Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Christmas Day at my Deployed Location in SW Asia

Merry Christmas & thanks for the sacrifices you & others are making to keep our country safe. I would encourage all campfire members to support our troops by sending care packages & telephone credit cards. Contact your local veterans groups for procedures. Blaine could you provide an address for your unit for those that might be interested? God Bless.

Blaine,

There ain't a whole lot to add, most others hit it spot on. Merry Christmas and Thank You!



Mac

Blaine... a dusty, small town South Texas Christmas down here (at my wife's relatives) in a house crowded with "outlaws, in-laws, crooks and straights" and all the fresh tamales ya can eat <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

In the meantime thank you for your service.

Birdwatcher

Blaine, I think you and I are at the same deployed location. Weather was the same anyway. Do you hang out at the Bra at all?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Blaine!

Tripleduece,

It sounds like we are ar the same location. Send me an e-mail. I am in the global under Painter, Blaine. BTW, the ne'er-do-wells that post here are a fine group of folks--mostly............. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Phil,

I have never flown the C-17 or even been inside one. I have two tours flying C-130s, one tour as a T-38 IP, two tours as a T-1 Instructor, and two HQ tours. However, I keep getting stuck with these deployments planning and executing C-17 missions. If you Google for "C-17 Globemaster" you will find a lot of interesting info about it.

To all,

Thanks for all your support and encouragement. Once again I would like to point out I have it pretty good here. What follows is why I am happy to be here fussing with the red tape, politics, and a million other factors few have any idea about; when what I do best is teaching other pilots how to be instructors in jet aircraft.

A little over a week ago I met a Army young troop who was here for hernia surgery. His deployed location was in Iraq. His job was very dangerous, and casualties for those who do his job has to be high. Regardless, he was excited to get back to his team and be with his "brothers" (his word) again.

I had to fight to keep the tears out of my eyes. I told him that we at my base were all 100% behind him as his brothers. I explained to him the whole reason for the entire USAF was to support guys like him doing the hard and dangerous work; and there would always be at least one crusty old major fussing and arguing with the system to make sure he got the stuff he needed to do his job. This earned me a "hua". I am not sure he fully understands what I told him, and I know he is to young to have much of a sense of his own mortality. I just pray he makes it home and grows old enough to understand such stuff.

Ditto from here.

I remember the Christmas seasons I spent overseas while in the Navy. I was a torpedoman on an older WWII submarine (this was in '67-'69) and the cooks would go all-out making meals that 4-star restaurants would drool over. It was just incredible and it made being away from home actually fairly enjoyable.

Very best to you Blaine..

Blaine, thanks.Us old timer Grunts thank you for lookin' after our young Grunts today. We're waitin' for you to get back to the World and hope your Christmas was as good as the situation allowed. Thanks again for looking out for my younger brothers.

Thank you Blain.