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DAY ONE
AND TWO – SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH AND 19TH:
Today I fly
to Kuwait with Aaron Tippin and his musicians/crew to entertain our troops
in Kuwait and Afghanistan over the Thanksgiving Holidays. This is Aaron’s
second Thanksgiving tour with me – last year we went to Iraq.
Let me give you a
little history on this tour. Everything was all set for us to take his full
band into Afghanistan – not an easy accomplishment because of the difficulty
of getting production into the area. Then about 2 weeks before we were due
to depart several of the musicians decided not to go. We lost the bass
player, keyboards, fiddle, and pedal steel. Fortunately, several of the
guys who were still going in Aaron’s crew could also play instruments. So
now we have electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, and drums with Aaron
also playing guitar plus one sound tech. I am using Coaxial out of Kuwait
again for my production, and they are sending 2 of their techs with us. They
are a really GREAT production company.
So, big sigh of relief that we were able to hold it together and the troops
will still have entertainment for Thanksgiving. Actually, that was not a
real concern as Aaron was going even if it was just me, him and his guitar!
Then last Wednesday, I got a voice mail on my cell phone from Gus – Aaron’s
production guy – and I could tell from his voice that something was
seriously wrong. I was reluctant to call him back and was braced for the
worst. When I called him, he mumbled for a few minutes and then said, “I
just need to know when we’re leaving”! I told him paybacks are hell and
he is on my list.
Aaron always insists that everyone arrive at the airport at least 2 hours
before flight time. That’s really a lot too early, but it’s fine with me.
I had my daughter take me and my 5 duffels (full of t-shirts and photos for
the troops!) to the departure area and I was going to get a skycap to go
down to the parking level to Aaron’s bus to pick up their luggage and gear.
My daughter forgot to bring the t-shirts that we had held out of the duffels
for the guys flying today, so she dropped me off and went back to my house
(15 minutes away) to get them.
I got a call on my cell phone from Aaron’s road manager saying they were
downstairs but that a couple of the guys had forgotten their passports and
had to go back home to get them. I was praying one of the guys wasn’t Aaron
because he lives about an hour from the airport. Plus he never does
anything like that. Well, this time, he did. And the other person lived
even farther away than him. Thankfully because Aaron insisted that we
arrive 2 hours early, if they broke all speed limits, there was a chance
they would get back in time to make the flight.
I got everyone else checked in and we were standing around just “waiting”.
United wouldn’t let me check the luggage in for the others even though I had
their tickets, luggage and a copy of their passports. While we were
waiting, I noticed a cameraman and a man with a News Channel Two jacket on
filming people in the airport. I went over and asked them what they were
doing and they said, “Oh you know. Slow news night. So we’re just out here
filming people.” And I said, “Boy is this your lucky night. That is Aaron
Tippin and he is on his way to Afghanistan to entertain the troops for
Thanksgiving”. J
So, they interviewed him and it will air on the news tonight. My daughter
had her stepdaughter with her and when they started to film Aaron, she ran
up behind him to get in the shot too. We were laughing at her for wanting to
be on TV. Then the cameraman came over to talk to me and she ran up and
said, “That’s my grandmother”. The reporter said, “Grandmother? Now that
doesn’t seem right!”….Thank God! J
She KNOWS not to call me a grandmother. We have had that discussion many
times. Today she told me that when she talks about my trips at her school,
she tells the students that I am her Grandmother BUT she makes sure they
know that I’d don’t look old or wear clothes like a Grandmother. How funny
is that? She was really excited because I’ve decided to take my son,
daughter, son-in-law and her on a short cruise right before Christmas. I
told her she’s off the cruise now. LOL! Lindsey left to go email photos of
Aaron with the troops from last year’s tour to Channel Two and they will
include it in the show tonight. How about that!
We kept calling to see where the guys were with the passports and then the
people at the counter told me that they could not accept the luggage after
30 minutes before flight time. They BARELY made it and I was in a panic
that the bags wouldn’t make it on the plane. Then they started PAGING me
and the others to come to the gate for immediate boarding. I rushed to
security and one of the guys took his computer out of his bag to send it
through but left the computer case. I saw the red tag on it and said “Give
me that”! We cleared security (except for the bottle of water that I forgot
to throw away in my panic and RAN all the way to the gate. I couldn’t
figure out why we were being paged because when we got on the plane, we
still had 20 minutes until our scheduled departure time. The flight
attendants were super nice and said they didn’t know why we were being
rushed to the plane either.
There were two empty seats in the tiny first class cabin (the plane had one
seat on the left and 2 seats on the right) and the flight attendant said we
could bring two of our guys up. We picked Dave because he had driven like a
madman to take Aaron’s wife back to his house to get his passport and Gus
because I wanted to start the “pay back”. When Gus came up front, we let
him think that he had something “questionable” in his checked luggage and
was going to have to get off the plane. He only bought into it for a few
minutes. They also upgraded the only person on the plane in the military –
a little sailor going back to his ship – the Roosevelt. He hasn’t been at
sea yet but goes out in August to Spain, Italy and Turkey.
I sat by a really
nice man who lives in DC and works with computers at the Defense
Department. We talked the entire flight about our frustrations with what
the media is reporting. The flight attendant gave all of us a “box lunch”
that you usually have to buy for the long flight to Kuwait. I didn’t have
the heart to tell her that Aaron and I are in business class. She also told
the guys that there was no alcohol on the flight to Kuwait. I didn’t think
she was right but had to check. We had less than an hour layover, so I ran
for the gate to see if our luggage/equipment was going to make it and check
on the alcohol comment. The guys ran to the bar!
There is definitely alcohol on the flight; our luggage/equipment is
supposedly on the flight AND since I am a “1K” flyer on United (whatever
that is!), I have these things called segment upgrades. It means if there
is space available, I can upgrade one class of service for free even on
international flights. So, they upgraded me from business to first. Now,
I’ve flown ONCE in first on United and it is amazing. There is this little
“desk” in front of the seat. The seat lays flat and there is a pad inside
the desk cubbyhole where your feet go so it is just like being in a bed!
United upgraded me and Chalee Tennison several years ago when we were flying
back from entertaining the troops in Iraq. I wasn’t even sleepy on that
flight but couldn’t resist trying out the “bed”. It was wonderful.
Only problem was, there was no way I was going to move up from business to
first and leave Aaron in business. So, they let me use one of my segments
and upgrade him, too. Of course, when we got on, the ONLY baby on the
entire plane was right across from us and he/she was screaming!
I had a message a couple of days ago that the weather is bad in Afghanistan
and we may be “grounded” in the first city we fly into….if we can even get
in there. Hope they will send us into Iraq if we can’t get into
Afghanistan.
This direct flight from Dulles (DC) to Kuwait and back is new and it is
awesome. I expected it to be full of the troops but there weren’t any on
it.
Yesterday, we were told the flight was full and today when we got on, it was
less than half full. United said that the flight is still profitable
because they make their money on cargo that is being flown over to the
troops!
The food sure is better in first class than even in business class. No
turbulence at all on the flight. We landed and our visas were waiting for
us at the Customs desk – thank you Radisson Hotel. All of our luggage and
gear made it and I managed to keep the number of skycaps down to 5. They
only have the little carts like we use at the airport in the U.S. so there
are usually about 2 dozen men ready to pounce because they all want to carry
one bag and they all want a tip! Our escorts from Kuwait were waiting for
us and told me that the “boss” Clayton Bovey – who I have known for years –
is ill again. They said that he’s been getting sick every time I come to
Kuwait. Guess I’m bad luck for him. Or maybe he’s faking to avoid me. And
I thought he liked me. J
Hotel was definitely
ready for us and gave me a nice suite which I certainly don’t need. All I
need is my laptop and an internet connection. I took the boys out to dinner
in the restaurant which has a fabulous buffet. I think that 3 of the guys
may never have been out of the country before. One guy wanted to know what
the green things were and I explained that they were stuffed grape leaves.
He tried one and said it tasted like varnish! Oh well, he’ll love the
greasy fried food on the bases.
I walked Aaron over to the Starbucks which is next door to the hotel and he
got a cup of decaf. Then I showed him the fabulous gym they have at the
hotel. Came back to my room to answer emails. When I landed our escorts
told me that a Colonel who used to be here was under investigation and that
he was here under “lock up”. He was a fabulous Commander, so I wanted to
know the truth. I emailed his wife and she said it was all just RUMORS.
Unbelievable how these things can take on a life of their own. Just happy
to know that he isn’t in trouble!
Aaron called for me to come help him install SKYPE on his computer. We
spent about an hour getting it set up and then realized he can’t charge to
his credit card from Kuwait on their system! So, we’ll work through that
tomorrow. My microphone has decided to quit working in my laptop, so I have
to deal with that now….
It is after midnight and I’m going to shower and get in the bed. We don’t
have to leave for our first show tomorrow until 1 pm. We will be
performing at Camp Buerhring which is near the Iraq Border, about a 2 hour
drive from here. Below is information on the camp.
Excited to be here and ready to get to the troops!
Jude
Camp
Buehring
Camp Udairi, 15 miles from the Iraq border, has served as the staging and
training base for tens of thousands of Iraq-bound troops. Since opening in
January, 2003, it has been a busy hub for Army Apache, Black Hawk and
Chinook helicopters supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The
Army’s permanent aviation base camp in Kuwait has been renamed in memory of
an officer who died in a rocket attack last fall on the Coalition
Provisional Authority headquarters in Baghdad. In a brief ceremony attended
by about 50 people on 08 May 2004, Camp Udairi was renamed Camp Buehring in
honor of Lt. Col. Charles H. “Chad” Buehring, who had been the senior
psychological operations officer in Iraq at the time of his death. A
monument and plaque memorializing Buehring were dedicated as part of the
event.
Buehring, 40, of Winter Springs, Fla., was a 1985 graduate of The Citadel
and served 18 years in the Army, according to a biography posted on the Web
site www.arlingtoncemetery.net. He served in the U.S. Army Special Forces
and had been working with Iraqi media in Baghdad to publicize the work of
coalition troops.
Buehring was killed Oct. 26, 2003, when a guerrilla’s rocket struck his 11th
floor room at the Al Rasheed Hotel, home to many officers and soldiers who
work at CPA headquarters. He was buried three weeks later at Arlington
National Cemetery in a funeral attended by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul
Wolfowitz, who had been staying one floor above Buehring at the hotel when
the attack occurred.
Camp
Buehring is a US Army facility set in the Kuwait desert that is packed with
morale and recreation facilities that could rival some US bases. For all the
benefits here though, Camp Buehring is still a desert camp, far from home
and the friends and families of these Marines and Sailors. A fully-stocked
exchange, several phone centers, an internet café, a coffee house, gym
facilities, Burger King and a 24-hour Pizza Inn are just a few of the
amenities here topping the Marines’ “favorites list.”
However the one favorite nearly everyone agrees on is the dining facility
where meals like steak and lobster are not uncommon. The chow-hall, as the
Marines call it, is one of the largest facilities on the camp and is capable
of serving several thousand troops at every meal. Though the line nearly
always extends several hundred feet beyond the entrance, six fast-moving
food lines ensure the Marines and Sailors never wait to long to eat.
But services at Camp Buehring obviously go well beyond these basics. Marines
enjoy the video-chat services offered at the Internet Café. For five dollars
an hour, a Marine can get a computer with a high-speed connection, a webcam
and headphones and then connect with a friend or loved one at home,
providing they have the same capability.
A unique challenge to Camp Buehring’s surge-related activities is its
distinction as one of Kuwait’s few enduring camps, meaning it’s slated to
sustain operations for many years. This forces the camp’s command cell staff
to continue big picture operations, such as completing important
infrastructure upgrades, while still maintaining the camp’s immediate role
as one of Kuwait’s largest transient camps.
Heavy-equipment transporters loaded with M1-A1 Abrams tanks and Bradley
Fighting Vehicles sat in about a dozen single-file lines on a sandy staging
area 23 October 2004 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. An array of 30 or 40 more
vehicles dotted the horizon, awaiting the rest of the trucks slated to carry
them into battle.
The 256th Brigade Combat Team, sometimes called the “Tiger Brigade,” is the
first unit in the third rotation of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dubbed OIF
’04-’06 by the Pentagon to mark the years the first and last units of the
rotation respectively deploy and redeploy, this installment is a leap
forward, officials said, in the complex reception, staging and onward
integration, or RSOI process of units passing through Kuwait on their trip
up north.
Most Soldiers with the 256th, an enhanced separate brigade made up of
various Louisiana National Guard units and select Guard units from New York,
Wisconsin, Minnesota and other places, were probably unaware of the problems
with past OIF rotations. They weren’t around for the long lines, broken cots
and other inconveniences that plagued the troops who came before them. They
are, however, the first beneficiaries of a number of improvements affecting
troops making the transition from Kuwait to Iraq.
The Soldiers lauded the camp’s air-conditioned billets and generous portions
of food served up at the dining facility. Staff Sgt. Stanley Shavers Jr., a
256th tank commander, even joked that the unit’s time in Kuwait has been a
little too easy.
Hull Technicians from USS Emory S. Land (AS 39 ) joined forces with their
Army counterparts in Kuwait to up-armor combat vehicles in January 2005. The
15 Sailors volunteered to assist the Army in the pre-cutting of ballistic
steel sheets fashioned into doors and panels and other parts to up-armor
vehicles, primarily High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs).
DAY
THREE – NOVEMBER 20TH:
After 4 hours of sleep, up to
hit the gym. Great gym here. Then had breakfast with my boys, showered,
answered email for two hours and met in the lobby.
We departed the Radisson Hotel at 1 pm for our 2 hour drive to Camp Buehring
– only 10 miles from the Iraqi Border. Arrived a few minutes early after a
JARRING ride down dirt roads to get to the Camp. Had blacktop most of the
way but several miles of potholes on the dirt roads. There were sheep and
camels wandering along beside the road. Then, you would see beautiful
multi-level homes, either already occupied or being built. We also saw
tents pitched and were told that sometimes the Kuwaiti’s will “camp out”
like that to remind them of their “roots”. As you know, since the Gulf War
when we gave them back their oil, no “Kuwaiti” has to work. They live on a
government subsidy from the oil money. Anyone working in Kuwait is from
another country – mostly from India, Philippines, Malaysia.
The base has really built up since I was there in December, 2003. They have
built a nice, big, permanent stage with an air-conditioned green room
attached. No need for air-conditioning today. I had to wear my flight
jacket. Wind was really strong but died down when the sun went down.
We all stopped by and checked out the stage then Aaron and I plus his
drummer (turned videographer) went to meet with the Commander. The
Commander was on two weeks leave to visit his family in the U.S. but we met
with Lt. Col. Baldy and about 30 other troops stationed at this Camp. They
had a terrific slide show presentation for us. We learned that this is a
huge Camp but it does not have its own water or electricity supply. There
are 9,000 (yes nine thousand) “contractors” who come in each day bringing
supplies including 900,000 gallons of water per day! Everyone has to take
“combat” showers (which I have done many times). You get in, get wet, turn
off the water, soap up, turn on the water, rinse, turn off the water and
jump out. ‘Cause if you run out of water, you’re out until the next day!!!
All the electricity is provided by generators and they have huge lights
strategically placed throughout the Camp. But where there isn’t a light
nearby, it is the darkest dark you’ve ever seen…like being in a cave.
Everyone has to wear these florescent straps so they can be seen at night.
Because it is such a transient base, the number “living” here varies every
day. They have 3 huge Dining Facilities plus several fast food restaurants
– Burger King and Green Beans Coffee are open 24 hours, plus a Subway,
Baskin Robbins, bad Chinese food
J
and several other places.
As shown in last night’s report, the troops that are deploying to Iraq come
to this Camp first for training. They could be here for a few days or
several weeks. They also have a Humvee Simulator which simulates a humvee
turning over and teaches them what to do and how to get out. Lt. Col. Baldy
said that it has saved many lives already.
After the presentation, Aaron took photos with everyone and signed over 100
photos. We were all presented with beautiful certificates thanking us for
our support. As if “WE” are the ones who need to be thanked. Last time I
looked, we don’t have to ration our water, wear a strap at night because
there are no street lights or be taught how to get out of an overturned
humvee!
We went to the DFAC (dining facility for you civilians!) and had chow
(dinner in this case). It was disappointing because one of the highlights
of ever day for me is sharing a meal with the troops and getting to know
them. The DFAC wasn’t open when we had chow, so we all sat together with
our MWR escorts.
The show started right on time and there were approximately 2,000 men and
women crowding as close as possible to the stage and singing along with
Aaron. The hotel had given me a huge bottle of what looked like champagne
but turned out to be sparkling grape juice. Aaron had me take it with us so
he could make the troops think he was drinking champagne. You know that
there is NO alcohol allowed in Kuwait, right? He couldn’t remember the song
where he wanted me to bring it on stage so I was trying to listen for his
“cue”. I was backstage sorting through the t-shirts when he said, “I sure
am thirsty. Wish I had something to drink”. I panicked trying to find the
bottle and made a wild dash for the stage. Only I forgot there is a step up
to get out the backstage door and almost fell flat on my face. Made it to
the stage and the roar from the crowd when he popped it open and drank from
it was deafening. I thought they might drag him off the stage to take it
away from him!
He had such a great show. I walked around and talked to some of the men and
women and they were all so appreciative that he was there. He signed
autographs for everyone in line which was almost 400 people. I know because
I tear the photos off the autograph pads and give them to everyone in line.
That’s my way of getting to speak to everyone and learn a little about
them. Met several National Guardsmen from my home state – Alabama and a
few people from my adopted State of Tennessee. We finished up the
autograph session and went by Burger King for Aaron to get something to
eat. He didn’t eat before the show with the rest of us. I went to Green
Beans for coffee and there was a sweet little female soldier buying coffee
too. I paid for her coffee as well and she seemed so surprised. We do
little things like this that seem so insignificant to us but really make a
difference to these wonderful men and women protecting our freedom.
We were back at the hotel by midnight and I actually got Aaron’s SKYPE mail
working so he can call home on his computer. Of course, my office worked on
this from their end all day today and of course, my microphone still doesn’t
work in my computer.
Tomorrow we fly to Afghanistan. I can’t mention the name of the Camp until
after we leave the area for security purposes. Depending upon our lodging,
I may or may not have access to email. If you don’t hear from me, everyone
have a WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING and please know that we will be giving out
lots of Thanksgiving Day hugs to our troops in Afghanistan on your behalf.
Jude
DAY FOUR –
NOVEMBER 21ST:
We all met in
the lobby at 10:45 am – excited to be heading to Afghanistan. It was about
a one hour drive to the Air Base in Kuwait and as we were clearing the gate,
our escort received a phone call that our flight had been diverted and we
would not be leaving at 2:45 but more like 6:00 pm. Happens all the time,
so it didn’t come as much of a surprise. Then when we arrived at the
passenger terminal, we were told that there were NO flights to Afghanistan
today and we would have to wait until tomorrow. That was obviously not
acceptable to me unless we exhausted every option on how to get us there.
The troops in Afghanistan refer to themselves as “the forgotten war” because
they rarely receive celebrity entertainment. It is extremely difficult –
travel-wise – to get into Afghanistan not to mention the nightmare of having
to fly in ALL the production and backline. But, our troops have been told
that Aaron Tippin is coming to perform for them over the Thanksgiving
Holidays and by God, we were determined to not disappoint them!
When I questioned WHY there was no aircraft anywhere that could take us to
Afghanistan, I was told that the weather was bad in Afghanistan and no
planes were being allowed to land. That did not ring true with me because I
have checked the weather for Afghanistan EVERY DAY. Before we departed
Nashville, we had been warned that they were having a lot of rain and that
we might be “grounded” at the main base when we arrived. So, I have checked
the weather daily and this morning, the internet confirmed that it was
partly cloudy and in the 50’s.
We took the guys to the DFAC for lunch while our MWR rep continued to try
and find a solution to our predicament. Afterwards, Aaron went to Navy
Customs to sign autographs. I quizzed our MWR rep on WHO told him the
weather was bad in Afghanistan. I finally insisted that he take me
somewhere with a DSN line so that I could call Afghanistan myself. Once
that happened, I confirmed that the weather was fine – partly cloudy and in
the 50’s.
I had mentioned to Aaron earlier that day that we should watch the sky at
around 2:45 pm and if a C-17 took off, it was probably ours leaving without
us. Just like clockwork –at 2:40 pm, a C-17 took off. Coincidence? We will
never know. It was an extremely frustrating day.
The Radisson where we had been staying but had checked out earlier today,
was sold out for the night. We finally found rooms at the Hilton. They
still had my name in their system from when I was here in June of 2003 with
the first group of entertainers to come in since the war began. Because we
have a call time of 3:30 AM tomorrow, Aaron wanted to eat and go to bed.
The hotel restaurant didn’t open until 7 pm, so our escorts drove us all to
Applebee’s. I was “skeptical” but it was remarkably like Applebee’s food in
the U.S. We had a quick dinner and returned to the hotel.
Going to try and sleep a couple of hours now and give everyone a wakeup call
at 3 am. Keep your fingers crossed. We NEED to get to Afghanistan tomorrow
because there is a chance we can still keep our original performance
schedule and not have to disappoint anyone.
Jude
DAY FIVE – NOVEMBER
22ND:
By
the way, when we got stuck in Kuwait, normally I would have insisted that
they set up a performance for us at one of the other camps. However, all
our equipment, guitars and even our autograph sheets had been palletized and
taken to a secure area where we did not have access to getting them back.
We didn’t even have autograph sheets just to do a meet and greet. PLUS,
the guys were only going to get a couple of hours sleep before we had to go
to the airfield again.
I got up at 2 am to dress, check out and get the guys going. I was
DETERMINED to get us to Afghanistan today. We arrived at the passenger
terminal and this time I handled the check-in. We were told that our flight
would be arriving as scheduled and we would depart at 9:00. But we were
required to attend a briefing at 6:15 am. I KNEW that we should not be in
that terminal and attending that briefing. Protocol always sets us up in
the DV Lounge and gives us our briefing. I insisted that our MWR rep call
Protocol and get them involved. I was amazed that they had not already been
told of our visit. When we were walking over to eat breakfast, I overheard
one of our escorts saying that our flight yesterday was NOT canceled –
EXACTLY AS I THOUGHT. There was no bad weather in Afghanistan and our
flight left Kuwait right on time – without us. The flight crew had even
thrown people off the plane to make room to accommodate the “MWR” group.
Then we were listed as “no-shows”. The C-17 we saw taking off at 2:35 pm
was our flight! I was so angry I could have chewed nails in half. If MWR
had taken us to the DV Lounge as they always do, we would have arrived
Afghanistan as scheduled.
After breakfast and our briefing, the Protocol Officer showed up. He
apologized and said he was not even aware that we were there. Then he asked
what he could do and I told him, get us on the plane NOW before the other 90
people and all the pallets go on because I want to be SURE we get to
Afghanistan. No problem. He drove us out to the flight line and I took
t-shirts and coins to the C-17 flight crew and thanked them for giving us a
ride. They allowed us to hang out with them for about 1 ½ hours until they
were fueled up and ready to go. The flight crew was from Charleston, SC and
Aaron is from SC,so they hit it off immediately. Such a great group of
guys. Brock, Bill, Pete, Travis, Jules, Sam, and John -- 816 EAS out of Al
Udeid! By the way, we are flying to Baghram, AB today.
I had a few more minutes of stress because the flight crew thought we were
their ONLY passengers. They were surprised to learn that there were about
90 more passengers plus our 2 pallets of gear/luggage and 3 humvees. There
was discussion that we were going to be bumped or that our pallets would not
make it. Again, not an option. They finally settled on leaving one of the
humvees behind.
The flight crew invited Aaron and I to sit on the flight deck with them
during the flight. Since Aaron is a helicopter and fixed wing pilot, he
loved it. I saw the “islands” that they are building off the coast of
Dubai. They are building these with sand in the ocean and they will be
shaped like the map of the world. Oprah has purchased one already.
Supposedly in 2010, the oil will be gone in Dubai and they are looking to
tourism to pick up the loss.
We were delayed by an hour when we were departing because of air traffic.
We made up for a little time in air because of a good tail wind. Our flight
crew doesn’t even get to rest. They have to fly some wounded troops to
Landstuhl, Germany as soon as we de-plane. I had planned to sleep on the 4
hour flight but ended up chatting with the flight crew instead.
We landed at Baghram AB and were met by our escorts for the tour of
Afghanistan. We were going to be taking a one-hour C-130 flight from
Baghram to Camp Salerno in a few hours. We were supposed to play that Camp
tonight and so far the only thing we have missed was our remote visit to
Camp Chapman.
We had some lunch/dinner at the food court and then went over to wait for
our C-130 flight. While we were waiting, a soldier came up and introduced
himself to us. We were talking to him and he rolled up his sleeve to show
us his arm. He was an amputee! His arm and hand looked so real and he
could even shake our hands. It was amazing and made me so happy to see him
back in the area. All of the men and women we meet at Walter Reed,
Bethesda, and Landstuhl have one goal in mind – to stay in the military and
go back to their “boys” defending OEF and OIF and finish the job. I asked
him if he had difficulty convincing the Army to let him stay in and he said
it had been a major fight with the Pentagon. But he was there and doing his
job and he was even Special Forces!
Flight to Camp Salerno was short and we did the combat landing. Think it
caught our “new” guys off-guard when we started banking and dropping out of
the sky. We met our MWR reps as soon as we landed and they said that about
900 people had been waiting since 6 pm for us to land. It was 8:30 then and
I knew it would take at least an hour to set up the stage. We dropped our
bags off at lodging –which were long building with rows of cots. I was at
this camp last September with Chely Wright, Dave Price, and Joey Gilbert.
The lodging they gave us this time was definitely not as nice as we had
then. When we were here before, we performed outside right beside their
gym. They have now built a nice stage with dressing rooms attached. It
rained here last week and since there is no drainage, there is still mud
everywhere. Latrines are a longer hike for the guys than the girls for
once!
While the guys were setting up the stage, Aaron signed autographs and took
photos with everyone in the audience. We went through over 200 autographs
sheets. While I was handing out the photos, a guy came up to me and said
that he met me at Camp Summerall, Iraq in 2005! I couldn’t believe he
remembered me. He asked about Lt. Col. Kyle McClelland who was his
Commander and is now my dear friend. We took a photo together to email to
Kyle. I love it when I see men and women that I have met at other Camps.
Lets me know that they are still okay and still believe in their mission.
We have two “techs” from the Production Company in Kuwait. The owner had
warned me that they were “hard workers” but needed a lot of babysitting.
What he did not tell me is that they don’t understand much English! They
were responsible for wiring all our speakers, amps, monitors properly. Gus,
our sound tech, asked them if they had everything ready and they told him
“yes”. When he turned on the power, it blew up the system! So, we had no
monitors, no amps, and lost one entire stack of speakers. The troops had to
wait even longer for Aaron to start performing.
He finally took the stage at 10:30 pm and it was magic. Until you stand
backstage and see the reaction of the men and women – especially when he
sings a patriotic song like, “Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagles
Fly”, you can’t comprehend the pride and emotion that you feel. I rarely
get through an entire performance without at least a few tears and watching
the audience makes me realize how proud I am to be an American. He got a
couple of standing ovations and we wrapped up the show at around midnight.
Since we have to be ready to go at 4:45 am, I hiked over to the shower and
got that out of the way. Got in bed at 1:00 am and had to get up at 3:45
am. Shorter night than usual. It is so DARK here because the base is not
allowed to have ANY lights on. The flashlights have to use red, blue, or
green bulbs but I remembered that from my last visit and I was prepared.
Climbed into the sleeping bag (and I am such NOT a camper!) and slept my 2 ½
hours. Oh, this base has huge VIPER snakes in the Summer time and wild
hogs running around in the winter. THAT makes for a good night’s sleep. J
DAY SIX –
NOVEMBER 23rd - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
I was afraid
I wouldn’t wake up, so I really didn’t sleep even my couple of hours. We
were en route to the passenger terminal by 3:45 am. Once we checked in, we
went over to the DFAC for breakfast. Breakfast was pretty “sparse” compared
to other days because they are gearing up for the big Thanksgiving feast
later today. We walked over and passed the Chapel that I had toured last
year. I had met the Chaplain at dinner last year and he was so proud of his
new facilities.
Wished all the guys and girls in the DFAC a Happy Thanksgiving and went back
over to the PAX terminal to wait for our flight. We will take a C130 to
Kandahar AB today where we will have the big performance tonight. But
Aaron, Dave, Greg and I will immediately chopper out to a couple of remote
Camps while the guys are setting up for the show. Kandahar and the
surrounding remote camps that we will visit are considered very “Hot” right
now. We’ll have to wear our protective gear on these visits but it will be
good to let the men and women deployed there know that we care about them
and are not afraid to come visit with them.
The flight left pretty much on time and we were the only ones on the
aircraft. Flight crew was not overly friendly at first but I gave them
t-shirts and coins and they warmed up a little. J Aaron said one of our
escorts had told him we were flying to Baghram first to re-fuel. But when
we landed, we knew it wasn’t Baghram. Turns out it wasn’t Kandahar either.
We had landed at Kabul! On the flight over, we saw some beautiful
snow-covered mountains. We were told to de-plane and go into the cafeteria
which is called “Air Force One”. We walked around for about 30 minutes and
got some coffee. Several guys recognized Aaron so we signed some photos.
One of the guys insisted on buying my coffee although I was insisting on
buying his! I tried to set up a little “Meet and Greet” but we didn’t have
time. Plus the base has lots of multi-national forces and we saw very few
Americans. It really doesn’t matter to the troops where they are from
though. Around the world, they are just appreciative that someone comes out
to see them. I got to chat for several minutes with some troops from
Italy. They will be back home before next Summer and will try to come to
one of my festivals there. I think. There was a bit of a communication
problem. J
We had been informed that a DV would be flying with us to Kandahar but they
wouldn’t tell us who it was. I thought I knew all the DV’s in the area over
Thanksgiving and started trying to guess. All they would tell me is that I
would recognize him when he got on the plane. Well, when he got on, I knew
that I had seen him “somewhere” before – probably on the news, but didn’t
know who he was. He was introduced as Lt. General Gary North – the
Commander of 9th Air Force and USCENTAF! He came over and
introduced himself to each of us and chatted with Aaron for a while. I gave
him one of my coins (thus insuring that we would get one of his!) and then
we buckled up for take off. Only there was a strange noise and about 10
minutes later, the engines shut down. The flight crew said they had to
replace a “panel”. So we all were able to stand up and talk. Learned that
the General knows my friend General Sargeant who is now in Korea. Also
learned that General North was at Kunsan and Kadena in Okinawa – probably in
Okinawa when I was taking entertainment to the area. It seemed to be taking
a lot longer to replace the panel than they had anticipated and I was
getting the feeling that we would be performing at Kabul that night instead
of Kandahar. Someone mentioned having to climb up on top of the plane to
replace the panel and Aaron immediately offered to do so. Got some great
shots of him walking around on top of the C-130 and the great news is – the
plane was fixed and ready to fly.
It was a short flight to Khandahar and when we landed we were surrounded by
military trying to move us in 10 different directions all at once They were
anxious to get Aaron and I and a couple of his musicians into the waiting
Blackhawks for a Visit to an FOB (forward operating base). Things were
getting pretty “tense” with my group and the folks trying to rush us so I
had to step in and try to calm things down a little. I explained to our new
escort that if we didn’t wait for the pallets to be downloaded so that we
could grab 2 acoustic guitars and a duffle bag full of photos, that there
really wasn’t any reason for us to go the FOB. That seemed to make sense to
him but he continued to try and make things move forward a little
prematurely. We finally got all of our gear and I was “somewhat” confident
that the guys we were leaving behind would be taken to the stage to load
in.
The big push was the fact that the blackhawks were on the ground waiting for
us. But, I had already been told that the choppers were dedicated just for
our mission, so I knew they were not going to leave us. When we got to the
airstrip, of course all the chopper pilots and crew wanted photos with Aaron
which delayed us even more. We were finally boarding the aircraft and I had
just put one foot inside to pull myself in when I felt someone put their
hands on my bottom and shove as hard as possible. I went down on my hands
and knees inside the chopper and looked around to see who had done it. It
was the Major who had been trying to hurry us up! Very unprofessional. I
didn’t say anything to him because I could have gotten him into a LOT of
trouble. Aaron and Dave (his musician) thought I had tripped but I told
them afterwards what happened. I thought I was pretty lucky to come out
with just bruised knees!
We took off for Camp Lane WAY north of Kahdahar. This is a Special Forces
FOB and located in the mountains in the “middle of nowhere”. The guys at
that Camp most certainly deserved some Thanksgiving cheer. I have flown all
over Afghanistan so the terrain wasn’t a surprise to me. It is always
strange to see the Nomads living in tents in areas where there is absolutely
nothing but desert and mountains. I don’t know what they do for food but
our escort said that the dig wells wherever they put their tents for water.
I cannot imagine living like that.
To say that the troops at Camp Lane were delighted to see us is quite an
understatement. Aaron signed autographs for all of them and took photos
with them. Then he and Dave sang about 5 songs for them. It was really
hard to leave and go back to the “luxuries” of Kandahar.
No problems on the chopper back and we were taken straight to the stage
where Aaron did a couple of songs for his sound check. I had one of the
escorts take me to lodging to see if ANY of my bags had made it. By the
time I got back to the stage, someone had taken Aaron to his DV quarters and
I had no idea where he was. The guys wanted to eat Thanksgiving dinner with
the troops and since I realized that I had not eaten since 5:30 that
morning, I went with them. The chow hall wasn’t open for another 15 minutes
when we arrived, so I ran an errand while the guys stood in line. By the
time I got back, the line was LONG and it took me about 20 minutes to get
inside. I didn’t have time to eat more than a couple of bites of food and
then we had to rush to get the guys to lodging so they could shower. Only
problem is, our van driver had no idea where our lodging was located. I had
given my key to Jana (our escort from Baghram) so I didn’t even know my
building number. We finally found the guys lodging and I had the van driver
take me back to the show site. No one was at the show site other than some
really nice KBR employees. They made some phone calls for me and took me to
my lodging. It is the same “area” that I stayed in with Little Big Town in
2004. Rows and rows of building with individual room inside each building.
Only now they have put the showers and toilets at the end of the hallway
INSIDE the building. Before, you had to hike about a half mile to the
latrines which were in tents outside. I had told the van driver to pick
up the boys at 7:15 pm for the 7:30 pm show. But, Jana said she had someone
coming to pick us up. No one showed up and I was getting pretty stressed
that I could not get to the stage. Jana finally found a DSN phone so she
could call for transportation.
By the time we arrived at the stage, it was 7:35 pm and the band was waiting
as was a huge audience. Someone told me that the show had been pushed back
to 8:30 pm because the “General” couldn’t get there until 8:15 pm! I was NOT
going to make those men and women sit there for another hour waiting for
Aaron to perform because of this. Then one of the other escorts said that
Kandahar doesn’t even have a “General”! The confusion was unbelievable. I
had someone take me over to show me where Aaron’s quarters were located and
got him back over to the show site to begin the performance.
They wanted him to ride in on a humvee in the “gunner” position holding an
American Flag – which he did – and it was a very cool “entrance”. It was a
really great show on a new permanent stage that they have built on the
“Boardwalk” which was just being completed when I was here with Little Big
Town. It was a very special, moving “Thanksgiving” show and I’m glad this
is where I got to spend Thanksgiving. I handed out photos to the autograph
line and got to wish everyone a “Happy Thanksgiving”. I also met some
troops from Holland who knew the cities where my festivals are located
there. One guy even lives in the town where the festival is held.
Aaron had not eaten anything since breakfast and the only thing backstage
were some sandwiches that had bread that was now very hard, a paper thin
slice of turkey and a slice of cheese...no mustard or mayo! That’s what he
had for Thanksgiving lunch/dinner. But, for us, it wasn’t about the
“food”. It was about saying thank you to the men and women defending our
freedom and we were very happy to have accomplished that.
I arranged for Aaron to go “shoot something and blow something up” early the
next morning. That had been his only request for the tour. I got him
covered with an escort and told him I was not going with him. Went back to
lodging and called home to wish my family a Happy Thanksgiving. They were
just finishing up cooking and were getting ready to eat. It’s hard missing
holidays with our families but these men and women in our military must do
so as a way of life and it’s a small price for us as civilians to do to
postpone our celebrations so that we can be with them.
Got in bed at a “decent hour” and will get to catch up on some of my
correspondence tomorrow morning before we depart for the airfield at 11 am.
We will be flying back to Baghram for a show tomorrow night.
DAY SEVEN– NOVEMBER 24TH – WE THINK IT IS FRIDAY!
Had a moment
of joy when I saw the DSL line in my room. But, it won’t let me connect!
Can you believe I have not checked email in THREE DAYS. I did ask my
daughter to check it for me while I’m away though. I will have about 600
when I can open it again – hopefully tonight!
Had a wonderful shower and then had an hour to catch up on “work” – like
writing these darn road reports!! We go to the Airstrip at 11:00 and
hopefully depart at noon for Baghram. No time for a remote visit today. L
But, the show tonight should be well-attended. We fly back to Kuwait
tomorrow and I’m already feeling sad to be leaving. But, I have the visit
at the end of December to Iraq to look forward too!
We arrived at the PAX terminal and the person who had promised to have food
delivered there for my guys who wanted to sleep in this morning wasn’t
around. I finally located someone who knew where it was and was able to get
my guys fed. Aaron came in with the Major from “shooting” and then toured
the PAX Terminal. This is the terminal where we dropped the J-Dam Bomb that
ended the Taliban reign here and it left a HUGE hole. They are never going
to cover the hole but have turned it into a memorial. I saw it when I was
here with Little Big Town, too.
While I was standing outside waiting for our flight to be called, someone
said that 4 Generals were about to land. I was talking to someone when I
heard my name called. Michael Peterson and Command Sgt. Major Gainey walked
up. CSM Gainey is the person I met at the Pentagon last May when Kyle was
showing us his photo in the hallway. He is such a wonderful person and
loves his troops and his job. He is the Sr. Enlisted Advisor to the
Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff – Peter Pace. (Steve, HE knows you
too!)
Again, the C-130 was not configured for our 2 pallets of equipment and they
were telling us that we were going to have to leave it and they would bring
it later. NOT!!! We’d NEVER see it in time for the show. They finally
agreed to let us take it but bumped some other people off the flight. When I
got on the plane, I heard someone call my name and it as Major General
Hargett from the Tennessee National Guard!! It was pretty wild seeing all
these Nashville folks in Afghanistan!!!
I sat by CMS Gainey on the flight over and had the most fascinating
conversation. He is such a great speaker because he talks from his heart.
He told me about speaking to a group and asking each one of them if they
thought America was at war. He said everyone but one person answered
“yes”. He asked the one person who said “no” why he thought that. The
soldier told him that he felt the Department of Defense was at war but that
America was not at war because the U.S. has already forgotten what happened
on 9/11. It was a very accurate statement.
As soon as we landed, we were met and escorted to lodging. My heat was not
working and the escort called to have it fixed. We went by Subway for a
quick sandwich and then we went to the JOC and visited several offices. We
took Aaron on the bridge to meet all the people working in that secure
area. I had visited there in September of 2005 with Chely and Dave Price
and remembered the area well. That was the tour where I met Lt. Col. (soon
to be Colonel) Tim Sughre who has now become my dear friend. Wish he had
still been here but glad that he is back safely in Belgium. Aaron signed
250 autographs during these stops! I got another dog tag to add to the ones
I have from Iraq and Kuwait. J
Went to the stage for a quick sound check and then to the room for Aaron to
take a nap. My heater is still not working in my room! Aaron and I are in
DV Quarters which is a suite with a shared sitting area between bedrooms.
The heater in the sitting area is working and Aaron’s heater is working so
my room was slightly warm from the sitting area heat.
Last time I was here, there was a Fallen Heroes Ceremony and there was
another one today. They lost a soldier the night before we arrived. For
the ceremony, they close down all the roads and everyone walks out to the
side of the road. The casket is draped in a flag and driven past and then
loaded onto the aircraft for transport back to the U.S. We have actually
flown with the caskets before and it is a very solemn, very painful, moving
experience. When a Camp loses someone, it is like losing a family member.
These men and women become “family” over here and the joys and sorrows
experienced are just as happy and painful as in a real family.
Show time was at 8 pm and the clam shell was PACKED to capacity. The crowd
was definitely Aaron Tippin fans! They stood for about half the songs he
sang. It was the perfect way to end our tour of Afghanistan. The Command
presented everyone with beautiful plaques before we departed. Aaron signed
another 400 autographs after the concert. A friend of mine in the Air
National Guard in St. Joe, Missouri had given me the names of three people
that I was going to say hello too. I had their names announced and asked
them to come to the stage. I was surprised with our flight crew from
today’s trip came up and said that two of the guys were helping them out.
Our flight crew was from Alaska, so I never thought to ask if they knew the
two guys. But the Missouri Guard is helping them out. One of the guys was
already asleep because he has to fly today but they went and got the other
guy out of his quarters so I could take a photo with him to send to our
buddy. I gave everyone t-shirts and coins, too.
Got back to lodging before midnight and realized we didn’t eat any dinner.
Oh well. Not unusual on this trip! My heat is still not working and I took
a shower and the hot water ran out after about 30 seconds. Nothing like a
cold shower in a cold room in Afghanistan! I had to use the hair dryer to
warm my feet before going to bed.
Jude
DAY EIGHT–
NOVEMBER 25th – BACK TO KUWAIT:
Just could not
get my feet warm all night long! I had on so many clothes, I looked like
the Michelin Tire Man when I crawled into bed. At about 3 am, I gave up and
got a fleece jacket out of my bag. I put one foot in each leg and tried to
sleep. Didn’t work. My feet were still freezing. I finally got up at 6:30
and got dressed for today’s flight to Kuwait. Sure hope we have the same
flight crew from SC today. They were so sweet to us.
We went over to the DFAC to eat and I found a table with a couple of men
sitting at it and asked if I could eat with them. Got started talking and
asked what they “do” on Base. Of course, one of them was Special Forces.
I am like a “magnet”. Every time I pick my “victims” at a meal, I either
sit with Special Forces or a Chaplain. Always try to find out early on so I
can adjust my language accordingly!
J
Aaron and I went with
our escorts to visit several different offices and sign some more photos for
them. By the time we finished up, it was time to go to the flight line. I
was going to have Subway make sandwiches for everyone because our flight was
scheduled to depart at noon and it is a 4 ½ hour flight. Only when we got
to the flight line, they said I didn’t have time to buy the sandwiches!
We were allowed to board first and I repeatedly asked if our pallets of
equipment and luggage had been loaded. I was assured that everything was in
order. Our flight crew this time is out of Washington State and also really
nice guys. There are only 5 crew members this time and they were delighted
to have Aaron sit up on the deck with them for the flight. I opted to sit
below and work this flight. Lots of work to catch up on. I gave out
t-shirts and cds and then the load master came up and said we were ready to
go and didn’t have any cargo this trip. That’s when my heart stopped. Our
pallets were not on the plane and of course, the crew had not been advised
that we even had any pallets. The crew was great. They got on the radio
and got someone out to the airplane immediately. I gave them phone numbers
for all of our escorts and within 15 minutes, the 2 huge pallets of
equipment and luggage were rolling towards the airplane. Got everything
loaded and off we went – back to Kuwait.
I did spend a little of the flight time up on deck and this time got a GREAT
view of the islands they are building off the coast of Dubai. I even got a
decent photo of the “palm tree” islands that already have buildings on them.
Everyone I met on this trip commented on how nice and “down to earth” Aaron
seems to be and asks if he is really that way. I tell them they will never
see me bring anyone who is not sincere on one of these tours. We don’t get
paid to come over here and we all do this from our heart. Our escort said
that sometimes they have celebrities who get tired and refuse to sign
autographs and that we were a “welcome change” and the “best tour he has had
since he’s been here”.
J
The show last night was even better because he talked from the stage more
than usual. When he talks, everyone in the audience knows that he is
speaking from his heart, that he understands their sacrifices and that he
TRULY appreciates them and is there for one reason – to let them know
this. One thing that really thrills Aaron is to have someone come up and
tell him they saw him when he entertained with Bob Hope in the first Gulf
War. His comment to me was that these people are now in their 30’s so they
had to be “babies” during the first gulf war. Our pilots yesterday were in
their mid-20’s and already had an unbelievable amount of “in-flight hours”.
Our escorts were waiting for us when we landed. Hotel had our rooms ready
and again, they gave me a suite. This is nice but it is such a waste. I
never use anything but the internet, bed and bath. My phone didn’t work in
the bedroom and the way this suite was configured, I had to go through 2
other rooms to get to the one in the sitting area. Hotel tried to fix it
but it couldn’t be fixes until tomorrow – when we check out. I took
everyone out to dinner at a steakhouse next door that was supposed to be
excellent. It was. Everyone – including Aaron – was SO tired. I’ve seen
it before and know that while a lot of it is physical exhaustion, it is also
“mental exhaustion” and the let down from being on such a “high” with the
troops to knowing that we are going back daily routine of our lives back
home. I can’t explain the feeling we all get from knowing that simply by
coming over here and entertaining, shaking hands, taking photos, and saying
“thank you” makes us feel like we have a “purpose” every day and the
instant gratification of seeing our accomplishments.
When I got back to my room, I realized that I had forgotten to get my credit
card receipt from the restaurant. I went back over and it took about a half
hour to secure a “copy” of it. Got back to the room and my internet
connection wasn’t working. After being in Afghanistan for 4 days with
absolutely NO CONNECTION, I HAD to get online. I packed up the few things I
had unpacked and told the front desk that while I sincerely appreciated the
suite, just please move me anywhere in the hotel where the internet
connection would work. Stayed up answering emails until 3:30 am.
Jude
DAY NINE AND TEN–
NOVEMBER 26th AND 27TH – LAST DAY IN KUWAIT:
Up early to
answer more emails and had breakfast with Aaron. Answered several emails
and then drove the 2 hours to Camp Navistar. This is the base that is right
on the border between Kuwait and Iraq. The road we took is the road where
Saddam came into Kuwait when he attacked years ago. I quizzed our escort
about the little sound techs that had accompanied us They were from India
and the Philippines. He said that the “legal” immigrants are probably paid
about $50 a month and the illegal immigrants are paid as little as $10 a
month. They are all provided “housing” and one meal a day. He knows of a
situation where there are 28 people living in a 2 bedroom apartment. The
water is only turned on twice a day. So we came in and liberated Kuwait
from the dictator rule of Saddam and now that the Kuwaitis have their oil
money and never have to work again, they are treating their “workers” the
same way they were treated. THAT is very frustrating to me.
The Camp is very small…but everyone is so friendly and delighted we came to
see them. Aaron got out of the vehicle and immediately started into a
port-a-potty. We yelled to stop him because the sign said “Easterners” on
the door. Had to explain to him that he did NOT want to use the toilet that
the locals use! We were taken into the Commander’s office and given a
briefing and then we asked a lot of questions. The frustration we feel by
the inadequate and erroneous reporting by the media is magnified 10 times
here. These guys SEE what happens daily and then watch it played back by
the National Media with no resemblance to the actual occurrences!
The Commander presented Aaron with a plaque and coin and then we went over
to the stage to collect the musicians for a quick tour of the Camp. First
stop was the tanks where Aaron got to sit atop one. Then Aaron went to say
hello to the Fire Department and the Hospital while his boys played on the
tanks. We started the show at 2 pm and everyone kept apologizing for the
small crowd – probably 200 people. And, we kept telling them it didn’t
matter how many people were there. We just wanted to bring them some
entertainment no matter how many people were on the base. The show was
outside and it was pretty hot today.
We had only brought a small PA with us and Aaron sang for about 45 minutes.
Then he signed autographs for everyone in the crowd. I was talking to a
man who has served for 39 years and is a Vietnam Vet. He pulled every patch
– including his name tag – off his uniform and gave to me!
The latrines were located across from the show site and the tents where
everyone stays were right in front of the latrines. Between the first two
tents was a huge inflatable snowman --- their Christmas decorations! So
strange to see this in the middle of the desert but so touching, too.
We had to drive back to Kuwait City immediately after the show so that
everyone could take a shower before our flight home. Fortunately, there
was a herd of camels with their herders by the side of the road. We stopped
to take photos and the camel herders were so nice to us and spoke perfect
English.
Back at the hotel by 5:30 pm and we have to depart to the airport by 8:45
pm. I showered, answered email and repacked everything. Then I met
Suleiman from the Production Company downstairs with his baby. He adopted a
baby from India several months ago and this is the first time I have seen
him. He is 8 months old and an absolute darling. Even though he is
adopted, he looks like Suleiman.
We left for the airport in plenty of time to check in for our flight because
I always anticipate problems. We managed to keep the skycaps (piranhas – I
call them) away from the luggage while it was curbside. But then everything
had to be taken off the carts and run through a security scanner and then
loaded back onto the carts to take to the check-in counter. That’s where
the skycaps get you. There are no carts once you pass through security so
you have to use the skycaps. We have 5 of them transporting our 19 pieces!
I had walked over to see where we were going to check in when one of the
guys told me Aaron needed me as he was having a crisis. I knew exactly what
it was going to be. A soldier had given him a “tank buster” – it is silver
and looks like a huge bullet, around 10 inches long and 2 inches in diameter
is used take out tanks. Aaron had given it to me to pack in one of my bags
and I told him that I didn’t think he would be allowed to take it back to
the U.S. I told him if he got caught, it’s HIS not MINE. Well, he got
caught. They took his passport and made him stand by while they searched
MY bag. They needed a copy of his passport so I gave them a copy that I had
to try and speed things along. Then they took EVERYTHING out of Aaron’s
bag, checked it and tried to shove it all back in. Aaron had to take time to
completely repack his bag. They made him write on the back of the copy of
his passport, “I will never try to take a bullet out of Kuwait again”!!!!!
We got up to the check-in counter and it took forever to explain that I
wanted to use one of my segments to upgrade him. The counter reps were
trying to SELL upgrades from coach to business class for $550.00 each so I
knew the flight wasn’t full. We thought everything was fine and headed for
the gate. Had to go through a security checkpoint again with all the bags.
Then we passed a McDonalds and everyone but me stopped to eat before the
flight. Aaron ran into a couple of people in the military who recognized
him. When we got to the next security checkpoint, we realized that Aaron
was on “stand-by” for the upgrade. We finally got him upgraded and on the
plane. Flight attendant announced that it will be a 13 hour flight instead
of 14 hoursl
So, barring any unforeseen complications we will be home by 10 am Monday,
November 27th. I LOVE this direct flight from Kuwait. Sure wish
it operated every day instead of just 3 days a week.
Again, I will end this report by saying it was one of the best tours ever.
I wish everyone – not just in America, but around the world – could have the
amazing opportunity that I do to see things first hand. I had asked CSM
Gainey what he was learning when he was visiting our troops and he said,
“Focus. Focus on the mission and pride in their accomplishments”. I have
to agree. I can’t tell you how many men AND women I met who are on their 3rd
or 4th tours of duty, rotating between a year in Afghanistan to a
year in Iraq. They SIGN UP for the deployments. They are not forced to do
so. Remember, there is no draft and re-enlistment is the option of each
individual. Yes, they miss their families and loved ones but believe that
if they weren’t in these areas taking care of business, then we would have
already been attacked again in the U.S. No one wants that.
Every time I visit Afghanistan, I realize how desperately they need the
entertainment in this area. They still feel that they are the “forgotten”
war. Iraq still gets more of the celebrity entertainment for a couple of
reasons – Iraq is more “prominent” in everyone’s mind and it’s so much
easier to take tours into Iraq than to try to get into Afghanistan. But
even with all the flight delays, it’s isn’t impossible and I need to focus
more on getting entertainment in that area. When our flights were delayed,
I was upset for two reasons – the troops in the areas we were to visit were
expecting us and we disappointed them AND the celebrities give of their time
and they want to visit as many camps and troops as possible while over
there. Hopefully, situations like the one that happened when we were trying
to get to Baghram will become fewer and fewer.
Not quite as depressed that this tour is over because in exactly one month,
I will be landing back in Kuwait with Karri Turner (actress from JAG) and
Jim McMahon and Kevin Butler (former NFL Chicago Bears) for a “handshake”
tour of Iraq. Our current itinerary has us hitting 3 camps a day – some of
them VERY remote, which is great.
Home at last! Photos will be up on the website by the end of the week.
Jude
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