We pulled into the airport, a private side as we were skipping the whole security thing and concourse. After all, we were armed! Approved containers of Purell? Heck, we could bring a whole jug on this flight! As we walked into the hangar bay, a thunderous applause broke out. The local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), Boy Scouts, and legions of volunteers were there. They formed a tunnel for us and the applause did not end until the last sailor entered that room. (it was cool to be the first sailor in the room, by the way!) Shortly thereafter, they welcomed us and a 2-star Army General thanked us and wished us luck. For the next hour or so, we mingled, had pizza and assorted snacks. They also had some handmade gifts for us, Girl Scout cookies, a “Dang-it” Doll (shown here) and I was offered a New Testament Bible no less than 10 times…no joke. As the time to board approached and the chartered Boeing 767 awaited only a few yards away, out came the flags. Every single person there formed a tunnel onto the tarmac, directly pointed at the plane, and no less than 50 flags were flying in the cool night breeze. Name by name, sailor by sailor, we walked up and entered the tunnel. But first, a lady stood there like a sentry and hugged every single one of us. I thought that was it until it was my turn. As I walked, the hairs on my neck stood at attention as lady after lady stood in my way, insisting on a hug and thank you. Along the sides were men and women of all ages, holding out their hands, wanting to shake our hands and a blur of “Thank You’s” filled my ears. No less than 10-15 hugs, I’d say. At the end, there was a dark void between the tunnel at the steps into the 767. At the end of that darkness waited the 2-star General from before and the Navy Chaplain from the base whom I heard preach twice in the past 3 weeks. They shook our hands and we boarded. Inside the plane, plastic American flags were hanging and patriotic buntings. All of the flight attendants wore red, white, and blue ribbons, too. I found a window seat, no neighbor and settled in. Just prior to take-off, the Chaplain came aboard and prayed for us. I really do like that man. I wish he could come along! So at a few minutes before 1am, the tires left U.S. soil.
I was out within 15min, boots off, and curled up to the window. I tossed and turned for the next 6 hours. 6’2” me doesn’t fit well in airplanes. Still, I got 6 hours of sleep and awoke just in time for…breakfast? My body said breakfast but lunch we were served, after all, we were landing in Germany for a brief layover to refuel and stretch our legs. They are 6 hours ahead of Kansas so it was a late lunch, actually. Truth be told, that was a great lunch. We landed in Germany, my first time ever, and it reminded me so much of home. Rolling farmlands and I’m sure a few wineries down there, too, just like home. It was a beautiful landscape. I quickly shot off a text to Dorothy to let her know I arrived safely and she spread the word to family. Texts are billed a la carte so no unlimited text-sending anymore. We were then taken to a building on the airport property but not in the concourse. We were totally kept apart for security reasons. We were still accompanied by military working dogs, too. They joined us when we left the U.S. I assume they are here for bomb-sniffing, etc. After about 90min of downtime and a bratwurst, we were back onboard. New crew on this flight but just as red, white, and blue as before. Oh yea, the funniest thing as we landed in Germany: you know how they tell you to secure loose items before landing? Imagine hearing “Ladies and gentlemen, please secure your weapons prior to landing.” Laughter broke out after that one.
We landed after about 5 hours or so and more buses awaited…so were our 400+ seabags we had loaded on those 1/2 ton trucks back in the U.S. By this time, it’s just a few moments after midnight local time. We boarded the buses for our long ride to our next stop along the Yellow Brick Road. It’s not Oz, but it is the last stop before Oz. Oh yea, it is HOT here and there is nothing but sand...everywhere. Not a hint of color in sight. Now for my next challenge...stay up all day long. While my body will want to sleep, I need to transition into a new a very different time zone. Green Beans Coffee, here I come!
Goodnight, everyone. (or good morning to me!) :-)
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