Day 95: Arrival in Afghanistan

It’s hard to describe a day like today--surreal may be the best way to explain it. Today, my journey half way around the world concluded, as I finally reached my ultimate destination. Afghanistan, this poor, struggling, war ravaged country, finally became a reality for me this morning as I walked off the plane and saw it with my own eyes.

The trip began early--I was up by 1:00 AM (I still am trying to beat this jet lag thing) preparing for our 6:00 AM departure. After waiting for several hours, we made our way from the base to the Kyrgyzstan airport. For this leg of the journey, the flight was to be on a Spanish C-130 with full “battle rattle” (body armor) worn. A C-130 is an old, propeller type plane, used for decades to transport supplies. It really wasn’t designed to transport people--at least not comfortably. As you can see in the pictures, we basically sat on seats made of nylon netting with all of our gear loaded on pallets in the back. There is no heat or AC, there is no bathroom, there is no real room to get up and move around. It is a good thing that our flight was only a three hour one.

As we descended into Kabul, we descended fast. The norm when you enter a war zone is to make yourself as hard a target to hit as possible. Consequently, not only do you descend fast, you also bank back and forth in a rocking motion. It is quite the sensation--causing both nausea and a feeling that you will fall out of the sky at any moment. Once the airborne acrobatics were over, we touched down at Kabul International Airport.

Walking off the plane was an unforgettable experience. As plane propellers were noisily spinning, helicopters were flying in all directions around us. Guards stood by as international forces, American soldiers and local Afghan citizens went about their respective business. The reality of it all just really sunk in and I think we were all a little shell shocked.

After waiting for several hours, we finally were able to get a ride from the airport to one of the large bases here in Kabul named Camp Phoenix. Once again, it was an amazing experience to make that first convoy through the city. I don’t think any of us felt particularly worried about our safety--we were in an armored bus (see picture below) with our body armor in place, surrounded by an armed escort. It was just incredible to watch the people. There were old bearded men, women covered with burqas and kids walking home from school. I especially liked watching the kids. You could see the innocence and goodness in their eyes. Some just looked at us, others waved, and some gave us a thumbs up.

There is much more I could say. It was an interesting and eventful day. However, I think it is enough to say that I am safe and ready to continue on with this adventure. I will fill in more details later as time permits.