Ali Al Saleem: Gateway to Iraq and Afghanistan

The major air base in Kuwait is called Ali Al Saleem. The base is composed of a large number of transient tents since the major role ofthe base is to move service members (and contractors) into Afghanistan and Iraq. The actual 'permanent party' i.e. those service members formally assigned to run the base, is relatively small. The average amount of time spent on the base is less than 3 days for most people.The Army uses the non-flattering term of Life Support Area (LSA) to describe the collection of tents, dining facility (aka DFAC), PostExchange (PX), Morale Recreation Welfare (MWR) tent, and post office. When you arrive you are assigned a tent that you may share with up to 18 other people. The room has bunk beds with bare mattresses. You are not provided with bedding. The lights remain on 24 hours and people are coming in and out at all hours due to jetlag and flight schedules. Sleep may be hard if you are worried about your gear being taken or worse, you have a weapon that you need to keep track of. Flights depart almost exclusively at night...all hours of the night. Frankly, the process of moving such large numbers of people baffles the mind, particularly since there is no predictable schedule to the flights. The base has a somewhat desperate feel to it given that most people are either just starting out their deployment or in the case of the Army, returning from their two weeks of leave back to the States around the middle of their one-year tour. I had the displeasure of spending several days in the transient section of Ali Al Saleem during my last deployment.
This deployment I was housed in the Seabee compound on the grounds of the base. Given that Seabees are builders, it wouldn't be right to beliving in tents. Over time the Seabees have constructed an impressive collection of wooden buildings on their compound. The main design ofthe buildings is the Southwest Asia (SWA) hut. The building isbasically a rectangle on stilts that is built out of plywood. In fact, plywood seems to be the Seabees' best friend. It is almost as ubiquitous as gravel in theatre. In any case the housing was substantially better than the tents. There are no windows in most buildings. That is done partly to decrease damage from explosions, partly to limit air conditioning costs, and in the case of berthing spaces probably to keep the place as conducive to sleeping as possible. There was noticeably more camaraderie in the Seabee section as opposed to "general population." Iwas initially informed that I would spend up to 5 days at the base but ultimately left after two days.
One purpose of stopping in Kuwait is to overcome jetlag so as to be effective the moment you step foot in Iraq or Afghanistan. Some sources claim that it takes 1 day per hour of time difference to truly adjust to a new time zone. That would make 7 days if you are coming from the US. However, most people as sufficiently acclimated in 3-4 days. The bright sunshine in Kuwait may accelerate the process. If it is your first time in Kuwait base life, the sand/dust, and the temperature all require their own adjustment periods.
Given that people in the base are in transit, eating meals becomes themain activity of the day. The dining hall serves four meals. The fourth is called midnight rations or midrats for short and is meant to accommodate night shift workers or in the case of Ali Al Saleem, folksawaiting flights or jet lagging. The food is standard American cafeteria fare ranging from meatloaf to lasagna. The salad bar is remarkably well stocked given the environmental challenges to preserving produce. The highlight of the week is surf n'turf night where they serve steak and either shrimp or crab legs. So much for MRE's. More on dining in a future post.

Getting to Kuwait

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.

Arrival in Kuwait

My plane touched down in Kuwait City in the afternoon of September 30th. The date is significant in several ways. First and most importantly it means that by military regulations I am entitled to tax free income for the entire month of September. This despite only being in a “conflict area” for only one day. Of note, the military has been know to prosecute even high ranking flag officers (generals, admirals) for taking advantage of this loophole too frequently to conduct “inspections” in theatre conveniently spanning 2 months (i.e. the last few days of September, and the first few days of October).
Second and arguably equally important, the countdown to the end of my deployment has started. This deployment will only be five months long for me this time. I hope to return before my wife’s birthday in early March, 2010. I previously deployed to Iraq for seven months in 2008 albeit in a significantly different role (more on that in future postings). At least my family is now surrounded by extended family in the mid-west rather than being isolated on the island of Guam.
Finally it marks my second separation from my wife and children. My wife and I have been married for nearly five years and have three children ages 4, 2, and 3 months old. I am hoping that the separation is easier on my children at a younger age or at least that they will be more prone to forget my absence as they grow older (thereby staving off abandonment issue –psychiatrist speaking here). Leaving my wife with three children under age five may seem cruel to some but we came to this decision mutually knowing that an even longer deployment was virtually certain at a later date.
I will spend less than a week in Kuwait while awaiting further transportation to Kandahar, Afghanistan where I will serve as the head medical officer for a Naval Construction (Seabee) regiment. The regiment has been in theatre for one month already. In this blog I hope to present a picture of a typical deployment to a combat zone, and to address diverse issues pertaining to the military. Expect several posts per week (provided of course that I have reliable internet access). I will try to post pictures as well.