I arrived in Kuwait on a commercial plane this time. United has a non-stop flight from Washington, DC to Kuwait City. The flight takes 11-12 hours eastbound. It is a sign of the times that the flight happens daily and is almost always completely full. Even though service members are instructed to dress in “civilian attire” it is painfully obvious who is in the military. “High and Tight” haircuts and military issued backpacks are a dead giveaway. Not to mention the uncanny way in which American service members’ seem to dress: white sneakers, cheap tapered jeans, and an outdated polo shirt –tucked in. I would estimate that about 70 percent of passengers were military and 30 percent were government contractors. To my surprise there was an infant on board as well so add one tourist or returning Kuwaiti national. I suppose a visiting member of congress might also take the flight on occasion. The flight passes over Turkey and south over Iraq, basically following the Tigris River. The flight path is a reflection of the safety of the skies now over Iraq.
When traveling with a unit, a charter flight or military flight is used. The former is frequently performed by a generic sounding airline like Trans-American Airlines with outdated planes like DC-10s. I’m surprised they have flight attendants. I’m sure KBR or Haliburton own a stake in the charter companies. The route on charter planes is almost universally circuitous. Frequent stops are partially necessary for refueling given the weight of luggage (five months of gear including chemical gear, weapons, and body armor). My previous charter flight took off from North Carolina, refueled in New York and Germany, and then arrived in Kuwait from a W/SW approach over the Saudi Arabia. Needless to say the travel can be quite exhausting. It is not uncommon for units to have to over-night at one of the transit stops for maintenance work on the aircraft.
At least part of the “purpose” of stopping in Kuwait prior to entering a combat zone is to get acclimated to the time-zone and temperature in the region. Of note, deployment officially starts when your military ID is scanned at the arrival terminal. Many deployments are measured in days e.g. 212 days on official orders and so the start date is particularly important. More on the Kuwait transit experience in the next posting.
When traveling with a unit, a charter flight or military flight is used. The former is frequently performed by a generic sounding airline like Trans-American Airlines with outdated planes like DC-10s. I’m surprised they have flight attendants. I’m sure KBR or Haliburton own a stake in the charter companies. The route on charter planes is almost universally circuitous. Frequent stops are partially necessary for refueling given the weight of luggage (five months of gear including chemical gear, weapons, and body armor). My previous charter flight took off from North Carolina, refueled in New York and Germany, and then arrived in Kuwait from a W/SW approach over the Saudi Arabia. Needless to say the travel can be quite exhausting. It is not uncommon for units to have to over-night at one of the transit stops for maintenance work on the aircraft.
At least part of the “purpose” of stopping in Kuwait prior to entering a combat zone is to get acclimated to the time-zone and temperature in the region. Of note, deployment officially starts when your military ID is scanned at the arrival terminal. Many deployments are measured in days e.g. 212 days on official orders and so the start date is particularly important. More on the Kuwait transit experience in the next posting.
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