Monday, July 13, 2009

The Road Home...

I realized that a lot has happened since my last update so it must be time for a refresher.

First of all, the 1174th Transportation Company from the Tennessee National Guard came to relieve us. I really appreciated them doing that so I could leave. We trained them on what we do rode with them on their first few missions.



The picture above is of the Transfer of Authority (TOA) ceremony we had. Once we had transferred authority for our mission there was only one thing left to do.


Just a little water training.


The picture above is the new way that Michael Phelps has to enter the water for all of his swimming events. That way he gives the other guys a chance.


After we patrolled the swimming pool for about two weeks we finally a got a plane out of QWest, Iraq. And I don't think we are allowed to take pictures on the flight line so I would like to thank whoever it was that took this picture and gave it to me.


This is me and my buddy Gepford on the plane headed out of Iraq.


We got down to Kuwait where the food was terrible compared to Iraq but they did have real milk. It's seems a little strange to have to put "100% real, fresh, cow's milk" on the label but it is also reassuring.


This is the tent we stayed in for a day or so while we waited on our flight out of Kuwait. We had to go through some briefings and get everything we had inspected by Customs. I would like to say that we did finally find a use for the Navy in Iraq though. They can search through our bags with the best of them.


We let Kuwait on Independence Day and took the scenic route back to the United States. We went from Kuwait to Germany which was our only stop on the way over. Then we stopped off in Scotland for a little bit. Then we stopped in Iceland. I guess you could say "I went to Iceland and all I got was this blurry picture of a plane." From Iceland we flew right into McGuire Air Force Base which is right next to Ft. Dix, NJ.


This is our barracks that has been home sweet home for a little bit now.

We have been very busy going to lots of classes and trying to get out of here as you can. By the way, did I mention they have grass here in the United States?

The food here is the worst I have ever had in the military. We are resourceful though so we got ingredients for pizza at the grocery store and cooked it on the grill. It turned out pretty well.

Most of our company went home today but a few of us are stuck here at Ft. Dix. We just have a few issues to get worked out and we should be home soon. I don't know when I'll be back home yet but I'll keep you updated.

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