Our "vacation" began with the cross country flight to Winchester, VA where we spent the first week at the USACE Deployment Center (UDC) at the Transatlantic Center (TAC). After having our lost luggage delivered to the hotel at 3am, we spent the next 5 days preparing for deployment. We were issued uniforms and other gear, underwent medical assessment, watched several training videos, learned field trauma care, and attended 2 days of Quality Assurance and RMS training. All in all UDC was tolerable and ended early Friday afternoon, giving us almost the entire weekend to play tourist since we didn't depart for the Middle East until late Sunday night.
So, we spent the weekend busy as usual. We ventured to Shenandoh National Park on Saturday with a friend of Dani's from Iraq, met one of Billy's college roommates who now lives in Blacksburg, VA (Virginia Tech is located there.) for dinner, and helped a friend tar seal her driveway. And somewhere in between all that we packed up our gear which could weigh no more than 66 pounds. Not to worry though, we shipped 3 duffle bags and 1 box of stuff ahead of us so we'd have enough for the 6 months, including all the mandatory issue items (uniforms, boots, camo rain sets, etc.).
Suprisingly enough UDC did not have a lot of "hurry up and wait" time - we were typically busy the whole day. But we think the tactic was to save all the "hurry up and wait" for the day you depart the States - we (there were 5 of us) arrived at Dulles International Airport at 3:30pm for a 10pm flight. Luckily, Dulles has a nice USO and with our CAC ID's we were able to enjoy the amenties (snacks, cozy chairs, football) until our flight.Our flight was a 13-hour direct flight from Dulles to Dubai International Airport. Yes, 13 hours . . . and yes, Dubai! The flight luckily wasn't full so we each got 2 seats, the food was tolerable, and even though Dani should have been sleeping, she'd tell you the movies were good. 
We lost a day during the flight due to time conversions and arrived in Dubai at 7pm Monday night. Getting through customs, passport control and baggage claim were a breeze because USACE hires a "marhaba" (meaning welcome) to help get you into the express lanes and into the hired car to take you to the hotel. 
Unfortunately because we arrived in the evening it was basically dark already. (It's amazing that it's completely dark by 6:30pm!) Thus, we weren't able to do much sight seeing and the front desk at the hotel reminded us it's Ramadan and most places would not be open their usual hours. Basically, there wouldn't be much for us to do if we ventured out. So, an attempt at sleeping during what felt like the middle of the day is what we did.
The hotel was luxurious. The United Arab Emirates tourism group rates it as a 4 star hotel. And the prices of everything there reflect as such ($8 for a beer, $12 for a small daquiri and $20+ for a buffet breakfast per person). But considering per diem is $413 per day I guess we made out pretty well (food alone is $135)!
The next morning (although our body was screaming at us that it was the middle of the night!), we ventured out to see the sights immediately surrounding the hotel. We quickly discovered that we weren't staying in the downtown tourist district and didn't get to see any of the world 
reknown sites (Burj Al Arab, indoor ski hill, mosque open to non-muslims, etc.). We now have a plan for next time though!
reknown sites (Burj Al Arab, indoor ski hill, mosque open to non-muslims, etc.). We now have a plan for next time though!By 9:30 Tuesday morning (about 12 hours after landing in Dubai) we were headed back to the airport for a 2-hour flight to Kabul, Afghanistan. By this time there were 9 of us traveling together and making our way through security that would never meet stateside standards, passport control, and boarding the plane via a shuttle to the tarmack and stairs up to the plane cabin. And if you can believe this, they served drinks before take-off and a hot meal on a 2 hour flight (not just salted peanuts!).
Dani slept during the flight but Billy enjoyed looking out the window at the countryside which entailed lots of desert and very rugged mountains. But as we entered the Kabul area Dani was roused and we had a chance to see the city from the areal vanage point - the arid landscape, the lack of trees, and the individual, wall-encapsulated residences. It was also amazing to taxi around what seemed to be all of the Afghanistan International Airport, only to discover we'd squeeze the plane inbetween other planes away from the terminal and the luggage would be unloaded onto carts that appeared to be hand-pulled to baggage carousels beneath the terminal.
Once again, we completed a trip through passport control, customs and baggage claim and met up with our "guide." Our "guide" took us on a long walk (there were several people with heavy suitcases that wished they had accepted the services of the porters at baggage claim) to the convoy vehicles. We suited up in fire retardant jumpsuits, flack vests and helmets and were on our way. After a quick trip through the city, we were at Qalaa, which is where Afghanistan Engineer District North (AED-N) is headquartered.
So as of last Tuesday afternoon, we were considered "boots on ground."
More to come. . . .
