Letter From Afghanistan #02

Another week has come to a close here on FOB Lagman and that doesn’t seem to be a bad thing.  I try to not count the days that we have been here and how many days that we have left until we get to start heading home again.  The length of a deployment is all about perspective and when you look at 6 months versus 27 weeks versus 180 days I would much rather take the weeks over the days or the months any time.  27 weeks sounds like a lot less the 180 days and it doesn’t seem so daunting.  Now you may be saying to yourself, “but John 6 months sounds like a lot less than 27 weeks how are counting the weeks better?”  This comes down to a psychological matter, with a month you have to wait for roughly 30 days  to pass before you complete a single month and 30 days seems like a long time.  A week on the other hand is a mere 7 days and as long as you don’t dwell on that time it goes by rather quickly.  I also like the week over the day or month also due to the fact that I end and start each week by going to church on Sundays.  It is a great way to put a cap on the week and give it an end point.  Also the end of the week also signifies that it’s time for me to sit down and write my letter to you.

So last week I explained the steps that were required to prepare for a deployment.  Of course there were a lot of little steps in between those steps but this letter would have been way too long to cover them all.  Some of the other things that I did to prepare for this deployment I will go over at another time.  When I last left you I had just depart the SeaTac International Airport near Seattle, Washington.  I left behind a beautiful fiancé, all of my friends and family, and my average everyday life to fly halfway across the world to yet another country that I have never really put much thought into visiting.  But Uncle Sam said pack your stuff you’re going and so go I did.  For the many long hours that I had to sit on a plane flying over multiple countries and an entire ocean I had a lot of time to think about all of the normal everyday things in life that I would miss out on.  Some friends are to be married, the 4th of July would come and go and I would miss getting to go to Washington DC during Memorial Day weekend to volunteer for what would have been my fourth year with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.  Instead I would get to spend the next six months working on a tan.

So I took a couple of different flights and finally ended up in Baltimore, Maryland where I would spend my last night in the US for 6 months.  We were put up in a hotel and I got to sleep on a nice comfy bed.  Since our flight wasn’t until later in the day the next day we were able to convince the hotel to let us have a late check out so that we wouldn’t have to sit at the airport for endless hours while one person would have to guard all of the bags and the weapons that we were traveling with.  When we got to the airport later we only had to wait a couple of hours and then were able to check in our luggage and then were free to roam the airport until our flight left.  Lucky for us the Baltimore airport has a nice USO with TVs and wireless internet and so we were able to at least relax in there for the next couple of hours before our plane would finally take off.

Finally it was time to board the plane and then we were off.  The flight that we are booked on is a little strange in the fact that it isn’t your typical airline.  The plane is owned and operated by a regular airline but it is basically rented by the US Military to fly everyone overseas that needs to make the trip.  This doesn’t just pertain to people who are deploying either.  There are people that are going to the different places that the plane stops in along the way.  Along our journey we made our first stop at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.  I was stationed near there at a small base called Sembach Air Base a few years back and it was interesting to see how the place has changed since I was last there.  After a short layover we boarded the plane again and we were off again, this time landing for a short time in Turkey.  We were in Turkey just long enough to stretch our legs and get a little something to eat and drink.  After the little layover it was back on the plane to the end of the line for that aircraft.  Several hours later we landed in Manas, Kyrgizikstan.  I’m glad that I only have to spell the name of the country and don’t have to actually pronounce it for you.  We arrived there at 0500 in the morning and it was a chilly morning.  Most people thought that it was really cold there but since it was still in the upper 40’s to low 50’s I was fine with the temperature.  Upon our arrival there we were given a briefing on what to expect there and how things were run.  We were able to get small amounts of sleep here and there and during the other time we were issued the gear that we would need when we got down range. 

Within a couple of days of our arrival in Manas we were scheduled on a flight into Kandahar, Afghanistan.  Upon our arrival in Kandahar we were greeted by the Captain that was in charge of the weather station there and were shown to our cots that would be ours until we were ready to finish our travels.  By that point we were so happy just to have some place to lie down and get some sleep.  On our trip we had actually met up with five other weather people that would be spread throughout the Operation Enduring Freedom region.  We spent the week or so working at the weather station in Kandahar, getting adjusted to the time change and learning about the weather in this country.  After that time it was back on another flight to our final destinations.  Our flight was on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter.  This was the first time I had ever flown in a CH-47 and it was pretty interesting.  We flew about 30-45 minutes until we reached Forward Operating Base Lagman, which is located very near the village of Qalat, Afghanistan (pronounced ka-lot).  We are surrounded by beautiful mountains that on a clear day are very easy to see.  I have even seen cows on the sides of some of the mountains.  This is where will call home for at least the next few months.

With that I shall sign off again for this week.  Before I go I would like to wish a happy Father’s days to all of the fathers out there, especially to my dad.  My understanding is that you got treated to more rain, again. 

I would love to hear from all of you.  Please feel free to email me at john.iraq@hotmail.com or you can send letters to:

SSgt John B. Ferderer

Task Force Pegasus

HHC 2-82 (SWO) Task Force Corsair

APO AE 09355

If you have any questions please feel free to send them to me and I will do my best to answer them.  I always enjoy hear from people back at home.  For those of you that would like to send care packages, you are more than welcome to do so.  Starting next week I will try to add a short list of things that people need or would like around here.

Have a great week and have a great Air Force Day!