Storytime!

So since today is officially Veteran's Day, I wanted to share some stories from my time in the service. Just a little info for you, I was in the Air Force from 2002 to 2009 (wow, that seems like a long time ago!). My AFSC or job specialty was Security Forces, fancy way for saying police officer. The job encompassed more than just police work though, from checking ID's at the gate to standing in front of planes. My first duty station was Kadena Air Force Base located in Okinawa, Japan. That's right, I lived in a tropical island very similar to Hawaii. While I was stationed there, I was deployed to Shabaz Air Base, in Jacobabad, Pakistan for 8 months. After my tour in Japan was done, I was assigned to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. Yep, from lush tropics to frozen prairie lands! After a little less than two years, I ended up in Little Rock Air Base in Arkansas. While I was there I again deployed, this time to lovely (horrid) Camp Bucca, Iraq for almost 10 months. After my deployment I went back to Arkansas and that is where I ended up separating. So all that information get confusing yet? I hope not, I just wanted to give you some info so these little tidbits of military life make some sense.


When I arrived at Kadena I was 18 and had never really been far from home. Suddenly I was about 14,000 miles away and dropped into a culture I knew absolutely nothing about. I arrived in October, so all the holidays were just coming up. On Thanksgiving, I worked and as a "special" treat I was stationed at the gate leading into family housing. Well that gate is never busy, so I had plenty of time to get homesick and think about past holidays. Right as I was really feeling bad, people started showing up from houses around the gate, they brought turkey, stuffing, potatoes, whole pies, cookies, enchiladas, tamales, cake etc.! Apparently they did this every year and so as an unspoken rule, our flight leadership would make sure the newest troops were put out there. It was so nice, even though it wasn't home, it was amazing to not be forgotten.


My deployment to J-bad (short for Jacobabad), was probably the most fun I had in the AF. From sleeping in tents to accidently leaving the base and driving through downtown Pakistan, the craziness never ended. This is the only place where we threw water and Tinactin (foot powder) on an NCO, TP'd another NCO's room (I got caught), and fake wrestled so realistically that my buddy and I scared our tent MSgt!  I was chased around a guard shack once for about 10 minutes by a rabid jackal, it finally left me alone when a Humvee patrol responded to my yells over the radio, poor guys, they thought my post was under attack! Man, did they laugh at me when I breathlessly explained what had happened! I lived through my first mortar attacks there, even getting stuck in a port-a-potty during one incident.

When I was deployed to Camp Bucca, I got incredibly sick there. Whenever people arrive at a deployed location they almost always get what's known as the Newcomers Crud. It's a combination of exposure to dust, other people, and the burn pits. Well, my Newcomers Crud was coupled with bronchitis that I already had. So Heather was a sick puppy. One night I was walking with a buddy and I suddenly just keeled over unconscious. The only hospital that was open was the one in the prison...Imagine regaining consciousness and looking at inmates all around you! Not fun, but funny now. Right before we left, I mean like we are literally standing in line and waiting for the helicopter to land, my same friend, turns around and starts screaming "Freedom!" like in Braveheart...Within seconds, the helicopter turns around, flies off, and we are told they can't take anybody else for the time being. We ended up staying for almost 10 more days. I was so angry at my buddy!! I don't think I talked to her for the rest of the night and most of the next day. But it's ok, we're good friends now, in fact she is the one who helped me drive down to Phoenix when I moved here.


Well like I said I just wanted to give a few nice and some humorous stories about my time in the military. Hope you liked them. Just wanted to remind the public that not everything in the military is serious and grim. Enjoy your holiday weekend!