Flying to Baghdad

We returned to Camp Virginia the evening of 10 NOV expecting to leave for Iraq the next day, giving all time enough for repacking and some rest. Instead, we were informed that those of us going to Baghdad would be leaving at 0245 hours, technically, yes, the next day, only closer. We all rushed to dinner and then took showers to get several layers of fine Kuwaiti sand out of various parts of our bodies and started repacking. I grabbed three hours of sleep, woke up, grabbed my gear and loaded it onto yet another bus. We drove to another air base and boarded an Air Force C-17 transport for the one hour flight to Baghdad. We left around 0700 on 10 NOV. Thankfully, the flight was uneventful.

We landed around 0800 at Baghdad International Airport, referred to collectively as BIAP, which, in turn, is surrounded by the vast Camp Victory Complex. When the rear half of the C-17's loading hatch came down, we all got our first look at Iraq. It smelled different from Kuwait, more urban, with copious palm trees on the horizon. As we walked out of the plane, two AH-64 Apache attack helicopters flew nearby over the adjacent runway, banked right and flew off over the city. It was a powerful visual. We were here. Game on.