Traveling the Word

Traveling World 1

Traveling the World

As a young man not quite twenty years old I made the decision to join the United

States Air Force. I was interested in the educational benefits, becoming a part of an

elite force and take advantage of the traveling opportunities being offered. During

my career I took advantage of the educational opportunities and was able to travel quite

extensively during my twenty years of service; however, traveling the world as a USAF

soldier was not always the ideal traveling experience.

Shortly after I arrived at my first duty station at Dover AFB, I received notification that I

would be deployed on a real world mission. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I

was working six stories in the air, on the C-5 aircraft, it was business as usual when I

was told the shop chief wanted to see me. The thought of why he wanted me was

almost as taunting as climbing down the forty foot ladder, three stories of stairs, and the

hike across the flight line with my red tool box.

In a stern voice, my boss told me to be seated and then he closed the door behind me.

During the brief silence I noticed the numerous plaques and certificates showing

achievements from his military career hanging perfectly on the wood paneling that

surrounded the room. After brief conversation, the chief got to the point. He informed

me that I had been selected to deploy with a team of maintainers to the Middle

East. I remember sitting there in a daze, overwhelmed with emotion not really listening

as the words deploying to the middle east were still lingering. Then he gave me brief

Traveling World 2

instructions: go home, stay close to the phone, pack your bags for a long deployment,

and tie up any unfinished personal business. You will be notified by phone with

further instructions. I knew the reality of real time deployments existed but until it

happens you do not think about it. Although I did not know my final destination, I could

not help but to think the worst.

The next couple of days waiting for my instructions were very stressful. How could time go by so fast on one hand, but seem like a lifetime to pass on another. Two days had passed and I finally received the final orders that I was departing to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. General Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq, was threatening to invade Kuwait for oil. The thought was if he was not stopped, Saudi Arabia would be the next country he would invade.

The departing terminal at Dover was packed with military families awaiting the

dreaded good-byes. Hallways were lined with soldiers in their crisply ironed uniforms,

shiny black boots, air force issued mobility bags on their backs and a M-16 rifle over

their shoulders. It was a very sad and tear filled moment, but the departure was

inevitable.

As the group of thirty or so troops jettisoned the bus there was no excitement

towards our future adventure together. It was almost like a prisoner taking his last steps

to the electric chair. As we boarded the plane, you could feel the somberness

throughout. We were hurried along by a gentleman in a flight suit chewing tobacco and

handing out ear plugs and directing us to one of the bench seats that filled the entire

compartment. The stench of hydraulic fluid filled the passenger compartment and the

noise from the engines added to the overwhelming feelings of uncertainty. One

positive thing, I had lost my appetite before they started passing around the tasty

Traveling World 3

Chicken, Meal ready to eat (MRI) dinner.

.

As the plane was taking off, you could see people starting to settle in for the long

three day journey. Some were reading books and others were writing letters. I

put on my headphones and listened to music. Everyone was dealing with the unknown

in their own ways. After three days of traveling, the tension and feelings were somewhat

eased by time; however, on the third day when the plane made its descent at the airport

in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia the overwhelming emotions and the sick feelings came

creeping back quickly. Soldiers began to wake up and limited conversation filled the

cabin as we started to gather what seemed to be our last worldly possessions.

As I approached the exit doors, the temperature was becoming unbearable. The

heat was so blistering it took your breath away before your feet touched the ground

beneath you. The sun was