we thought that what this war is missing is a critiquing system that would rate all the FOB's on different aspects of base life. Such as dinning facilities, transportation around post, bathrooms and showers, living quarters, the gym, MWR, etc. We think that a mission like this could really help out morale.

Saturday was the tour. It lasted about two hours and was quite unbelievable. They let us climb to the top of the Ziggurat, walk through the tombs of the kings and queens that once ruled Ur, and walk through the replica of Abraham's house that was built about 10 years ago. Crazy.

If this place ever gets to the point where tourism is a viable industry then a tour like the one I went on will more than likely be a tale of the past. Only soldiers are allowed out there, and that helps keep down the number of people trampling all over the place. I can't imagine that they will continue to let people just walk all over that stuff like we did. It would be ridiculous, because it would destroy what little is left of such a historical place. So, I hope that in the very near future they stop letting people walk all over that stuff.

The trip back to JBB was just as exhausting as the trip out there. We woke up early Sunday morning and left for Kuwait. This time we were able to wait in the DV (distinguished visitors) lounge at Ur, because we had a Colonel with us. Awesome. Word from the wise, when traveling in the military take a Colonel with you if you can. It makes traveling a lot easier. If you have an E-7 (Sergeant First Class) let the two of them take care of everything. It is an unstoppable combination. The DV lounge was very nice, and definitely better than the one here at JBB.

We arrived in Kuwait early in the morning only to find out that all the flights to JBB were going to be canceled. Figured. So we spent Sunday night in Kuwait on the bunk beds. And guess where I slept? That's right. The top bunk.

Monday morning there was a MLK 5K memorial run, and I did not run in it. I got the t-shirt though. SFC McAllen, CH Hedlund, COL Mount, and I went on a mission to acquire a few of the left over t-shirts from the run. Mission accomplished. See what I mean about the Colonel and E-7. CH Hedlund and I were there in case they needed back-up, but they didn't. We acquiesced 5 t-shirts. I have two. Both larges. We also took a picture with the Ronald McDonald statue outside of the McD's. That was a nice bonus to the mission.

We flew into JBB and arrived just before dinner and right in the middle of a nice sandstorm. Nothing says welcome back like a sandstorm.

The whole adventure was amazing. Except for the M16 slung over our shoulder's and the lack of choice in clothing, we all felt like we were getting a break from our deployment. When I got back I was tired as hell and refreshed all at once. I couldn't have asked for anything more.