Afghanistan - Day 3 - Welcome to Bagram
This morning my brother and I had breakfast before he took me to the airport. Since the flight to Bagram leaves from Terminal 2, I needed a ride to the far side of the airport. I checked in and boarded my flight. Being at the back of the check-in line meant that I was given a middle seat. No problem; the flight was less than two and a half hours. As we boarded the chartered 737-200, I could tell the airplane had seen better days. Clearly, this was a single-purpose airplane.
After an uneventful flight we landed in Bagram. Once we moved off the runway, we were escorted by a pickup truck with a big "Follow Me" sign on the cab. The pilots taxiied the plane right behind that little pickup. Once we deplaned we were escorted to the passenger terminal for inprocessing and luggage pickup.
Now I've arrived at dozens of airports all over the place. This was the first time I saw someone holding a piece of paper with my name on it. I felt special that I could hop out of line and walk right up to Chief Warrant Officer Quenga, who is my primary contact here. After initial pleasantries, he took my passport back for inprocessing. After I was signed onto post we picked up my luggage and headed over to billeting. (Billeting is the Army's fancy way of saying "Where to go to find a place to sleep.") My destination: Tent 2. Population: 118 people. On the plus side, it's a short walk to the latrines and the showers.
Chief Quenga gave me a brief orientation to the post. This was facilitated by his ability to procure a vehicle for today only. In nine months of being here this was the first day Chief had driven a vehicle. That luxury won't be available to me every day; my tent is at one end of the post, and the classroom is at the other end of the post. There's about a half-mile to a mile walk in between.
So here I am ready to camp out in the middle of Afghanistan. I think the most challenging aspect for me will be dealing with the atmospheric conditions, namely the dust and the altitude. Both are already viciously working me over, drying me out faster than a dozen hair dryers set to "stun." I've got to keep up my hydration levels on account of both factors. Temperature-wise it will be close to Michigan, with the high reaching 60 and the low in the 20s. I'll be sure to detail more of the goings-on around here in the upcoming days. Take care!
After an uneventful flight we landed in Bagram. Once we moved off the runway, we were escorted by a pickup truck with a big "Follow Me" sign on the cab. The pilots taxiied the plane right behind that little pickup. Once we deplaned we were escorted to the passenger terminal for inprocessing and luggage pickup.
Now I've arrived at dozens of airports all over the place. This was the first time I saw someone holding a piece of paper with my name on it. I felt special that I could hop out of line and walk right up to Chief Warrant Officer Quenga, who is my primary contact here. After initial pleasantries, he took my passport back for inprocessing. After I was signed onto post we picked up my luggage and headed over to billeting. (Billeting is the Army's fancy way of saying "Where to go to find a place to sleep.") My destination: Tent 2. Population: 118 people. On the plus side, it's a short walk to the latrines and the showers.
Chief Quenga gave me a brief orientation to the post. This was facilitated by his ability to procure a vehicle for today only. In nine months of being here this was the first day Chief had driven a vehicle. That luxury won't be available to me every day; my tent is at one end of the post, and the classroom is at the other end of the post. There's about a half-mile to a mile walk in between.
So here I am ready to camp out in the middle of Afghanistan. I think the most challenging aspect for me will be dealing with the atmospheric conditions, namely the dust and the altitude. Both are already viciously working me over, drying me out faster than a dozen hair dryers set to "stun." I've got to keep up my hydration levels on account of both factors. Temperature-wise it will be close to Michigan, with the high reaching 60 and the low in the 20s. I'll be sure to detail more of the goings-on around here in the upcoming days. Take care!
