This is another repost. I figured since I am heading to Kabul and hope to document the experience better than I did the Baghdad nightmare experience, I would start off with my first and second writings in regards to the travel and first couple of weeks or so....
Well, This is my very first post on this blog but I figured it would be a good way to keep in touch with everyone and give Melissa a break from doing all of my updates for me. As most of you know, I was assigned to a one year tour of Baghdad with the state department. I will try to keep everyone updated on this blog as best as I can with the occasional photo (or 2)
Well, This is my very first post on this blog but I figured it would be a good way to keep in touch with everyone and give Melissa a break from doing all of my updates for me. As most of you know, I was assigned to a one year tour of Baghdad with the state department. I will try to keep everyone updated on this blog as best as I can with the occasional photo (or 2)
To start, I should have labeled this post as "waiting" as I have done more waiting the past two days than I have done in a very long time. Until now, I never thought the Marine Corps "hurry up and wait" training would provide me with useful skills down the road. What little we know when we are young...
Melissa, Chrissy, and the kids drove me to the Boston Airport. I will never get used to departures like this and honestly, I hope I never do. Once I got to the terminal, I sat and waited for 1 1/2 hours, boarded the flight and flew for just over an hour to Dulles International. I then met up with three other colleagues who would be traveling with me. Two of them had been at the airport for 6 hours already and decided to have a few drinks to kill the time. That is another story for an entirely different time. We waited another hour and then hopped/staggered onto our flight to England. I remember, as a young college student, I loved flying. I am not sure why. The lady in front of me thought it was a great idea to put her seat back as far as it would go the second she was able and did not bring it back up until made to do so by a flight attendant.
We arrived in England slightly cramped but alive at 10 am. We then waited for for about 3 1/2 hours, having a wonderful little breakfast, and then boarded the next flight for Amman, Jordan. This was by far, one of the best flights I have had in a very long time. Although crammed in coach, we had leg room, really good food, and very helpful flight attendants who went out of their way to get people what they needed. We arrived in Amman and were expedited much faster than I thought possible through customs. In fact, I walked into the terminal and there were multiple people holding up signs with our names on them. They walked us through customs which took all of 30 seconds per person. They walked us out of the main airport area where we were met by multiple people with signs that had our names on them. My group of four were then driven to our hotel for the night. The city of Amman is kind of neat to see, even at night. It appears to be a fairly modern area, smack dab in the middle of an ancient city. From Pizza Hut to McDonald's, there are no lack of modern conveniences but around all of it, are really old homes and Mosques. I think Amman would be a great place to spend some time.
We arrived at the hotel and I was greeted by a very good friend of my, Daniel Erz, who had been my roommate in Kosovo.
He is currently assigned to the German Embassy in Amman. It was awesome to run into him and have an opportunity to sit and talk for about an hour. I would have loved to spend more time talking but it had been a very long day and I was fast asleep by midnight. I woke up in the morning, ate breakfast and met up with my three travel companions, checked out and were driven back to the airport. Driving through Amman during the day time was much more cooler than at night. It was just an awesome city to see. To top it off, we were pulled over for speeding about 5 minutes from the airport. The driver took care of whatever he needed to and dropped us off at the airport without further incident. We were ushered into the main seating area of the airport where we say for about an hour. We then got in line and went throught the first security checkpoint inside the airport, dropped off our bags, got our ticket and then moved to the outer terminal area where we sat. After about an 1 1/2 hours, we went got in line again, went through our second checkpoint and yup, you guessed it, sat and waited for another hour or so. We boarded a bus and drove out onto the tarmac to the Air Force C-17 where our bags had already been placed on a pallet and was sitting on the plane. We boarded the plane and sat on the incredibly comfortable (read thick sarcasm) seats and were told the flight would take one hour. 
An hour and a half later, we took off. At about 3 pm, we landed at the Baghdad International Airport. We walked off the plane and a group of us were escorted into a small room where role call was taken and then we waited a bit. We then walked to were our bags were being delivered, waited for them to show up, got protective gear for the flight to the Embassy and then went and waited on the flight line. I guess there was a little scheduling screw up because there were no helicopters for us....yet. At about 7 pm, the Helicopters arrived and we took a short ride to the Embassy compound, where a few of our friends were waiting for us to take us to get room keys and to EAT.... After eating, I walked my gear to my new apartment. I was able to meet my roommate, call home, and unpack the little bit of stuff I have. It is now midnight and I have to get up in 6 hours but I wanted to post this, say hi to everyone and tell Melissa and the kids that I love them and miss them very much.
He is currently assigned to the German Embassy in Amman. It was awesome to run into him and have an opportunity to sit and talk for about an hour. I would have loved to spend more time talking but it had been a very long day and I was fast asleep by midnight. I woke up in the morning, ate breakfast and met up with my three travel companions, checked out and were driven back to the airport. Driving through Amman during the day time was much more cooler than at night. It was just an awesome city to see. To top it off, we were pulled over for speeding about 5 minutes from the airport. The driver took care of whatever he needed to and dropped us off at the airport without further incident. We were ushered into the main seating area of the airport where we say for about an hour. We then got in line and went throught the first security checkpoint inside the airport, dropped off our bags, got our ticket and then moved to the outer terminal area where we sat. After about an 1 1/2 hours, we went got in line again, went through our second checkpoint and yup, you guessed it, sat and waited for another hour or so. We boarded a bus and drove out onto the tarmac to the Air Force C-17 where our bags had already been placed on a pallet and was sitting on the plane. We boarded the plane and sat on the incredibly comfortable (read thick sarcasm) seats and were told the flight would take one hour. 
An hour and a half later, we took off. At about 3 pm, we landed at the Baghdad International Airport. We walked off the plane and a group of us were escorted into a small room where role call was taken and then we waited a bit. We then walked to were our bags were being delivered, waited for them to show up, got protective gear for the flight to the Embassy and then went and waited on the flight line. I guess there was a little scheduling screw up because there were no helicopters for us....yet. At about 7 pm, the Helicopters arrived and we took a short ride to the Embassy compound, where a few of our friends were waiting for us to take us to get room keys and to EAT.... After eating, I walked my gear to my new apartment. I was able to meet my roommate, call home, and unpack the little bit of stuff I have. It is now midnight and I have to get up in 6 hours but I wanted to post this, say hi to everyone and tell Melissa and the kids that I love them and miss them very much.
Until next time, be safe, have fun, and I will talk with you all later
Chris
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