Have you ever wonder what it is like to be in the boots of a US Service Member during their deployment phase? Also have you ever wonder what it was like to fight in a combat zone and the trials and tribulation they face when the deployment goes on? Well I’m going to tell you the three phases of a deployment. First you start with the ceremony, the lonely flight and finally the trials and tribulations of the combat zone. As you well know I’m no longer in the military but I going to tell you these phases through my eyes when I was in the army during my combat tour in Afghanistan from June 2010 to June 2011.
It all started when I first sergeant told us what time to be at the company so we can have our early formation before we head to the Green Ramp. If you don’t know what Green Ramp is, it’s the final holding area that separates the soldiers and the plane. The reason why they call it that because it’s a small ramp that leads to the plane and it has green lands on the sides of the ramp. The formation time was 0500 and the weather was so nice that I could hear all the early birds chirping away. The formation time came and the first sergeant held accountability for all the fellow enlisted and officers that were going with us to Afghanistan. When we all found out what time we were heading to Green Ramp, we all decided that this was going to be a very long day. One of my soldiers came up to me and asks will this be a steadfast deployment and I told him I sure hope so. When it was finally time for us to get on the bus and head towards Green Ramp, I knew this was it and I can’t wait to see my family before I had out to Afghanistan. When we arrive there, you can see all the families waiting on us to get there so we can say our good byes as well as the hugs and kisses. I immediately went to my mom and gave her a big hug and told her I love her and I will see her soon. Then I shook my stepfathers hand as he knew what to except because he was a veteran of the army as well. The final formation came and we all had to get in line so we can stand at parade rest and wait for the battalion commander to come give his speech about where we are going and the mission we will part take. As I gaze into the crowd I can see my sister-in law with my twin nephews approaching my mom. After I observe all the families I could the tears and camera flashing as our company commander called us to attention. He told us to make a right face and a right turn as this was it. It’s time to head down Green Ramp. As we walk towards Green Ramp we wave our final good byes and head towards the plane.
As we boarded World Airlines, we all started to pick out seats to sit in and find the most comfortable spot so we can fall asleep as we knew that this will be a very long flight. When I started to place my rifle under the seat, one of my soldiers asked me to use my phone so he can call his with and tell her his final good bye. When I look out the window, I saw all the families waving at us to give us our final salute off into the wind. When the plane started to pick up speed, I felt a little heaviness in my stomach as I knew it was no turning back now. I dug through my assault pack which is nothing but a book bag. I started to search for my iPod and head phone as I knew that we have a 9 ½ hour flight to Germany. The stewardess but on a movie that I didn’t want to watch so I feel asleep and hope that I will wake up in Germany. Even though that didn’t happen because I kept waking up from time to time to eat and use the bathroom. When we finally landed in Germany, I thought the weather will be nice but I was wrong because for some strange reason it was cold. Someone told me that Germany is like this and that’s why he never wanted to get station there because it’s too cold. When we went inside the waiting area, just about everybody took their phones and cameras so we could all take pictures and cherish the moments. They told us we will be there for about an hour and a half because the plane was refueling. We knew we had one more stop and that was Kuwait. We all just sat around before it was time for us to the final 8 hour flight to Kuwait. When we boarded the plane again the switch stewardess and they told us what movies they are going to play. Again I didn’t want to see any of them so I decided to catch up some rest as we were going forwards in the time zone. The initial landing in the Green Zone was a vague one and we knew that we were heading to the Combat Zone.
The time as has come for us to land in the Green Zone, in which is a safety zone for all the incoming and outgoing personnel in theater. As we landed in Kuwait, we all knew things just got a little bit more serious and time to put our game faces on. We did some training here in Kuwait because some of my fellow soldiers never been to a combat zone. The pretty much taught us what to look for when it comes to IED’s which are Improvised Explosive Device and first aid. We were only in Kuwait for about a week before the split us to go our separate ways into the combat zone. At last it was time to fly into Afghanistan on a small commercial flight to Bagram Air Base. This was it and time to head to the combat zone. When we landed the immediately spilt us up as we were deed to do the mission in different parts of the country. The platoon I was in boarded a C-17 which was a big military aircraft that house a lot of service members to the combat zone because regular civilian flights weren’t allow over there. We flew the C-17 to Camp Phoenix which was in Kabal, Afghanistan. After about a couple hours of flight we landed at Camp Phoenix and we were all rush off the plane because the mortar alert was sounding off. This was it for me as I put my game face on and prepared for the enemy. As we grab our stuff and ran towards the bunker the explosions from the mortar rounds was so loud that my ears had rung and the ground was shaking a bit. I just knew they were trying to kill us and wipe out the new group of services members entering the camp. After everything was all clear, we grab our bags and headed towards the group that we are replacing. The pretty much told us the load down of what’s going on and how often the mortar rounds will rain in. I look around the country and saw all the mountain and valleys that was surrounding us. I just knew there was some Taliban hiding waiting for us to let our ground down. As the deployment went on, the mortar attacks were about every other day and I got use to it. I just grab my weapon and ran towards the bunker. No one in our group had really got hurt but there were an occasional bumps and bruises now and then. The only time that I really got hurt, is when we went on a mission and we hit an IED. I was knocked out for about a minute as I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I suffer from a concussion and a torn rotator cuff because shrapnel went into my shoulder. The enemy was raining down on us and we knew we had to do something before we become over ran. We decide to strike back off the enemy until or reinforcements arrive. After that incident, I knew that the GOD was on my side and I can’t wait to get back to the states away from this madness.
So I hope you will understand the life of a US Service Member and the trials and tribulation we face when we deployment for a long duration of time. It all started with the pre-deployment ceremony with all the hugs, kisses and the good byes. Then it was the march down Green Ramp and straight to the airplane as we prepare for lift off. Finally, the deployment in the combat zone and the trials and tribulations we face during the tour. The one thing I want you to do is stop a service member and/or veteran and thank them for all their sacrifices they made for our country because freedom doesn’t come without a price. Thank You.