Christmas In A Combat Zone

Merry Christmas…and off to work we go. Not only is it Christmas, but it is also my first flight in a combat zone. Rising before the sun, we walk over to the flight line loaded down with personal Body Armour, weapons, ammunition, and a Survival/Overnight Bag.

Upon arrival at base operations, we check the weather & airfield notifications (NOTAM’s), inventory flight gear and publications, obtain an intelligence briefing on our route of flight, preflight the aircraft, load cargo, perform cockpit checks and conduct a crew briefing. The “Alarm Red” siren interrupts our preflight routine. The siren is an indication of incoming indirect fire; i.e. mortars, rockets or RPG’s. When the “All Clear” is sounded (after an Air Force F-16 responded with a 500 lb hello), we crank the engines and launch on our 5-hour mission. We fly low, then climb above the clouds, descend through rain showers to skim along the desert for our tactical approach. We offload cargo in the pouring rain and joke about Christmas in Iraq. After a little gas, we depart on instruments...break into the clear and "hit the deck" enroute to our next destinations.

Back at base, we debrief and plan our route for tomorrow’s mission. Next stop is flight operations, where Air Mission Requests (AMR’s) are sorted and scheduled for the coming days. With the duty day complete, we stop off at the base chapel for an inspirational Christmas service. After a heart-felt chorus of “Silent Night”, we head to the dining facility and feast on prime rib, ham and chicken…while leaving room to make two passes through the dessert line. Walking home, I think of my girls, family and what an honor it is to serve with this unit. Tomorrow…we do it all again.

Taking The Mission

"Relief In Place" is the term used to describe how a departing unit transitions in a replacement unit. The incoming unit's flight instructors and flight engineers receive on-the-job training on how to conduct the mission. They then participate in getting the rest of the new unit trained. This training pyramid allows the existing unit to cycle out--in this case, the process will take about two weeks to complete. Since unit personnel have assigned duties in addition to flying, time is spent with your counterpart from the departing unit, learning how things are done in Iraq.

The living conditions were a pleasant surprise. We are housed in trailers that are divided into 12x12 living spaces. Although small, they can be equipped with all the modern convienences; air conditioning, microwave, refrigerator, cable tv (Armed Forces Network) and satellite internet. Life is good--it reminds me of a college dormitory setting, except that instead of going to class, we go to work in a combat zone.

Acclimate

Acclimate - defined as becoming accustomed to a new environment or situation; for our bodies to adapt not only to the time change, but also to living in the desert. This time of year the day time temperatures are in the 80's with evening lows around 50-60 degrees--that has been no problem. The biggest adjustment has been the dust...the sand is very powdery, so just walking kicks up little dust clouds. If you look at the horizon, you typically can see a layer of dust just suspended in the air--eye and throat irritation is common. So our days have been spent checking equipment, repacking, attending classes and trying to adjust our circadian cycles by taking "catnaps" during the day after lying awake at night.

We then loaded our gear (yet again) for another 2-hour flight to our final destination in Iraq...we are all looking forward to finally start doing our jobs.

Deployment Day

After a prayer by the unit Safety Officer for our safe return, we boarded the bus with three duffel bags apiece and braced ourselves for some grueling travel days. The trip began with a 14-hour bus ride to our departure airport, we then flew on a Boeing 777 for 13 hours to the Middle East, passing through 8 time zones…that means when you are watching the morning news, we are thinking about dinner. From there it was a 3-hour bus ride to our base camp in the middle of the desert. During the in-processing briefing, our ID cards were scanned (DEC 9th), which begins the official countdown of our year overseas. It was after 4 AM before we finally off loaded the truck carrying our gear, found our tent, set up cots and fell over.

Changing Focus

The time has finally come to deploy overseas, therefore, Operational Security (OPSEC) becomes an important consideration. The challenge will be to provide updates without revealing mission details…the consequence for a lapse in judgment could be severe. No locations--No mission details. One solution is to shift the focus from my story and focus on the unit and what it is like to operate in Iraq. Time will tell if it is worth the effort to continue…

Delivery In South Dakota

Since the aircraft we will be flying in Iraq are already pre-positioned, our final flight mission was to deliver our 6 aircraft to C-23 units in WA, OR, SD, OK and GA. My crew was assigned to Rapid City, South Dakota. After fuel stops in Kalamazoo, MI and Sioux Falls, SD (during a blizzard) we made it to Rapid City in just over 8 flight hours. By making the trip in one day, we were able to sightsee for a day in the northern Black Hills, which reach over 7,000 feet and receive their name from the heavily forested slopes that appear black from afar. We bypassed Mount Rushmore to take in the Wild West gaming town of Deadwood, which was created as a result of the gold rush in 1875. We stopped by the Homestake Mine in Lead, SD to view the “Open Cut Mine”, which is 1,250 feet deep and goes 8,000 feet underground. On the way back, we stopped in Sturgis--The Mecca of Motorcycling—where since 1936, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held every August, attracting over 500,000 bikers annually. Next on the agenda…a commercial flight to Philadelphia, PA.