After we completed training we loaded up the bus and headed to the airport. Because we arrived several hours before our scheduled departure, I took the opportunity to visit with my parents (and grab one last home cooked meal). I took a taxi from the airport to their house and had a delightful conversation with the taxi driver. Ironically, he grew up in a small village outside Kandahar. Of course I didn’t say a word about where I was headed, but I was full of questions. At age 17 he had been shot in the legs by indirect fire and Doctors without Borders eventually shipped him to the US for treatment. He received a refugee visa and later because a US citizen. His parents still live in his childhood village. According to the driver, his parents want the US and our allies to go home so the government can collapse. They feel that the government is corrupt and the Taliban isn’t as bad. It was a fascinating discussion.
After a wonderful dinner, my parents dropped me back off at the airport. I met back up with my fellow classmates and we waited together for our flight. The flight was completely full and I was very happy to have an aisle seat. Each seat was equipped with a monitor which helped pass the time on the 13 hour flight. Surprisingly it wasn’t that bad. I was glad I brought a blanket because it was cold but I managed to get quite a bit of sleep.
We landed in Dubai in the evening. The airport was beautiful. (Sadly my photos didn’t turn out so I borrowed one from the web.) We easily met up with our guide, through customs to baggage claim and out to the awaiting bus. It was a short drive to the hotel which was very nice even by western standards. We were told in training not leave the hotel but a few of my classmates couldn’t resist. I was perfectly content to go back to my room and sleep. I had no problem sleeping. In the morning we had a delightful breakfast then loaded up and headed back to the airport. This time we went to a smaller terminal and were slightly confused where to go. We figured it out and eventually found our way to the waiting area.
The flight to Kandahar was about two hours and uneventful. This flight was not even a third full so there was plenty of room to spread out. The passengers were a diverse mix from lots of different countries but all heading to Kandahar Air Base for the same reason. I had a window view although the windows were dirty so it was difficult to get good pictures. I tried anyway.
Once on the ground I followed the crowd into the building known as “Taliban’s Last Stand”. Built by the Russians years ago and later taken over by the Taliban. When NATO came to Afghanistan and took Kandahar Air Field (KAF) this stronghold was the last stand. In any direction, you can see bullet holes throughout the walls. On one part of the building there is now a huge sky roof, compliments of a US bomb.
We were met by two of our security guys (military) and driven to the compound. We were issued our body armor and shown to our rooms. My room is a temporary RLB which is a relocatable, modular building. There was a bit of a mix-up and my roommate was actually a male. He seemed nice enough and we said we would be fine but that was “against the rules” so they moved him to another room. He had kept the room very clean so it was in move-in ready condition. He left me a few cans of ice tea in the fridge and gave me carpet for my bed. The mattress is a sad excuse for a sleeping surface and that night I was grateful for the carpet. Having shipped my own comforter (picked out by Sam), I was able to use the blanket I was issued as padding. The total bed layers are as follows: mattress, a sheet of foam, a carpet, a thick blanket folded in half and the memory foam topper I also shipped. It will do, but the Marriot it is not.
After my male roommate moved out I had several hours before a female roommate moved in. It was actually a classmate from my training class who had arrived in country the day prior. She was staying in the “Kandahar Hotel”. (Even the hotel is stacked RLBs.) I made myself at home in the back of the box and hung the curtain Jason picked out for me between the two wardrobes, essentially dividing the room in half.
We had a meeting in the afternoon to fill out paper work but were mostly free to settle in. A few coworkers took me to dinner then it was off to shower then to bed.
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