Wow, the time seems to really be flying by. It is amazing that we only have one more week. Jason and I were “roomies” at Bagram Air Base and got along really well. We got up early (5:30am), ate and had to go through customs before leaving the country. (We have had to wake up early most every morning, but I haven’t minded for some reason.) There were somewhat tearful goodbyes as the 2 people who have been in charge of our tour over here and have traveled with us at every point said goodbye. They said they loved our show and that it was probably the best they had had, especially since it was so different than anything else they had seen, and also because it had an uplifting feeling and strong, positive messages. They invited us back at any time. In fact they asked if we could come back in October! They were talking with David about possibly doing a tour to Honduras. We’ll see. We flew back to Kuwait on an C-130. Everyone was hoping for a C-17 because the C-17 is a jet and the C-130 is a 4 engine prop plane. It was a 5 ½ hour flight in not very comfortable seats, no beverage service, SUPER loud, and not even a lavatory. It was extra long because we can’t fly over Iran so we have to go around. Basically, it was maybe the worst flight of my life. We were again travelling with several soldiers, most of which were returning from their tours and some on R&R. One woman who works as an electrician has already been in Afghanistan for 13 months. She is going home for 2 weeks, then will be back until October. She is part of the group that is “deconstructing”; basically, taking things down so that we “reduce our footprint”. Some of the bases are being turned over to the Afghan army, but several are being taken apart. There are a few bases that will still house American soldiers. At the height of the conflict there were over 30,000 military in Afghanistan. Now there is around 20,000 and by December we will have around 9,400. Many of the big, hi-tech trucks that we saw in Jalalabad that are used for mine sweeping operations are actually being shredded and the sheet metal sold for 12 cents a pound rather than trying to ship it all home. They said it is actually cheaper to destroy it and rebuild it then to ship it. Also, there is not a lot of wood in Afghanistan for building so they love it when we leave big piles of wood that they can use for building. There was a Special Ops” guy sitting next to me. You can tell them because they have the big beards that allow them to blend in a little with the Afghanies. He was watching footage on his computer of what I can only guess was from some of his missions taken with a helmut cam. Pretty intense stuff! These are the guys that go “outside the wire” and do the more scary stuff hunting down bad guys. We arrived back in Kuwait at the Ali Al Salem Air base. (Wow, it’s so much hotter here than in Afghanistan!) We are back in the same rooms and it is a little bit like heaven after Afghanistan; free internet (that actually works), private rooms and private bathrooms, etc, etc. I guess I’ve become pretty soft and spoiled over the years. Today was a rest day. (We need it after that flight!!) We are back doing shows tomorrow. No real exciting pics from today, so here’s a few from the past week and a half I haven’t posted yet.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 05:29:59 +0000
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