Trip to Bahrain
This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Bahrain for a conference with US State Department and CENTCOM public affairs personnel from Iraq, Afghanistan, Horn of Africa, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and a few other places. It was quite a trip.
Travel into and out of Afghanistan is always a long ordeal, so you have to steel yourself for a lot of sitting and waiting and lugging bags. It also helps to stuff one's pockets with protein bars, chewing gum and hand wipes.
My plans officer and I drove an hour to an airbase here in Afghanistan and caught a C-130 to Qatar. I got to fly up top in the cockpit with the pilots, which makes the trip much nicer. C-130s are basically cargo planes and sitting in the cargo hold is extremely uncomfortable. At one point we could see the lights of Iran, and when we flew over Dubai the city lights were spectacular. We could see the famous hotel shaped like a sail that sits on a small man-made island just off the shore. It was lit up with blue lights.
After the six hour trip from Afghanistan, we spent the night at an airbase in Qatar. The public affairs officer there and her staff took good care of us by meeting us at the air field and getting us checked into temporary billeting. The next morning we had a few hours to relax before our flight to Bahrain, so we took advantage of the great Air Force facilities. I got a haircut and my plans officer enjoyed some of the fast food available there. The Air Force sure takes care of its people. While the base is pretty stark out in the middle of the desert, they all live in nice trailers, have an olympic-sized swimming pool, a movie theater, fast food restaurants, day spa, gift shops and a wonderful dining facility. For those of us coming from Afghanistan, it's like a resort.
Saturday afternoon we flew to Bahrain on a small VIP jet. We were picked up at the airport and whisked off to the Diplomat hotel, overlooking the water in Manama, Bahrain. The hotel was beautiful and the view from my room fantastic. You can't even imagine how wonderful it is to sleep in a king-sized bed with down pillows and your own bathroom after sleeping on a foam twin mattress and sharing a depressing little metal bathroom for months. It was heaven!
The conference was fascinating. The first day was devoted to hearing about public affairs and diplomatic operations in several countries, and of course meeting and networking with the 40+ participants. The second day we were split into three groups, given three real-world communications challenges, and asked to brainstorm recommendations for improving communications related to the three issues -- Synchronizing Messages, Breaking Through to the Arab Audience and Achieving Positive of Reconstruction and Development in Host Nations.
We spent our lunches and dinners engrossed in conversations about the Iraq elections, humanitarian operations, the ups and downs of working with media, the different bureaucratic red tape in DOD and the State Department that often impedes our work, and we shared travel and war stories. I think each of us left with a new outlook and a few more good ideas.
The trip back went like clockwork. We hopped back aboard the jet for the short flight to Qatar, spent the night at the air base again, and very early the next morning got on another C-130 back to Afghanistan. We got lucky when we got to the airbase in Afghanistan as there was a helicopter scheduled to fly to Kabul shortly after we arrived. So we jumped on board and were in Kabul in about 20 minutes rather than enduring the hour drive over bumpy roads.
Believe it or not, I was happy to get back. After throwing my clothes in the washer, I headed to the dining facility where I found my colleagues having dinner. It was like coming home to see all their smiling faces. It's hard to believe that I have only a week left here.
Oh! I think I've neglected to share with you that I will be leaving Afghanistan for good on January 26. I will fly to Washington, DC, for a few days of temporary duty and then on to Fort Benning to turn in my gear and leave active duty. I have already submitted a request to retire.
I guess I haven't mentioned it because I just wasn't convinced I'd be getting out of here at the end of the month, but today I got orders so it's looking pretty good.
Looking back, the time has gone quickly. In fact, it's flown by. And I have to admit that while the first couple of months were tough, the last several have been a lot of fun. I will miss the people I work with and I will certainly cherish the memories. But I'm also looking forward to returning to my old life.
Believe me, I will not take for granted having my own bathroom, eating at nice restaurants or even having a comfortable chair for reading. It will be great not to hear generators running all night, to use tap water rather than bottled to brush my teeth, and not having to walk down a cold hall back to my room in wet flip-flops after a shower. I'll cherish watching TV in bed, soaking in my tub, walking my dog and meeting my husband for dinner. And I can't wait to walk into my closet and choose an outfit that is something other than desert camoflage.
I'll keep you posted on my return.
Travel into and out of Afghanistan is always a long ordeal, so you have to steel yourself for a lot of sitting and waiting and lugging bags. It also helps to stuff one's pockets with protein bars, chewing gum and hand wipes.
My plans officer and I drove an hour to an airbase here in Afghanistan and caught a C-130 to Qatar. I got to fly up top in the cockpit with the pilots, which makes the trip much nicer. C-130s are basically cargo planes and sitting in the cargo hold is extremely uncomfortable. At one point we could see the lights of Iran, and when we flew over Dubai the city lights were spectacular. We could see the famous hotel shaped like a sail that sits on a small man-made island just off the shore. It was lit up with blue lights.
After the six hour trip from Afghanistan, we spent the night at an airbase in Qatar. The public affairs officer there and her staff took good care of us by meeting us at the air field and getting us checked into temporary billeting. The next morning we had a few hours to relax before our flight to Bahrain, so we took advantage of the great Air Force facilities. I got a haircut and my plans officer enjoyed some of the fast food available there. The Air Force sure takes care of its people. While the base is pretty stark out in the middle of the desert, they all live in nice trailers, have an olympic-sized swimming pool, a movie theater, fast food restaurants, day spa, gift shops and a wonderful dining facility. For those of us coming from Afghanistan, it's like a resort.
Saturday afternoon we flew to Bahrain on a small VIP jet. We were picked up at the airport and whisked off to the Diplomat hotel, overlooking the water in Manama, Bahrain. The hotel was beautiful and the view from my room fantastic. You can't even imagine how wonderful it is to sleep in a king-sized bed with down pillows and your own bathroom after sleeping on a foam twin mattress and sharing a depressing little metal bathroom for months. It was heaven!
The conference was fascinating. The first day was devoted to hearing about public affairs and diplomatic operations in several countries, and of course meeting and networking with the 40+ participants. The second day we were split into three groups, given three real-world communications challenges, and asked to brainstorm recommendations for improving communications related to the three issues -- Synchronizing Messages, Breaking Through to the Arab Audience and Achieving Positive of Reconstruction and Development in Host Nations.
We spent our lunches and dinners engrossed in conversations about the Iraq elections, humanitarian operations, the ups and downs of working with media, the different bureaucratic red tape in DOD and the State Department that often impedes our work, and we shared travel and war stories. I think each of us left with a new outlook and a few more good ideas.
The trip back went like clockwork. We hopped back aboard the jet for the short flight to Qatar, spent the night at the air base again, and very early the next morning got on another C-130 back to Afghanistan. We got lucky when we got to the airbase in Afghanistan as there was a helicopter scheduled to fly to Kabul shortly after we arrived. So we jumped on board and were in Kabul in about 20 minutes rather than enduring the hour drive over bumpy roads.
Believe it or not, I was happy to get back. After throwing my clothes in the washer, I headed to the dining facility where I found my colleagues having dinner. It was like coming home to see all their smiling faces. It's hard to believe that I have only a week left here.
Oh! I think I've neglected to share with you that I will be leaving Afghanistan for good on January 26. I will fly to Washington, DC, for a few days of temporary duty and then on to Fort Benning to turn in my gear and leave active duty. I have already submitted a request to retire.
I guess I haven't mentioned it because I just wasn't convinced I'd be getting out of here at the end of the month, but today I got orders so it's looking pretty good.
Looking back, the time has gone quickly. In fact, it's flown by. And I have to admit that while the first couple of months were tough, the last several have been a lot of fun. I will miss the people I work with and I will certainly cherish the memories. But I'm also looking forward to returning to my old life.
Believe me, I will not take for granted having my own bathroom, eating at nice restaurants or even having a comfortable chair for reading. It will be great not to hear generators running all night, to use tap water rather than bottled to brush my teeth, and not having to walk down a cold hall back to my room in wet flip-flops after a shower. I'll cherish watching TV in bed, soaking in my tub, walking my dog and meeting my husband for dinner. And I can't wait to walk into my closet and choose an outfit that is something other than desert camoflage.
I'll keep you posted on my return.
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