Back from my trip.

Just got back from my trip. I've got some catching up to do now that I'm back, but here's a little travelogue from the journey:

I’m aboard a 60 foot barge as I write this. I’ve just spent the last two and a half days living on a mile long oil terminal in the middle of the Northern Arabian Gulf. It’s the location where the second half of my detachment operates from, and the lifestyle is interesting to say the least.

The trip has been a much needed escape from the day to day routine I’m subjected to as part of my duties at my home base. I’m finding that the ocean suits me much better than the desert, but I can do my job more effectively from that base…so I’m reluctantly returning.

The trip down started with a helicopter flight about 20 feet off the ground until we passed the Kuwait-Iraq border. From the base where we landed, I caught a ride to three other bases over rough roads before I finally made it to the place I would catch the ship out. It had taken me two days.

The Gulf is fairly calm this time of year, and the breeze across the deck convinced me to stay outside long enough to catch a reasonable sunburn. The crew aboard the craft are made up of Indian and Asian merchant sailors who served as good hosts for the 5 hour voyage.

Once at the platform, my guys welcomed me and treated me to a grilled Spam and cheese sandwich. I’m not ashamed to say it was fairly good…but then again, I was pretty hungry. The control center that my guys work out of doubles as their living quarters, and is perched 80 feet above the ocean. It is accessible from a maze of walkways and ladder wells that are worn and rusted enough to make you wonder if you might be swimming after your next step.

The showers are halfway across the terminal (about a half a mile), so if you don’t get there early enough in the day you are guaranteed to need another shower by the time you’ve made the trek back. We were surrounded by warships standing guard from small attack vessels that may be brave enough to disregard the 50 caliber gun emplacements located in strategic places around the structure.

Earlier today I took a ride on a RHIB (rigid hulled inflatable boat) the six miles to a similar terminal where the Coalition Commander I take my orders from resides. I sat in on a briefing, and ate a big lunch with my British hosts before getting a tour of their facilities. A fire had ravaged a sizable portion of this structure just over 6 months ago, so the quarter inch deck plating we walked on was precariously welded to heat bent steel girders. In other places, huge holes and shell casings showed evidence of abuse taken from this, and other wars. I was amazed that they had created a little city in the middle of the ocean out of such worn infrastructure.

The return RHIB ride back to my command center was less eventful than the one over. The fog that had caused us to nearly run into a couple of ships had since lifted, and although the sun was hot the breeze made it bearable. I made it back in time to send out a series of e-mails and make a bunch of phone calls before dinner. It seemed that some troubles with our operation back in Iraq would require me to head back early.

I boarded this ship at 11 pm, knowing I wouldn’t make it back to help my guys until at least Tuesday. I am teetering somewhere between exhaustion and an adrenaline charged excitement that I’m sure will wane with my ride across those rough roads.

I’m joined on my boat ride by a group of sailors that have been out on the platform for 3 months, and heading for a week of R&R, so the mood is pretty upbeat. I know I should be sleeping, but I’m guessing that isn’t too likely. I’ll settle for a few chapter of reading before we make it to port.

Hope you’re all enjoying the summer and each other. Send more pictures when you can.

T.