A Day Trip

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Sitting in the belly of a C-130, when the Air Force Load master dons his helmet and body armor, its a good sign that you're getting close. You pull on your vest, snap your chin strap, and have just a wee, fleeting thought of someone having gotten a hold of a Stinger, Red-eye, or SA-7 Grail.
The pilot starts his "jinking" maneuvers, radical movements and changes in speed, anything to avoid making the lumbering , propeller driven cargo bird an easy target. As evasive flying goes, this was pretty tame, either that, or when I used to jump out of these things the Air Force guys just liked to see if they could make Rangers vomit. Nothing happens! And it rarely does, you would think that if Baghdad was "that bad", there wouldn't be round the clock flights landing here. We set down a little rough, and I was reminded of what it's like to land in a "Herc". It feels like you've landed on the planes belly and are skidding down the runway on you ass.
Yes, I'm in Baghdad. I've made this trip ahead of my embed unit so that I can receive my credentials from the Combined Press Information Center (CPIC). Arriving at my temporary quarters around 0400, I get situated and catch a few hours of much needed sleep, the first on an actual mattress in about a week. I hope I don't lose the sleep callousness I was beginning to re-build with Alpha Company, this is part of why the Infantry is a young man's game.

Finally, solid inter-net access and connection! I will take this opportunity to get some work done, i.e. posting pictures to WPN and DPP (links at right), and of course, to post here. For the families of the men of the 2/504th, I should be returning to the unit soon, and will keep you updated. More from Baghdad shortly.