Deployment Journal-Apr 07

02 Apr 07: Well here we are, actually in the month that I’m deploying and it’s sneaking up on me so quick I can hardly stand it. I’m picking up my uniforms this week and packing my bags and it’s really hitting home. I am so thankful that I have such a fantastic support system. My friend Michelle made this for me today for the girls to put in their signatures on my online mommy’s group and I just love her to death! She’s so awesome!

We received a slide show that gives information about what things are like there now and if you’re interested in that, you can read it here.

04 Apr 07: I finally finished outprocessing today so by Air Force standards, I am ready to go. I pick up my uniforms tomorrow and then I will be completely ready to go. I am still dreading it and it was moved up 1 day earlier than it was supposed to be. We broke the news to the little ones today. That was not easy to do at all. Cody was old enough last time to know what was going on so he understood that I was going again. Harmony said she was fine with it and remembers when I went last time. Miles asked a few questions but I can tell that he doesn’t get it at all. We’ll just have to take it day by day with him. I went and bought a new webcam for the laptop so hopefully I can “live chat” with the kids while I’m over there. Thank God for technology. I’m just going to miss them all so much!!! We received our orders today too so people that have leases and stuff to get out of can get out of them. I have all that good stuff scanned in for Chris too in case he needs any of it while I’m gone. I can’t believe how quick this is sneaking up on me. I am going to miss my family so much!

06 Apr 07: I had a very wonderful surprise today. Cody’s mom, grandparents, Cody and Amber put a beautiful gift basket together for me!! I was so touched by that incredible gesture! Talk about a lot of stuff I can sure use for the trip there and while I’m here. They included stationary, crossword puzzle books, shampoos, conditioners, lotion, pretzels, Chex mix and beef jerky. Thank you so much Tracy, Cindy, Kenny, Amber and Cody!!!

08 Apr 07: Happy Easter Everyone! I enjoyed a nice day with my family and said goodbye to all my friends and family. It’s a sad, sad day and tomorrow is going to be even worse. If you pray, pray for this time to go by fast for us and that I’m back home with my family soon. Chris and the kids put a yellow ribbon around the top of our flag today and Miles told me he was looking forward to ripping it down when I got home. I will post again once I get a chance to get on a computer.

10 Apr 07: We left the base at about 3:45 p.m. yesterday. It is now 9 a.m. on Tuesday but it is 5 p.m. here in Shannon, Ireland. We had a part on the plane break so we are hanging out until the new part gets here. We stopped in Bangor, Maine and now here in Ireland. We have 1 more stop in Turkey and then in Bishkek, Republic of Kyrgyzstan where we will catch our cargo plane out. So far, I was able to get some good sleep. Saying goodbye to my family was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Harmony broke down crying and it just tore me apart. Poor Miles even had tears in his eyes and told me he was going to miss me. I almost couldn’t handle it. I am so proud of what I do by serving my country but at the same time, it is so hard to be away. I am just dying to get settled and get into a routine and get this whole deployment over with. Chris and the kids hung a yellow ribbon on the flag outside of our house (hopefully he can take a picture and send it to me so I can post it here). I know they are proud of what I do too even though it’s very hard on them as well. That is the hardest part of what I do. It’s not the flying for 24 hours, nor the lack of meals for the first couple of days, the sleeping in confined quarters or the fear of being attacked. It’s just being away from my family and friends.

When we arrived to Maine, we had a nice surprise waiting for us inside the airport. We had a wonderful reception line of people thanking us for our service. I had seen it on the news but had never witnessed it first hand. Talk about giving you chills to know so many people stand behind what you do. They assured us that they will be there when we return as well. I’ve had a few people ask me here in Ireland as well if we were coming home or going over and when we told them we were going over, they thanked us for our service as well. It just goes to show that you don’t have to support the war, but many support the troops and that’s what’s most important to us.

I’ve posted a couple of pictures in my album that I will be updating as I take pictures from here. Since we are stuck in Ireland with a bar, people are definitely taking advantage of it. It’s the last bit of alcohol they are going to have for 6 months. I am not drinking because of my motion sickness. I do not need to add anything to it so I am taking it easy but I’m just happy they have wireless internet here in the airport. I am going to take full advantage of that! To see the pictures, go to our homepage and select gallery or click here.

11 Apr 07: We are here in Bishkek, Krygyzstan awaiting transport into Afghanistan. I am so ready to be done flying! I am exhuasted and ready to get there and get settled. I just wanted to check in quick so everyone knew that I was safe and still on my way!

12 Apr 07:We arrived safely at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan today. It was a long and boring day but thankfully we were able to take a C-17 instead of a C-130. That was a much better flight and no combat land!! I had no idea just how big those things were until I got to go inside. Wow is all I can say! We got in, and had to take care of some paperwork and then we were released to our folks. We finally got unpacked which was the greatest feeling after toting around those bags for 4 days. I had 2 big bags plus 2 carry-ons. We also picked up a very heavy chem bag as well as body armor at Manas so that was, I think, a total of about 80 pounds. I am bruised on the insides of my arms from slinging my bags over and sore from dragging them through the rocks but thankfully we made it and can start getting settled in. We are NOT in B-huts like I had previously said. This base has expanded so much that it is ridiculous! We are in what’s called ISO dorms. They are basically big metal cans but the way they put them together works out really nice. There are 9 of us to a dorm room and we are doing our best to make this place our own. I bought blankets today so I could put them up around my bed and have some privacy when I get on the computer. Speaking of computers, we were given incorrect information. The internet in our dorm is not wireless. It is dial up so I am not sure how that is going to work or if it would even be worth the $35 a month but I am going to look into it. I start work tomorrow and my shifts will be 1230-0030. That will work out rather nicely since I will be working part of the day shift and part of the night shift so I will see some sunlight unlike the last time I was here. I plan on making the best of my time here but we did receive some frustrating news that we could be extended here up to 9 months. As of now, they do not have a base set to come in and replace us like they do the other base that will be here during our rotation. So, the rumor is, is that we will stay for the 9 months and then the cycle will be back on track. However, there are always rumors like that flying around that are rarely true. Everyone jumps the gun and they usually end up getting it figured out. As always, I’m preparing for the worst but hoping for the best. That is about all I can think of for today. I am running on fumes and I am going to go get some well deserved sleep in an actual bed! I calculated my total hours of sleep to be from about 6-8 in the last 4 days.

14 Apr 07: I am finally starting to get settled. I finally got to call home and talk to the kids for the first time since I arrived to Afghanistan. It was so nice to hear all their voices. I miss them so much. We are finally working and I now have computer access at work. That will make a big difference as I am very home sick. We work with some great people and I can tell that working is definitely going to make the time fly by. I am looking forward to getting into the groove. I am not getting the sleep that I need yet because some of the girls that work day shift think it’s okay to slam doors and giggle and talk like no one else is sleeping. I am the ranking person in the dorm at that time so I’m going to give them a couple more days to get settled and then if they don’t knock it off, I am going to explain common courtesy to them. I finally was able to hang a blanket up today so I get some protection from the sunlight shining directly on my face when someone opens the door. I’m not quite sure how I always end up right next to a door but somehow I do. Either way, that’s my life for the next 6 months and it’s a learning curve for everyone so I’m doing my best to just put up with it until everyone finds their groove. After that, it should be smooth sailing. Things are very different here having fighter planes. It was so nice and quiet last time with just our little A-10s. It is very hard to sleep through the roaring fighter jet engines. I learned to sleep through just about anything last time so I expect this time to be no different. Thankfully everyone knows that I made it here safely now and hopefully everyone is checking out my journal to find out what is going on. I am having some problems getting on MOM.net so if one of you girls are reading this, please post the address to the board itself instead of just the homepage address so I can try to get on! (Nevermind MOM.net ladies. I cannot get on from work. I HAVE to find some other way!!) Love you all and I will post again tomorrow! I have my work e-mail address now so you can e-mail me there as or at my yahoo. Work e-mail is tiffany.d.naylor@afghan.swa.army.mil or floatingwithbutterflies@yahoo.com

15 Apr 07: I finally feel like I’m set to Bagram time. It was a little difficult to get over the jet lag this time. I didn’t have as much to see and think about as I did last time having been here already. We had a pretty interesting ride into work today. All of our folks are finally here so we went and picked up our weapons before lunch. I am not looking forward to carrying around a M-16 again but it’s part of the job. On the way to work, we heard an explosion. Don’t worry, it was just the normal mine clearing operations out in the field. Before today, I had only heard them while I was sleeping. It was really neat to be able to see them being blown up right next to us. I couldn’t get my camera out in time to take any pictures but hopefully I will get more chances to do that. Kelly and I went along the road by where we work and took some pictures of the locals herding sheep in the field. It was really neat to watch them but what was even more amazing is that they are live mine fields. The majority of the mines have been cleared but there’s no way to know if they have all been removed or not. Hopefully if I can get on my laptop from somewhere I can get the pictures I’ve been taking posted. I want to take all that I can to share with all of you who will never have the experience of being in a place like this. I’d much rather be here than any of you but it’s great to be able to share the experience with you through this journal and pictures. I am having serious withdrawls from my girls on MOM.net though and hope to be able to get on soon. Girls, I sent out a mass e-mail to those I had e-mail addresses for. Quite a few of them came back to me but if you get it, please forward it on so I can see how everyone is doing.

~Pictures are up!! Also, if you had my mailing address written down from before, make sure you go look again. It changed a little bit. Do not worry though if you already sent something to the old address. It will still make it to me.

16 Apr 07: Things are starting to get a little better. I finally got a full nights sleep last night. Everyone was quiet when they got up and it was really nice to wake up to my alarm instead of other things. I was reading a book last night before I went to sleep and I was thinking about what I could write today so I figured I would share what a normal day is like here for me. There are only 2 things that we can wear here. We can wear our uniforms or we can wear our PT gear. I told you about our rooms already and the pictures are in the gallery but the bathrooms are 2 doors down from my room. To go to the bathroom, I have to make sure I’m wearing one of the 2 uniforms so I usually just put my PT clothes on over my PJs to go take a shower. I have to cart all my stuff down there and I really take for granted how easy it is just to get in the shower at home! We all joke about how we’re going to go home and put our sunglasses on and our PT gear just to head to the showers. So, after I get up and shower I just hang out for a bit or go to the BX or whatever else I might have to do that day. Today, I went to the BX to try to get internet, got a coffee, did some shopping and dropped off my laundry. We do not do our own laundry here. I would have thought it would have been nice to get a break from laundry but I would just rather do it myself. We have to put our laundry mark on everything (first initial of our last name and the last 4 digits of our SSN). So, when I come home, all of my clothes will have that stupid laundry mark. So, after I come back to the dorm from the morning activities, I get dressed in my uniform and head to the DFAC (dining facility). We all walk over to the flight line after that to catch the bus to work. Work has been slow because our aircraft are not here yet so hopefully once they’re here, things will speed up and I won’t be quite so bored. Starting tonight after work, we will start going to the gym so that will help burn off some of my energy. That is about all there is to a day for me here. I have had some good times with these silly guys that have been here 3 months already. Some of them are just a riot. Today, we were laughing at our poor captain. They took his truck away and gave him a bicycle to ride. However, whenever you’re in a gator or in the back of a truck or anything like that, you have to wear a kevlar helmet. I took a picture of him and he didn’t look too happy with me that I took it. It’s posted on my website as well as some other pictures I took around the area today. We had a little bit of stormy weather and I actually saw a rainbow which was pretty neat so I took a picture of that as well. Nothing much happened today. I guess I should be thankful for uneventful days at war!

**Back by popular demand, the meal of the day was spicy fish and some white rice. (Yes, I’m back to eating like a bird! )

17 Apr 07: There’s not a whole lot to report today. The girls woke me up at 0445 this morning so I’m beat right now. I’m just looking forward to getting off of work and going to the gym and then to bed. The internet guys were supposed to come to the room today so I could get online but they didn’t so I’m going to attempt to go back over there tomorrow and then hopefully I can be online “at home” so I won’t be so bored. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed chatting and doing all the things I do online until I couldn’t do it anymore. Today was hot for the first part of the day and then the clouds rolled in like they have the last 3 days and we got some rain. We have been put on weather hold the last couple of days here too because of lightning so it really IS like Tucson! Well, that’s about it for today.

**Meal of the day was more spicy fish but this time I had some mashed potatoes with it. I also had a little bit of ice cream. (Since we start the gym today, that was my last real treat before starting on the weight loss journey. )

18 Apr 07: Another boring day here at Bagram. I did have a coffee today which was nice and I finally have my internet going in my room! Whoo hoo! I got on briefly just to let the girls know I can get on so I’m excited to be able to chat with them and to see the kids this weekend! I had a little bit more work to do today. Slowly but surely, more things are surfacing to do. I know that if I don’t stay busy, this place will get the best of me so I definitely need to find more things to do. I am planning on getting some school credits out of the way while I’m here so hopefully my shift doesn’t interfere with that too much. Other than that, not too much to report. I’m almost off work so I’m headed to the gym and then to chat with my girls!

**Meal of the day was the baked potato bar.

19 Apr 07: Nothing much to report today. I finally had some real work to do today. It took me about 4 hours so that was great. Other than that, nothing else has happened. Again, a boring day is a good day since that means we’re not getting attacked. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention was that there are more butterflies here than I’ve ever seen in my life. There are a ton of moths too but the amount of butterflies amaze me. I see probably a hundred per day.

**Meal of the day was baked chicken, rice and garlic bread.

20 Apr 07: I actually had a busy day today. I got up early to go and pick up my uniforms at the dry cleaners and then picked up my laundry. I guess it’s not all that bad having someone else do my laundry but I’m pretty sure they just wash everything in the bag. It took me about 5 minutes to get everything untangled on the outside to even get into my bag. I was able to do some more work today which was great. Our planes are a little bit busier than the ones that have been here for the last 3 months. We’ve seen a little more “action” which is great because that means we can keep building and that gives us stuff to do. I was able to watch some videos from the base that is here right now and it’s great. I love to see what we do in action. It really reminds me what we actually do. I am pretty tired today but I’m looking forward to going to the gym again after work. I was worried how that was going to work since we weren’t living in the Air Force camp like we did last time but thankfully everything is in pretty close proximity so it works out. Hopefully each day that goes by, we’ll be a little busier. I realized today that we’ve been here for 8 days and it feels like a month so I’d love for things to start picking up and making the time go by a little faster. I’m going to try to get out more and get some more pictures loaded on the website so people can see what we do. I’m just trying to learn what I can and can’t show you. Obviously I know the major things but there are just some other things, I’m unsure about.

**Meal of the day was steak and king crab legs!! It was fantastic! They also had some baked mac & cheese that was to die for. The food is MUCH better this time around!

21 Apr 07: Today was MUCH better! I had tons of work to do today. I did new letters so I can sign documents and stuff like that so it made time go by a little faster. Of course, I still have over 4 hours left in my shift that will probably go by slow but at least I was busy for 8 hours of my 12 hour shift. I got my first package today and I had forgotten just how much I loved getting mail over here. Even if you guys just want to send a card that’s prewritten and sign it, that is fine with me. I just LOVE knowing people are thinking about me. Thank you Shawn for the package! It totally made my day! Her son Austin drew two pictures for me too and they will proudly be displayed on my wall when I get back to my room! Last night on the way home from work, I had the giggles like I haven’t had in a long time! I got home and got on the computer for a bit and then Leah woke up from a strange dream so we went outside so I could fill her in on all the weird events of yesterday. People are just getting goofy from lack of sleep and work. I started giggling all over again. Anyway, we got to see more land mines being blown up today on the way to work. Hopefully I can get a picture one of these days but our road to work is so windy that it’s hard to get a picture. Some of the guys that were here before us said they had some they’d let me copy. I still want to get my own though. It’s a neat site. Chris and the kids are going to the zoo today but after I go to the gym, I will be able to watch them on the webcam for a while. I am looking forward to that more than I’ve looked forward to anything since I’ve been gone. It will be so nice to see them. They are just going to melt my heart! Other than that, there’s not much going on. Work is just steadily plugging away and we’re still hoping for the pace to pick up.

**Meal of the day was chicken and rice. One of the guys had a cookie and suggested that I tried one so I did. It was a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie and it was awesome! I am going to stay away from them!

22 Apr 07: Well, to your surprise, today was yet another boring day! I am so tired that I can barely keep my eyes open today. I was up late last night “watching the kids” and it was so much fun but it made me miss them more. Miles looks like he’s grown already and that makes me sad but I know they’re proud of what I’m doing. The only other thing I have to report is that we already made the news. I will post them each time I see them but here is the first of many! Click me!

**Meal of the day was turkey and mashed potatoes.

23 Apr 07: We had to conduct a 100% inventory today of all our ammo so we could change over the person who is responsible for maintaing them so that gave me lots of stuff to do today. Too bad we can’t do those every day! Now that that’s over for the day, I’m bored again. I took pictures of a lot of the folks that were here when we got here and some of our guys and posted them on my website today. Tomorrow is my day off so I will enjoy catching up on some sleep. The plan is for Kelly and I to get up early so we can actually go enjoy some breakfast at the DFAC (dining facility). After that, we’re going to see if they have anything new at the BX and do some shopping. We’re planning on checking out the beauty shop too to see what all they do here. I am thinking about getting my eyebrows waxed. Other than that, most of the day will either be spent on the computer or sleeping. I can definitely use to catch up on some sleep. My schedule is going to be all out of whack when I get home.

**Meal of the day was some chicken tenders and a cheeseburger. The main line did not look appealing at all.

24 Apr 07: Today was a great day! I think that a day off was exactly what I needed. I got some more stuff “situated” in my room so I can find things easier. I feel quite refreshed. Kelly and I got up early so we could go to breakfast. (Normally I wake up about 10 and the DFAC is already closed.) After that, we went to the BX to get some things and then we went and relaxed and enjoyed a coffee. After that, we picked up lunch and brought it back to the dorm and sat out on the “balcony” (I’ll take a picture this week so you can get an idea of what I mean when I say dorm.) and had lunch. After that, we went to our rooms to relax and take a nap. However, I was rudely awoken by a thud and the building shaking. It scared me half to death. Turns out, we were having a major windstorm and it knocked a piece of metal siding off the dorm next to us. It slammed into the side of our dorm. I didn’t find out what it was until later. There was one other girl in my room sleeping at the time it happened and it woke her up too. She went out one end of the room to see what the noise was and I went out the other. It scared us both to death. I sure couldn’t finish my nap after that. Later on, Kelly and I went to dinner and then went back to the BX. She doesn’t have much storage space in her room (she’s next door) so she had purchased a shelf earlier in the day but she didn’t realize how small it was so we went back so she could grab some more. We are required, as females, to travel in pairs and especially at night so I had to tag along. That was fine though because I picked up a couple more things that I thought about later. Now, after surfing the internet for a little while, I am off to bed. If all goes well, I will get 10 hours of sleep tonight!

**Meal of the day was chicken and baked mac and cheese. It wasn’t as good as the last time though but it was still pretty tasty.

25 Apr 07: I had a great day today! I had work to do for 6 hours of my 12 hour shift and that’s the most yet. I also got a package from Chris and a card from his grandparents! Have I mentioned that I LOVE mail! I got to see some more video footage today too which is always a good reminder of why I’m here. I had more fun today just being goofy with the girls too. We laugh so much here, it’s funny. We find the stupidest things hilarious.  I had to walk out of my room 3 times tonight because I couldn’t stop laughing and I didn’t want to wake the other girls.  You know how when you try to be quiet, you make the most noise?  That’s pretty much what we have going on in our room.  I’m laughing to myself right now as I type this.  It’s a little annoying to live in a dungeon because someone is always sleeping but it’s so quiet that it’s hard not to crack up sometimes.  I know it won’t always be like that so I’m enjoying it while it lasts. At the end of a deployment like this, the last people you want to see for a long time are those that you just spent all of your time with!

**Meal of the day was chicken and mashed potatoes. (Are you seeing a trend here??)

26 Apr 07:  Today was just another day.  There was nothing special about today.  The work is getting pretty steady for me for at least half of my shift so that keeps me happy.  I got some more letters written today which is great.  I found the jackpot stash of envelopes and cards!  I am just looking forward to going to the gym and getting a good night of sleep.

**Meal of the day was NOT chicken!    Ha ha!  I had some turkey nuggets and rice.

27 Apr 07:  Today was by far the most boring day yet.  I haven’t done a lick of work because there is absolutely nothing to do.  I have been playing Zuma all day and surfing the net.  Yes folks, that’s our tax dollars hard at work!  I just pray that there are not many more days like this or I will have to find a good hobby that I can do while I’m here.  We did find out something rather amusing today though and hopefully he doesn’t see this or I will be in the dog house even more.  I found out today that the captain ate it on his bike last week on the Russian bridge out by where I work.  I guess he must have been telling the story because the AGE guys made a sign that said his name on it and put it on the bridge, thus naming the bridge after him.  It was pretty amusing.  Someone got a picture of it (that someone will remain nameless) and I will post it in my album as soon as I get it.  Other than that, same ole story today.

**Meal of the day was steak and lobster!  Mmmm, I love surf and turf Friday!  That’s two days in a row without chicken and I think my body is in shock! 

28 Apr 07:  I received a card from Chris’ parents today and a letter from Grandma Louise.  It was so nice to get more mail.  I know there is a bit more on the way too so that’s exciting!!  I didn’t get a chance to post this yet but yesterday was so boring that I finally beat Zuma!!  I had to take a picture because Kelly was the only one here and I didn’t think people would believe me!  Today I was a little sad because it’s Cody’s birthday and I’m not there to share it with him but I did send him an e-mail and he’s supposed to be sending a response.  It’s so weird to think of kids using the internet for e-mail!    He is only doing that with me though, it’s not like he has his own e-mail address.  That’s about all there is to report for today.

**Meal of the day was veal parmesan and potoates and it was yummy!!

29 Apr 07:  Today was another boring day.   I went out to the flightline today with the boss and got some more pictures.  I uploaded them to my website already too and there’s finally a couple of me.  I got to talk to Chris and the kids today so that was nice but that is about it.  It’s Sunday so no mail or anything so not much to report.  I am sleepy and just waiting to go home.

**Meal of the day was turkey.

30 Apr 07:  I’ve found that I remember stuff I wanted to post about later so I am going to start my journal when I come on shift and then I will finish it after dinner.  So, if you come to read and you do not see the meal of the day for that days entry, I am not doing posting.    Hopefully that will help.  We heard the loud speaker again last night about another fallen comrade cermony.  I can’t remember if I posted about that before but it is a very powerful ceremony and I want to make it to as many of them as I can.  They line the street and then the flightline while they drive the body of a fallen soldier to the aircraft to go home.  It is very humbling to be a part of and something that will not be soon forgotten.  I participated in one last time I was here and it still gives me chills when I think about it.  I know I will cry every time but that’s war and that’s what’s happening to people here and abroad.  I think everyone here should attend at least one.  Anyway, we have a commanders call today although I’m not sure what it’s about yet.  I’m just glad it’s the last day of the month.  I had to go online and order underwear for me because this whole laundry situation is not working out well.  We can drop off any day but it only goes out to be laundered on certain days and it just doesn’t work out.  I need to get some more black socks and some more black t-shirts and I think I will be in business.  Well, we just got back from commanders call and while it was nice to see whatwas going on, it had nothing to do with us.  It was for the folks that were leaving.  That really wasn’t the place that we needed to be.  It was okay though because one of the better ones from Mt. Home received an award.  The weather here is very strange.  We had a nasty windstorm again today and I am still trying to get the taste of dirt out of my mouth.    Of course, the worst part about this place is the flies and the smell.  Other than that, it’s really not all that bad.  That’s about it for today.  I am looking forward to my day off tomorrow!

**Meal of the day was yummy lasagna!!