Eric’s time in the field came complete with first class accommodations & stimulating conversation between intellectual equals.

In fact, upon arrival at the flightline the Air Force Sargeant that accompanied them looked around & asked…

…in all seriousness…

“Where’s the shuttle bus?”

He’s obviously never hung out with the Army before. Otherwise he’d be unloading equipment & organizing all the gear with the rest of them.

You gotta hump it, boy! The Army carries their equipment.

A couple of days ago I told you about Eric’s Alert Drill to head out to the field.

Alert Drill: A telephone-tree phone system get everyone on the same page & on the same airfield, in this instance, on time & with 150 lbs of gear in tow.

The Field: Army slang for “let’s go camping & shoot stuff up”.

So being better prepared this time around, he loaded everything up & we headed to the hangar….at 0630.

Where they sat.

Then laid down.

For 5 hours before taking off.

They were flying to the field in style in Chinook’s.

*Note the ample leg room, scenic aerial view with plenty of overhead baggage space & lovely flight attendants.

(Not.)

Chinook’s are the big double-bladed transport helicopters that make a distinctive “whoop-whoop-whoop” sound when flying overhead.

Did I mention Eric was coming off the night shift & was on no sleep?…

(pretty sure I mentioned grumpy bear in there somewhere…ahh look, there’s my bear now)

But did I mention Eric hates flying in helicopters?…

Oh sure…the boy can fix them like nobody’s business. But after several trips with no-holds-barred, free-styling helicopter pilots in Iraq…let’s just say he & his stomach prefer ground transportation.

But he arrived safe & sound to an undisclosed Korean location where they got to unload everything & wait around some more for further instructions.

And he was thoughtful enough to take some pictures for me to share with you. Plus a video or two…that I’ll share tomorrow.