11 APR 05: Update
Okay I got mail today so you know what that makes today. It makes it a red letter day. That is such a goofy saying has anyone ever wondered why it was called a red letter day. Well along time ago they used to have these calendars where you could rip off the whole day. Some of you older guys may know what I am talking about. Workdays were written in black ink but holidays and weekends were written in red letters. Hence good days are called red letter days.
Okay so I traveled down to Basrah to visit the Americans living with the British Division down near the border of kuwait. I know many of you are asking yourselves Vick why haven't you posted more pictures to your blog. Well the answer is very simple our firewall has some how blocked my ability to post pictures to my blog.
So you will have to rely on my powers of story telling for you to get the gist of my trip down to basrah. on the evening of the 8th we arrive two hours early for a british Royal airforce that got delayed twice. so basicly our little group arrived 4 hours early. But that was not to bad we killed sometime by driving around to the other FOB (Forward Operating Bases). We compared things like there PXs to our PXs.
The one on our base was better. As we drove around I saw something that I got a real smile out of as I drove by. On one of the 12 foot high concrete baracades some one had spray painted OU and then Sooners right below the OU symbol. Okay not the best art work I have ever seen but It was proof that a Sooner fan had been that way.
So we finally get on our flight and fly down to basrah. Okay I have had several C130 rides but most of them end abruptly when a jumpmaster opens the paratroop door and says "green light! Go!" That's army for get out of the plane and pray your parachute opens. So of course right away I knew this flight was going to be really different because I was not wearing a parachute and there were none on the plane from what I could tell. To be honest I knew we were gonna land in Basrah. However because of the threat of rockets planes here take off a little differently then they do back home. They do alot of fancy manuevers right after they take off. Ever pulled G force manuevers in a C130 j hercules. That is a cargo plane by the way. it was pretty cool. I had a blast. But as usual some cherry lost his lunch/ dinner and puked into his little baggie. This would be a trend on RAF flights. Those flyboys sure know how to keep a paratrooper entertained.
So we landed in Basrah. It was at an old international airport. Once we got off the plane I learned that the brits do things a little bit more civilized then us americans. Not better or worse just different. So they walk us in the terminal and we are standing in the baggage area like wonder when we have to go pull are stuff off the pallet. pallets are how they transport luggage on c130s. Actually pallets are pretty much the way everything is transported in a c130. I have always believed if the armyand the airforce could figure out a way to palletize soldiers we would go out of the plane like that instead of individual chutes. i think I like the individual chutes better.
So were standing there and then the luggage conveyor comes on and our luggage comes out of the wall just like we were at a real airport. So then my buddy CPT lively shows up at the airport to take us to the Basrah base. The only problem is he has a two passenger pick up. So CPT lively drives the COL rides in the cab with Lively and me and the specialist ride in the bed to the base. I felt like I was back in Ok. crusing in the bed of a pick up around town.
alright enough for tonight.
Okay so I traveled down to Basrah to visit the Americans living with the British Division down near the border of kuwait. I know many of you are asking yourselves Vick why haven't you posted more pictures to your blog. Well the answer is very simple our firewall has some how blocked my ability to post pictures to my blog.
So you will have to rely on my powers of story telling for you to get the gist of my trip down to basrah. on the evening of the 8th we arrive two hours early for a british Royal airforce that got delayed twice. so basicly our little group arrived 4 hours early. But that was not to bad we killed sometime by driving around to the other FOB (Forward Operating Bases). We compared things like there PXs to our PXs.
The one on our base was better. As we drove around I saw something that I got a real smile out of as I drove by. On one of the 12 foot high concrete baracades some one had spray painted OU and then Sooners right below the OU symbol. Okay not the best art work I have ever seen but It was proof that a Sooner fan had been that way.
So we finally get on our flight and fly down to basrah. Okay I have had several C130 rides but most of them end abruptly when a jumpmaster opens the paratroop door and says "green light! Go!" That's army for get out of the plane and pray your parachute opens. So of course right away I knew this flight was going to be really different because I was not wearing a parachute and there were none on the plane from what I could tell. To be honest I knew we were gonna land in Basrah. However because of the threat of rockets planes here take off a little differently then they do back home. They do alot of fancy manuevers right after they take off. Ever pulled G force manuevers in a C130 j hercules. That is a cargo plane by the way. it was pretty cool. I had a blast. But as usual some cherry lost his lunch/ dinner and puked into his little baggie. This would be a trend on RAF flights. Those flyboys sure know how to keep a paratrooper entertained.
So we landed in Basrah. It was at an old international airport. Once we got off the plane I learned that the brits do things a little bit more civilized then us americans. Not better or worse just different. So they walk us in the terminal and we are standing in the baggage area like wonder when we have to go pull are stuff off the pallet. pallets are how they transport luggage on c130s. Actually pallets are pretty much the way everything is transported in a c130. I have always believed if the armyand the airforce could figure out a way to palletize soldiers we would go out of the plane like that instead of individual chutes. i think I like the individual chutes better.
So were standing there and then the luggage conveyor comes on and our luggage comes out of the wall just like we were at a real airport. So then my buddy CPT lively shows up at the airport to take us to the Basrah base. The only problem is he has a two passenger pick up. So CPT lively drives the COL rides in the cab with Lively and me and the specialist ride in the bed to the base. I felt like I was back in Ok. crusing in the bed of a pick up around town.
alright enough for tonight.
posted by Vick at 5:18 AM
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