First Days in Kuwait

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Wednesday May 16, 2007

I arrived in Kuwait just before seven in the morning after a five hour and 40 min flight from London. Taking off from Heathrow airport at 11pm, a British Airways 777 took me southeast across Europe, out over the Black Sea near Kiev and then across Turkey. At sunrise I had a spectacular view of Turkey’s mountainous region but as we turned south to cross Iraq the sky quickly turned overcast as if that country wanted to keep its agony to itself. Breaking through the clouds on the descent into Kuwait City, Kuwait revealed itself in striped shades of tan and brown broken by a river and irrigation canals. Kuwait City sits in the desert on the edge of the Persian Gulf. High-rise apartment blocks and office buildings stand amid neat grids of low, square, flat roofed single dwellings. The highways and streets were full of early morning traffic. I saw several large mosques. When we landed, the gray sky and rain were in contrast to the brilliant, glaring sun and dry, intense heat of my imagination. The temperature was only in the 60’s C (90’s F). The international airport looked new and was immaculately clean and spacious. At seven in the morning it was quiet. The familiar golden arches of a McDonald’s restaurant caught my eye. The sign was in both Arabic and English. There were a few people inside having breakfast. I wondered what would be on the menu. I joined the other non-resident passengers at the immigration desks to obtain a visa. I picked a number from the small machine like the ones used in some deli shops and waited for my turn. The process took about an hour and cost $12.00 US. Following that was the trek to the customs checkpoint where a quick glance at my visa form by the customs agent got me through to the baggage claims area. I experienced a short moment of anxiety that gave way to relief when I saw that all four of my pieces had survived the 12,000 mile journey in tact and together. I loaded them onto a luggage cart with the unsolicited aid of a small uniformed fellow that appeared to be this airport’s equivalent of a Skycap. I quickly discovered that I had his help whether I wanted it or not so, while he pushed the cart, I headed out to the lobby to find my Third Army public affairs escorts Major Rene Russo and Staff Sergeant Kevin Buckley. We made quick introductions and left the air conditioned comfort of the airport lobby for the parking lot. Although only 95F, the dry hot air hit like an open oven door. My helper loaded my gear in the back of Russo and Buckley’s regulation issue white van.

In the vehicle and on the road, I had a tour of the Kuwaiti countryside as Russo and Buckley made a trip to the Ali Al Salim airbase to pickup two soldiers from their unit and their 4 cases of equipment just back from Afghanistan. The country is flat desert with scrub grass and small bushy trees. I saw small birds, including a sparrow, while we were at the airbase. I saw goat herds and several camels as we moved along the highway. Although the airbase was quite a distance from the airport, the drive time was short because the flat terrain and straight highways allow for higher speed limits.

We arrived at Camp Arifjan about 11am. I was given a billet in a tent area for transient personnel, sharing a large tent with one of the soldiers picked up earlier in the morning. After giving me a quick orientation of the area, Russo and Buckley went off on other missions. I sorted my gear and went off in search of the mess hall. What I found first was a row of fast food restaurants in prefab huts. Included in the offers were Subway, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken. I was too hungry to continue looking for the mess hall so settled on KFC instead. I thought it amusing that I had come half way around the world to eat my first KFC meal in at least 10 years. After that it was back to my tent for a shower, change of clothes and some much needed sleep. Later in the evening I walked around the area near the gym, PX and MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) buildings. The MWR has an Internet café, call center where soldiers can make phone calls home, DVD rentals, TV, board games, pool tables and a small library. Outside the gym male and female soldiers were sitting around tables talking or eating. Some were line dancing to country music booming from a CD player. The temperature had cooled somewhat but a hot, dry wind was blowing. I walked back to my tent and went to sleep.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

The wind had increased during the night and a dust storm kicked up in the early hours of the morning. I stepped outside the tent about six am to find the air filled with a fog of light dust. It was like a blizzard back home only hot and brown instead of cold and white. A half hour later SSG Buckley poked his head in the tent to say the roads were now “red” which meant that military traffic was halted due to the low visibility caused by the dust storm. This condition altered my roommate’s plans for his trip to Bahrain and would affect my planned link up with the 3/297. I met Major Russo at seven thirty for breakfast at the mess hall, called a DFAC (for “dining facility”) in military parlance. Then we started the day’s scheduled events. First was a command brief on Third Army. This was in another zone of the base and required a shuttle bus ride since military vehicle transport was halted by the dust storm. Major Russo said I had the dubious distinction, according to the Major, of being the first media person she had to escort around the base by bus. The briefing was given by Colonel Rogers, acting chief of staff for the pubic affairs section. I learned about Third Army’s area of operation which along with Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq includes 25 other countries in the region. Essentially, Third Army is the area support group (ASG) responsible for supporting the training, security and war fighting efforts throughout an area larger than the United States. Everything from water, food and fuel to tanks, ammunitions and soldiers going to Iraq passes through Kuwait first and Camp Arifjan is at the center of this complex operation. This briefing was followed by another at the public affairs office where Major Russo took me through the media ground rules once again. These rules were part of the initial paperwork I completed prior to gaining approval to make the trip to Kuwait to embed with the 3/297. This was a refresher and a reminder of what I can and cannot do as a media professional working with a military unit.
The initial plan was for me to link up with Sergeant Mac Metcalfe and Captain Brown, the public affairs staff for 3/297, who would take me to camp Virginia where I would start my embed period with Bravo company. The dust storm, however, prevented their arrival. So I have another night here at Arifjan while waiting for the visibility to clear and the restriction on military traffic movement to be lifted.

Friday May 18, 2007

There appeared to be some improvement in visibility in the early morning as I walked to the dining hall for breakfast but visibility was still very limited. I was hopeful that at my meeting with Major Russo at 9am the news would be that I could be picked up by the Alaskan Guard contacts. Promptly at 9 Russo arrived, this time in a van, which was a good sign. “Was I packed?”, she asked. I ducked back into the tent to quickly complete that task and we were on our way back to her office and then out through a front gate where we met SSG Buckley in another vehicle with another journalist he brought from the airport. I went with Buckley back to the air base where he turned me over to Capt. Malcolm Brown, public affairs officer for 3/297 and Batac, assistant chaplain and driver. We were on our way to Camp Buehring, the next stop on my trek to join Bravo Company. Buehring is a sprawling array of tents, trailers, parking lots, communication towers and prefab buildings stretched across the desert. It’s the last stop for units before they make their way north to Iraq. Here they do final training, acclimatization and preparation of vehicles and equipment.

Saturday May 19, 2007

This morning at the dining hall I made my first mistake. As I wanted to check out my laptop at the internet café, I brought it with me to breakfast. I got into the building OK but as I was going through the line, I was approached by a senior looking NCO who informed me that I couldn’t stay in the building because no bags of any kind were allowed there. There was a sign on the entry door but I had missed it. So, I had to take my breakfast “to go”. Mac and I returned to his room to eat. After breakfast we returned to the battalion HQ to work out the plan for traveling over to Camp Virginia and my link up with Bravo Company there. We left Buehring about 9am for the approximately 40 minute drive to Camp Virginia. The route ran along a two lane asphalt highway that cut a straight line through the desert. The light brown expanse of sand and rock spread away in all directions. There were no hills, no trees except the occasional scrub bushes and tough, brown, stiff looking grasses. Dust devils swirled alongside the road keeping pace with our battered Jeep Cherokee. We passed several large herds of camels grazing on patches of some type of short grass, the only patches of green anywhere in the landscape.

Although smaller than Buehring, Camp Virginia still fills several square miles of desert with a mix of tents, trailers, supply yards, metal buildings and barracks. It is another transit point for supplies and soldiers heading north to Iraq or on to Afghanistan. It’s not as crowded as Buehring but is still a busy place. The permanent contingent includes soldiers from South Korea, El Salvador and the U.K. as well as both Delta and Bravo Companies of the 3/297 Alaska Army Guard, National Guard units from Kansas and other states and members of the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines. Bravo Company’s duties involve providing camp security, a 24/7 operation. They work eight hour shifts throughout the day and night at camp entry points, towers and on perimeter patrols. The other Alaskan Guard company, Delta, is involved in escort duty.

I had my official “hand off” to 1^st Lt. John Lombrano, the commander of Bravo Company, was shown to my room in the barracks area and then, following lunch, I met with the camp commander, Colonel Robertson. Later in the day I did see several more familiar faces: Fritz Charles from Bethel, Ronnie Friday from Hooper Bay and Andrew Charles from Chevak. I unpacked my gear in the small barrack room I share with Chris Bosco of Chefornak.

The camp offers most of the comforts of home but on a basic level. The barrack rooms are small, about 10 ft. x 16 ft. They are designed to house up to four individuals but most seem to have only two or three. They are comfortable with good mattresses, small refrigerators, a desk and metal closets.

They are air conditioned, as are all the buildings here. Toilets, showers and laundry facilities are in separate buildings close by. In an area known as “downtown” small fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Subway, a pizza parlor share space with a coffee bar, Internet café, ATT phone centers and several shops that all border a gravel commons with tables shaded under an open sided pavilion. There are two well equipped gyms, a library, USO center, Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) center and a chapel that is one of the few buildings not constructed of metal and features stained glass windows. The camp may have the comforts of home but one look out across the endless expanse of desert surrounding the camp makes it abundantly clear that this isn’t home. Persistent winds stir up a fine dust that fills the air, clinging to everything and irritating the eyes and nose. The heat is dry, intense and oppressive like standing in front of an open oven door. Temperatures reach the low 100’s F and as the summer progresses will hit 120F or higher. Alaska is very far away for the soldiers of 3/297. Their work here, although a vital part of the support effort for the war, is routine and repetitive. Now that I’ve had this opportunity to experience these conditions myself, I have a greater appreciation for the sacrifices they’re making to fulfill this call to duty so far from home.

Kuwait City May 16, 2007

Dust Storm Camp Arifjan May 17, 2007

AK and US Flags from Bethel presented to B 3/297 CO

1Lt Lombrano May 19, 2007

Outside Camp Virginia Barracks May 19, 2007

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