More Travel!

Another conference! This time at Camp Asayliyah in Qatar which means more intra-theater travel using military air (MILAIR). The advantage is that Qatar is in the same time zone as Iraq. The disadvantage is that it’s still the desert and it’s hotter. I was here last March on a similar assignment. I’m headed down to this particular conference with two other colleagues. Last week, I spaced blocked (the MILAIR version of a reservation) the three of us on a flight leaving on the 6th of August. We showed up at the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) passenger terminal at the appointed hour only to find our flight was cancelled (not an auspicious start to the trip). We were especially disappointed because the flight we were supposed to go on was on a C-17 which is much nicer than a C-130. We grabbed great and caught the bus over to Stryker Stables to spend the night. More walking on rocks to and from the tent.

The next morning, we caught the bus back to BIAP and began the waiting game for the next available flight. Fortunately, we caught a flight leaving in the early evening, although it was on a C-130 (less room, less comfortable, and takes longer to fly to Qatar). We were called into boarding area but then inexplicably had to wait another hour. I asked what was going on and was informed we were waiting on some Army general who needed to catch the flight.

Eventually we boarded the plane by walking across the concrete ramp from the terminal. The shimmering heat of the early evening reflected off the ground as we walked toting our carry on packs and wearing body armor. Fortunately, the flight wasn’t crowded. Once aloft the cabin temperature dropped dramatically as the plane gained altitude and the air conditioned overcame the oppressive heat. Unfortunately, there is no middle setting and it quickly became genuinely cold. We made the best of our situation during the two and a half hour flight. Most people took off their body armor wore it in front like a blanket. As we descended, the temperature began to rise but with an added bonus: humidity. The cold air coming from the overhead air conditioning vents quickly misted as it collided with the increasingly warming air of the cabin.

When the plane stopped and the ramp opened up at roughly 2130 local time, we were assaulted by a wave of temperature and humidity such as the likes I have never experienced before. Worse than Florida in summer. Completely unbelievable. We walked, toting our gear, about 200 yards to the passenger terminal. All of us were dripping with sweat by the time we arrived five minutes later. I lamented my decision to bring only one uniform on this trip. I will be doing lots of laundry.