Shipping Out

After just about nine months in Washington, DC, the time has come once more for me to deploy overseas in support of contingency operations. I'll be going to Baghdad, Iraq for the second time (I was there last from Sep 2006 to Jan 2007). It should be an interesting tour because I'll be working with the Iraqis to return the bases and land used by the United States Air Force for the past eight years.

On previous deployments I haven't done a very good job communicating with family and friends about the nature of my job and the ins and outs of deployed life. Part of the reason for this is the time constraints inherent in such a busy job, but a second piece is that it is hard to repeat the same stories over and over in a short span of time. So, I'm going to write this blog throughout my eight month deployment, and use it as my primary form of communication (don't worry Ashley, I'll still call you every chance I get). It will also be nice to have the details of my deployment in written form to pass on to our kids when they are old enough.

The first stage of any deployment is the travel to get to your final location. My trip started mid-day on 22 April 2011 in Washington, DC. Ashley and I drove down to Norfolk, Va where we checked my bags and weapons (I have to take an M-4 Rifle and M-9 Pistol with me) into the terminal and spent the night in base lodging. She recently left to begin the trip home, and I'm about to leave for the terminal in 30 minutes or so. I'm drinking the last beer I'll have for a long time (Murphy's Irish Stout), and eating a microwave pizza because I'm not sure when I'll eat again. My route goes through Canada, Iceland, and Germany before landing at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Once I arrive there, I'll wait for another plane to take me the rest of the way to Iraq. I hope to be in place early next week. Stay tuned for another post, and feel free to comment or make suggestions about what you'd like me to write about.