By LTC Melanie Meier
In “full battle rattle,” I sat in body armor, helmet, weapon and ammunition on my way to my new assignment in Iraq. It was knee to knee in a C-130 jammed packed with soldiers and the equipment of war. On a flight to my battle station, I had no leg room and the thought of using the facilities kept me in my seat. Just when I thought it might be unbearable, to my relief I found my neck pillow.
And that reminded me of how some things never change in war. While waiting two long days in the Dallas airport for the 20-hour flight to Kuwait, I spent one of those days at the USO. By now, my group was down to 14 and we experienced firsthand how the USO was still here today, taking care of our soldiers.
Declared validated for deployment, we had made it through the medical, security and training screening, but were not a normal unit headed downrange. Besides being so few in numbers, we also became victim to an old Army strategy. They get you ready and then make you wait. I guess in that way you are happy when you finally get there.
Fortunately for my group we had the USO to keep us company with books, food, Internet access, movies, and video games. Best of all, however, were the smiling, friendly faces including one couple in particular. As we waited to leave for war in Iraq, they stayed with us the whole time.
He was a Vietnam veteran, who explained that he never wants a soldier to go through the shame and ostracizing that he did when he went to Vietnam and returned. While his wife handed out neck pillows to everyone on our flight, he told us with pride that she makes several hundred a week. It is important to her that every soldier going through Dallas can be as comfortable as possible on the 20-hour trip.
And that neck pillow was never far from me. After a short layover in Leipzig Germany, we landed in Kuwait amidst a sandstorm that included rain, thunder and lightning. Trying to shake the jet lag in Kuwait, we were sent to the firing range, and received even more training, all the while waiting for a flight to Iraq.
That flight to Iraq was quite different from the flight to Kuwait. We wore “full battle rattle” and sat knee to knee in a C-130 with our luggage on a pallet loaded behind us. Absolutely no leg room could be found and if someone has to use the facilities they have to climb over everyone, trying to step on the seats rather than our legs to arrive at the rear of the aircraft and then use the bucket with a plastic bag liner!
With no lights on the plane but wearing my earplugs, we landed at Joint Air Base Balad, grateful no one shot at us and thankful there was no need for a combat roll to land. Once I made it to Balad, approximately 30 km north of Baghdad, I discovered my reassignment to Tallil Air Base, which is 300 km south of Baghdad. This time it was a smooth flight in the daylight, I could actually read a book.
With an ever growing mountain of baggage, which now also included a second set of body armor and a computer, I walked through the door of the passenger terminal, found a phone and called the number for the person who was supposed to pick me up. No answer. Welcome to war.
