Let the adventure begin

So I began a new adventure in life...deployment. I have been in the military for more than 15 years and finally have had my first deployment experience. To back it up a bit. The first thing before any deployment in the Air Force they want to make sure you are completely trained for any contingencies that might happen. So I was sent off to Fort Dix, NJ at the beginning of November for an 11 day course on combat situations. Needless to say the weather was quite interesting. I arrived there two days after Hurricane Sandy decided to destroy most of the area and then two days after being there it decides to dump eight inches of snow. Only to find a couple days later it warmed up and then cooled back down to dump some more rain. As far as the training, it was a great learning experience. When you are in the AF you don't have the opportunity to train in combat environments so everything there was of a foreign concept to me. But with the proper instructors they were able to clarify and train you in many different scenarios with a final field training exercise that combines everything you learn into the worst case scenario you could be in.

Once I was done with the training I was able to go back home for about five days and enjoy Thanksgiving with the family. The following day I loaded up all the gear the AF deemed that they felt I needed and flew off to Charleston, SC to catch my military rotator that took me the rest of the way to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. From here I caught a C-17 cargo plane that took us into Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, only to find that I would spend a day waiting for my final flight into Kabul. While at Bagram my eyes were opened to a new experience of conex building with latrines and transient tents with about 50 people on bunk bed style beds with no sheets. The weather wasn't as nice. As it is beginning winter here and the tents don't have the luxurious central heat/air we have back in the states. Luckily the following day i was able to get on the next flight in to my final destination.

When I landed the adventure truly begins as I am new to foriegn travel and foreign places. The pace on the installation is a little quicker but slower in others. The people I work with have been nice enough to allow me time to acclimate to the new time zone and area. The first day I was able to receive my room with a bed with linens and a blanket. I probably had the best night sleep in the three day travel time it took to get here. Over the next couple of days I spent in-processing so that when I started my training and work there are no hiccups in the system. Unfortunately the process is a bit slower than I'm used to as the base is filled with other foreign national military that have a different take on getting things done on a timely basis. The great part of it is meeting the different countrymen. We have Germans, Hungarians, Italians, Spaniards, Latvia, British and of course good ole Americans.

So as I begin my day here I will be able to start my training for the job I will have for the next six months and hope that I am able to fulfill the shoes of my previous predecessor. So until next time Khuda Hafez.

Josh