One piece of admin that I didn't mind was my promotion to Commander. I didn't expect to be promoted until September, maybe August at the earliest. But as luck would have it, my name was on the list for 1 July. That also happened to be the day we left Kuwait. After a few awards were handed out, I was called up and got to put on my new rank. The timing was perfect from a financial perspective. While in Kuwait we were receiving tax-free pay, and you get it for the whole month if you are there for just one minute of one day. And any promotion comes with a healthy pay raise, so I was able to receive a few extra bucks tax-free for our final month in theater.
The journey out of Kuwait was a long one, and not just for the flight back to the U.S. The word "customs" has special meaning for the military. Entire Navy Reserve organizations have been formed for the sole purpose of going through every square inch of every bag, box, and container leaving Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan. All of our ISU containers full of unit issued gear got inspected in the days and weeks leaded up to our departure, then we all got shuttled up to Ali Al Saleem air base to go through the process on an individual basis. Remember after 9/11 you could get singled out and had to empty the contents of your carry-on onto a table, then pack it back up again. Try doing that with all your bags. All the people on your flight. And all the flights leaving that day. Joy!
They build several extra hours into the schedule "just-in-case." So after a couple hours in a tent waiting for our turn to get in line, an hour or two standing in line and doing the bag dump and repack, we had SEVERAL more hours waiting in the secure Freedom area. Some people passed the time reading, watching movies, and sleeping in the designated tents. Others were a little more creative. At least they had coffee! Ensign Rob and I shared one last round of cafe lattes.
Finally it was back on the busses for the ride back towards Kuwait City and the Air Port of Debarkation (APOD), a.k.a. Kuwait International. Things get a little fuzzy for me at this point. I can barely remember this part. We'd been up for about 24 hours by then. But somehow we got on a plane on the morning of July 2, and it took off and headed west!
Our first flight took us to Germany. We were given a couple hours to go into the terminal. For most, this was the first chance to have a beer or wine in seven months. Talk about long lines at the register! Someone recommended two beers per person, and that was pretty accurate. We had time to grab a couple beers, pay, and down them without too much of a rush.
From Germany we flew over the Atlantic to Bangor, Maine, where the scene just about repeated itself. Except here there was a great group of Americans there to great us. I broke out my cell phone and gave Katie a call. I think I called Mom, too. Then it was on to San Diego, where we were greeted by several hundreds screaming fans. Well, friends and families I guess.
By virtue of being in the back of the first class area, I was about the third person off the plane. Rear Admiral Penniman, my old skipper, was at the bottom of the stairs along with a few other senior officers to greet us as we de-boarded.
It was a quick 24 hours in San Diego for yours truly. Then I checked out on leave and headed back East for a couple weeks. More to follow!
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