Kuwait Training

When we last left our intrepid warrior he was arriving with the aircraft at Udairi Army Airfield in Kuwait. Okay, I'll be serious now. In the picture above left you can see the lack of contrast available in the Kuwaiti desert. The lack of contrast is even more apparent at night making it more difficult to fly and navigate at 1oo feet above the ground.





This picture was taken in our tent where the entire company was housed for over a month. On the left is Ed, Shane, yours truly, and Bill. Clothes, towels , laundry, and anything else you need quick access to hangs from every possible place.





Below, I am sitting on my cot preparing for the next training flight.


Clowning around on the flight line with Dan, me, and Shane. Don't I look like a real soldier?







This picture (below) is a portion of a larger picture of the entire company taken on top of one of our aircraft.

Here we are in the right seat of the mighty CH-47D Chinook taxiing for a twilight takeoff on another training mission.

Udairi flight line with returning Chinooks in the background.
We spent over one month in Kuwait and flew day, night, night vision goggle, and instrument missions in preparation for the trip North to Iraq. All things considered, it was not a bad place but most people were ready to get into our permanent rooms and start performing missions in Operation Iraqi Freedom.


I think the patch on this crewchief's helmet says it all.

To be continued in Taji, Iraq...