Your Trip Back to The world Experience

[1feral1]

I can remember so vividly at BIAP one March day back in 2007. We had loaded on a RAAF C130-J, and taxied down the runway. It was after dark, the interior of the Herc was in green light. The night before we had come in from our FOB in the city of Baghdad, and hung out at camp Victory all day long, just marking time. It was a long time at BIAP. Delays etc, and the place was busy.

We were a small mob, our Combat Team was 110, but we had lost about 10 men over the tour (no KIAs - all were admin losses), and we were split up into two chalks.

We lifted off, not a sound, no cheering or clapping, for us it was just another flight over a hostile land. It took almost 2 hrs before we touched down at Ali Al Salem in Kuwait. Once there, by bus we headed to our tents in the cold spring night. Iraq was now a memory.

The following morning we turned in weapons, ammo, body armour, and sat in on a couple of useless meetings. Over the next 5 boring days, dress was PT gear, and we each went thru the Shrinks. Day after day same thing, MWR tent - INet,  RSO tent - INet, movies, and relaxation, McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, as many had enough of the DFACs. I was hanging for a home cooked meal with real milk and fresh veggies. Did the last trip to the PX.

Due to force protection, we were not allowed off Ali Al Salem. It was the longest 5 days of my life.

Then finally, we loaded up by bus to head into Kuwait City, along with a US convoy escort of up-armoured Hummers all w/ .50 cals. We were all sorted pretty much, and only after a slight delay boarded our Stratigic Air Airbus.

Gone-Con!

Got 1st class (SNCOs and Offrs), and the morale was very high, we were finally enroute for home.

Landed in the UAE for fuel, and some duty free action, then headed on to The Maldives for more fuel, and duty free, finally landing in Darwin, then on to Brisbane. The plane ended up in Sydney to drop off the last of the lads at their home Units.

How was your trip out of theatre??

OWDU

 

[TCBF]

- Almost our whole six months in KAF in 2002, the runway was cut in half to be worked on one half at a time.  Just before we left, it was completed.  They got in the first C5B Galaxy, then tried taking off with it when it was cool enough.  They filled it full of Canadians instead of normal people in case something went wrong.

;D

- I had eaten 'local' two nights before and so spent most of the flight to Diego Garcia on the toilet.
The lush Green of Diego Garcia and the water of the Indian Ocean was a nice treat.  We had a steak and seafood supper (a BBQ), then walked through the jungle to the lagoon where an illegal bonfire occurred.  We were joined by some USAF B52 crews and had a nice get together.  When done, we soaked, stirred and buried the bonfire, swept the area for cans and drunks, and extracted to a bus stop on the main drag.  The next day, I did a laundry in a USN barracks and the water looked like chocolate milk from the deep dust in my CADPATs.
We then boarded a charter 747 which gassed up in KL, then landed in Guam.  During the flight, a minor incident occurred which resulted in the follow-on flights being declared dry, and a career path being delayed for a bit.

- As the flights accumulated in Guam, we attended various briefings and social outings.  We then boarded more chartered 747s, fueled in Hawaii and landed back in Edmonton, having circled the globe in six months.

- The next day was off, to do laundry.  The day after that we did morning PT.  It was July, but we wore track suits, toques and gloves and just about froze to death.  A week of routine, a big parade in front of Premier Ralph Kline, and off on leave.