Hey everyone, nope, I'm not in Afghanistan yet. I've only gotten to Kuwait. But let me tell you, you know how they say that getting there is half the fun? I hope to God that's not true. First, it was below freezing at Campbell (+ a 10 mph wind) when it came time to board the plane. Yoiu would think we could wear our cold weather gear, right. Noooo. We had to be only in our ACUs and the SGM was checking. So, while waiting to get on the plane, in 12 degree weather (with wind chill) we were like a bunch of popsicles trying to climb the stairs. Well, it wasn't too bad, but I couldn't feel my hands by the time I got onboard.
We fly from Campbell to our first crewswap/fuel stop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. When we get off of the plane there are about 60 people there to greet us! Most of them Veterans. And a lot of them former Marines. It was amazing. They were there for us! I've never seen anything like it in my 19 years in the Army. I was really touched by their sincerity. They went around talking to us, thanking us for our service and generally trying to make us feel better. Tell you what, it worked. These people took the time out of their lives to let us know that they supported us. They also gave each of us a brand new set of Bose in ear headphones, a phone card and lots of snacks. Those headphones cost $100 each! (The headphones were donated by the Bose company for this purpose. Bose gave their organization 6000 of these to pass out to deploying troops, and didn't ask for anything in return.) From now on, I am going to be a big supporter of Bose. The greeters took a group photo of us to put up in their "Hall of Heros", where they have pics of all of the troops they have greeted. They have done this for over 600 flights! When it was time to get on the plane, the Marine in charge of the greeters called them to attention, and they saluted us! I was so moved by that one gesture I almost came to tears. Seriously. Then our BN CO called us to attention and we returned the salute. I have never started a deployment feeling better in my entire career.
Well, I only have a few miutes left. Next update from the A place. See ya'll later.
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