Adjust – Day 16

My parents at the going away ceremony in Indiana a few weeks before we headed out.

Leaving from Indiana and arriving at my temporary home in Afghanistan required me to be ready to adjust. Here is the story of how we got there.

We left late one night on a plane headed to Germany. I called my husband right before we boarded to say I love you and I would call again soon. We had our weapons at our feet our bag crammed into nooks and crannies. To say it was a tight fit would be an understatement. We headed off to Germany and after a little of my nervous excitement wore off I tried to get some rest. We arrived in Germany and had about 2 hours while the plane refueled and crews changed. We re-boarded and were headed to Manas AF in Kyrgyzstan.

We arrived at Manas in the middle of the night and before we could go rest we had to fill out paperwork and go to meeting after meeting. By the time we had completed all the meetings and paperwork breakfast was being served and as a girl who never misses a meal, I choose to eat before sleep. We got to our massive tent and passed out. The lights were on, but it didn’t matter we were so exhausted. I was so excited to be at Manas, it was so much fun to see all the equipment I had learned how to use while at home actually being used to operate the base downrange. It put all the pieces of the training at home together. I spent time relaxing and preparing to head to Afghanistan, still not quite sure what to expect.

It was finally time to head to Bagram AB. Somehow we managed to arrive in the middle of the night yet again. We were greeted with more meetings and paperwork. We finally got to sleep around 0400. Then it was up again at 0700 to head off to meet people around the base. The next day was a mission to see some of the sights and then we ended the day by driving (at night) to our temporary home.

After days of traveling and not knowing what was coming it was nice to have a place to call home. My little tent on Forward Operating Base Morales Frazier.

See all my 31 Days…Military Life