Rob’s latest trip to Arifjan, Kuwait
Posted by Michelle on Jul 23, 2003 in Michelle
More from Robert in Iraq:
I just back from Arifjan. That place is something else. I was suppose
to fly last Monday, but my paperwork got all screwed up. I ended up
flying on a C-130 at 0210 Tuesday morning. It was actually a good
flight. The flight landed at Kuwaiti International and all the guys on
the plane passed their cameras around for pictures. The one I have
attached to this email is from the plane.
From the airport I was transported to beautiful Camp Wolf. If you are a
soldier, Camp Wolf is the first place you go to when you enter the
country. Needless to say, lots of bad memories there. Kuwait is one
hour behind Iraq, so when I came in, it was still 0210 at night. The
bus for Arifjan was not leaving until 0700, so I went and found some
tent, plopped down, and went to sleep on my ruck sack, with my flack
vest as a pillow. I was awaken at 0430 by a mass of people moving. The
tent I was sleeping in was full of 101st Abn soldiers, who had to leave
at 0500. After that I just walked around until I got my bus to Arifjan.
For a soldier in Iraq, going to Arifjan is like going to heaven.
Everything you want is there. PX, mess halls, air conditioning, et. al.
Real nice. I had to go there to handle some military justice matters.
I got to sleep in a/c the whole time. It was great.
Two interesting things happened while I was there. On the second day, I
get a message that my Command Judge Advocate is coming down for medical
tests. Well, 24 hours later he is on a plane to Germany and the doctor
told me he will not be returning. I am not really sure what is wrong
with him and the Army is giving him some test in Germany. Hopefully he
will be all-right. So now, I am the Acting Command Judge Advocate. I
am also the senior Army JAG in Southern Iraq. This sounds nice, but
actually I am the only JAG in Southern Iraq.
The second interesting thing is I meet an old friend. I was leaving the
Zone I mess area and reentering Zone II when I saw someone who looked
familiar. I stopped and went back and noticed the guy was wearing a
National Guard shirt. I said “James?” It turned out to be James
Kearney. He is the husband of Tonya Kearney, who works in the DAs
Office with me. He is an MP and has been stationed in Arifjan. He
seemed to be doing well.
On Monday, my fun ended and I caught a ride back to Tallil with a
trucking convoy.
-Robert
P.S. Humpy was right outside the tent I was staying in, so I had to take
a picture of him and his sayings
