January 30th started like any other day, except that it was also the day that myself and the other two bloggers on this site deployed in support of Operation New Dawn. So much to do and so little time. This brings me to my very first lesson in which I hope is a long, proud tradition of posts on this site. The word for today's lesson is "the timeline". I know that's technically a phrase but let's move past it.
Everyone from Leonidas to General Patton has used the timeline at some point or another in their prestegious military careers. In fact, a great military leader once said, "without the timeline, all will be lost!" (60% chance that no one famous ever actually said that). There were several important aspects of our timeline that day. The first big one was meeting Gene Simmons. Yes, Gene Simmons from Kiss. As I was boarding the bus to head to the gymnasium (where we would sit for several more hours) Gene approached me, shook my hand, and said "There's gonna be a lot more graves over there, fill 'em with some baaaaaad dudes." At the time his comment really hadn't sunk in because I was too busy staring at his insanely attractive wife. I can't remember her name but she was definitely a playboy playmate at one point in her life so that's really all that matters.
After meeting Gene Simmons we headed to the gym and then to the airfield. It was there that we received a surprise guest in our timeline. Upon entering the airport there was a small, elderly woman approximately 90 years of age waiting to hug and kiss us. A couple people tried to sneak by her, but to no avail. She put on her game face and ran a blitz that would make the Jets' defense drop their jaws. Whether you wanted it or not, you were gonna get that hug.
Footnote: Family time was declared "over" once the soldiers got on the bus and made their way to the airfield. At the same time, an elderly woman claiming she did not represent any real organization, but rather that she "just cares so much about the troops" was allowed entry into a military airport and authorized to make physical contact with soldiers....Let that sink in for a bit.
Once we took our seats it was time for the briefings to begin. The longest brief was concerning the Army's anti-hijacking policy, in which each soldier was instructed that at no time during the flight were they authorized to hijack the plane....I shit you not. We also received a verbal list of authorized and unauthorized items on the flight.
Authorized items: Food, Beverages, Assault Rifles, Machine Guns, Pistols, etc.
Unauthorized items: Knives...(I think it had something to do with the hijack brief)
After loading the plane, our last hardtime on the timeline was to arrive in Kuwait before February 1st. The reason being that if we arrived on the 31st we could claim January tax free (one of the few perks of deploying). We were off to a good start, having arrived in Shannon, Ireland with more than 12 hours left to make it to Kuwait. Finally, with more than 2 hours to spare, we made it to Kuwait. Unfortunately, we sat on a bus for 3 hours and ended up checking in just minutes after midnight; bummer.
What's the moral of this story? Besides the fact that Gene Simmons is one bad mofo, the important thing to remeber is always stick to your timeline!
Sincerely,
The Quarterback (future roomate of Dan and Aaron)
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