Back to the sandbox.

Leaving home again was one of the hardest things I've done.  It was actually HARDER to leave the second time than the first.  Why?  Good question.  I've thought about it, and the best I can come up with is that when I left the first time, I left with people I knew, going to a place I didn't and had had about a year or more to prepare for it.  This time, I had two weeks to NOT think about it - and believe I did everything in my power to NOT think about it.  But that meant I didn't have any time to prepare for the actual leaving again.  Which made it harder.  When I left the first time, I had my company with me, who I had worked with for 1 1/2 years and were like another family.  This time, I was alone.  Its a different feeling - being alone.
   I think I handled it ok though.  Not too much crying (I made sure I was dehydrated before leaving the house for just that purpose).  On the plane from Colorado to Texas, I talked to people, so that made it easier.  Everyone has a story to tell.  I don't remember WHAT stories they told - just that one guy was a salesman who travelled around the country and golfed a lot and the lady across the aisle from me was travelling around speaking to public schools about how to best help children who have parents in the military.  The flight was uneventful, but leaving home sucked.
   Once in Texas, the real wait began.  The process to get back to the desert is supposed to similar to the process going home, but it doesnt always work that way.  When I arrived at the terminal, there were already a bunch of other Soldiers waiting to go back - their plane from the day before was late or something and a lot of people had to sleep in hotels.
    Anyway, so, eventually, the Army people start manifesting the Soldiers who had to stay overnight first and then they start on us.  I stood in line with a bunch of people I didn't know, snaking my way through the little Tensi-Barriers back and forth over and over again until finally I was four people from the front (this took about two hours).  Then they said the first plane was full and that we could take a ten minute smoke break while they set everything up for the next flight - NOTE: Regular airlines don't have this problem which is why the Army should stick to killing people, not trying to fly them around - besides, Stewardessess handing out peanuts to terrorists just wouldnt get the job done - bottom line: everyone needs to stay in their lane. END OF NOTE.  About half and hour after the ten minute break ended, they started manifesting the next flight, due to leave Texas in a few hours - plenty of time to grab a bite of food, get through security and lounge around for a few.
  Security at airports is fun and exciting.  First you get in line - go figure - and then you have to put your stuff through the xray machine which apparently can't see through stuff very well because I have to take most of the stuff out of my bag and put it into a separate box to go through.  Lovely.  Oh, my boots have to go through the xray machine also - (my thanks to the shoe bomber guy for that one).  Once on the other side of the security center I repack my carry-on and find my gate.
   Oddly enough, after the appropriate amount of time, I got onto the airplane and found my seat and got all settled in.  The flight wasn't full, so no one sat directly next to me, but skipped a seat - good stuff.  The Warrent Officer who sat by me had worked some some of the people from my old company during their first deployment.  So, we had a nice conversation about all of that stuff.  During our conversation the lights went off in the plane and the A/C went out - not too worrisome because I don't know anything about planes - maybe it's normal and I just never noticed before.  An hour and a half later.  The power is still out and they say we should get off the plane - now THAT is not normal - I know that.  But, still not worried.  Someone says its something about not being able to charge the power from the somethingerother and I don't really care because the plane has been sitting in the Texas sun for 2 hours without AC and is rather warm.
    Back in the terminal we wait to get the plane fixed until someone comes out and says we need to get our bags off the plane.  Great, the plane is not fixed.  By this time, I have a splitting headache from lack of water (remember the whole dehydration thing - I was counting on plane food and water to recover).  I follow along with the crowd as we go out of the terminal and wait for busses to go to a hotel "nearby."  Its about midnight.
   The busses arrive and we pack them full to capacity and probably more than capacity but I'm told its ok to stand in the aisle and anywhere else because the hotel is "nearby."  I know that "Everything is Bigger in Texas," and that must include sense of distance, because when the bus pulls onto the interstate I know that "Texas nearby" is NOT equal to "Colorado nearby."  However long later we pull up to the hotel and are told that we will each get a room and that we need to catch the shuttle bus BACK to the airport at 0730.
   The hotel is nice, has a pool and everything, but by the time I get my room its about 2am - and besides, I don't have my swim trunks with me.  I call home and tell my wife the story of the day. 
   When I first got in the room, it was hot - I immediately went over and cranked the AC up.  It seemed to work alright.  After awhile, it wasnt getting cooler, but I wasn't concerned yet.  I called home and then took a cool shower and stood in front of the AC to cool off.  That helped a little.
   When I laid down on the bed, it was way too damned hot to sleep, so I pulled the little lounge chair over in front of the AC and set up a little bed for myself there.  It worked, I fell asleep.  Sometime in the night, I woke up and laid down in the real bed. 
   Thankfully, I had given my wife the number for the hotel and she called to wake me up at 0630.  I had asked the front desk for a Wake Up call, but it never came.  Yeah, my wife actually keeps me on schedule more than anyone else - even in the desert.
   After getting up I grabbed a little breakfast from the hotel and back on the bus I went.  For the "short" ride to the airport and once again through security.
   And then the wait - our first scheduled boarding time was 1200.  Let me just say that the boarding passes they gave us were pretty funny, considering the situation.  Mine was orange with #55 on it - but the funny part was the slogan, "When you fly ATA - you're on vacation!"  HAHAHAHA.  Some vacation.
   When the plane wasn't ready for us at 1200, we were told to try again at 1700.  And they let us go get some food by using our boarding passes as meal-tickets.  Our options were Popeyes Chicken and McDonalds - I chose the chicken initially, but when I saw the line, I went to McD.  I'm not a real big fan of McD, but I suppose a Big Mac once a year won't hurt me - especially if I'm not paying for it. 
   While we're waiting, another group of R&R folks gets to the terminal and gets manifested for a flight.  As you'll see later, they actually left BEFORE we did!  In that group was my old company commander and some of my old troops from my other company.  It was nice to catch up - especially when they said (the troops, not the commander), that the guy who took my job is making me look better every day.
   At 1700 we boarded the plane and sat down.  The pilot joked about the power issue the plane had earlier and everyone laughed.  Everything was all good until the pilot started doing something (preflight checks is my guess), and the power and AC went out again.  Everyone groaned and laughed and wanted to get off the plane.  Someone suggested that the in-flight movie was "Final Destination" and someone else had a tray table that wouldn't stay upright.  Bad omens all around.  Eventually it was back off the plane.
    2000 - another try at the plane.  Everyone is much less jovial and the feeling is one of "what will go wrong next."  This time we actually start taxiing towards the runway.  Then, we turn around.  Great - what this time?  Turns out that some E-7 in the back isn't feeling well, hyperventilating, panic attack, whatever and so they are getting him off the plane.  Is that all it takes?  Sheesh, I could do that.  Back at the terminal we let him off and taxi away again before doing another lap around the nice grass and going BACK again to the terminal.  By now, I'm ready to go to sleep and forget about everything for awhile.
   Off the plane.  No explanation or anything.
   2200 ish - time to get back on the plane again - I don't think I've ever been off and on one plane more often than this one.  The explanation for the last delay was the fact that its unsafe to fly with fuel spewing from the wings.  Go figure.  Someone had filled the wings the night before and when it sat in the sun, it expanded and so when we started moving around it blew out some sort of valve and thats why we had to get off the last time.  They assured us it was safe - this time. 
   Our flight across the ocean was uneventful.  Whatever movie they had wasn't good enough to keep me awake and neither was the first meal - which I slept through.
    We landed in Germany and were immediately bussed away from the actual terminal (with civilians) and to some itty bitty little place.  Boring.  Took pictures.  Wanted to get back on the plane.  Germany was very pretty from the air and actually not too bad on the ground.  But the terminal/cell they let us into was crappy.
   Back on the plane to Kuwait.  Also uneventful.  When we landed it was about 2300 local time and 100 degrees.  Damn.  The daytime was going to suck.