WT Forums

We left in Sept 08 and returned Mar 09. I was gone from Moody for 191 days and spent 179 in the AOR ( needed 181 for short tour credit ). IDK exactly how many hours flown/munitions expended we had, I'll try to remember to find out this week and it it to this thread.

Here are some pics I thought I'd share
Lajes on the way over, got druuuuuuunk.



C-17 on the way over. Normal esta package right? Wait till you see how we came home at the bottom of the pics.


Me getting a haircut


Halloween at EOR


The break tent. We (Crew Chiefs) were rarely allowed in here. We hung out in the truck.


Camp Yoon, where we stayed


Camp Cunningham. Changed so much.


We stole the F-15 squadrons flag, took pics all over the ramp with it, later we flew it in one of our jets and gave it back with a certificate.


Lunchtime


Screwing around during a 125hr


My room. I hooked this place up, posters and pics all over the walls, I built a desk and shelves, put in a light, a door, and carpet and \"obtained\" a chair.


Camp Yoon again


I drove the truck every so often


We gave some Army guys a tour of the A-10 and so they showed us around the MRAPs. We actually got a ride in them too. So badass. Going down the round sitting in the turret spinning around was definitely cool.


Al Udied. Look familiar JJ?


More absinthe in Sig. Also had alot of Mt Etnas Fire, and I found a 12% beer.


The flightline at Sig


The view from my room (stayed at the Sig Inn!)


The way home. there were ~20 of us and one pallet. Another Crew Chief bought a football in Sig so we could play on the plane, just to say we did it.


It was actually weird we took this plane home, because while we were in the PAX terminal in Qatar, we were talking about the C-17 that we watched crash at Bagram (http://cencio4.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/c-17-gear-up-landing-in-bagram-images/) (which was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life, but that's another story) which led us to a conversation about the one a few years prior to that (http://www.aviationtoday.com/am/categories/military/Aviation-Maintenance-Military-Rebirth-of-a-C-17_22398.html). I had read the whole story about it after I did a Google search for the one we watched, and remembered that they named the jet The Spirit of Enduring Freedom after it was repaired. Well when we get out to the jet to load up, what does it say over the door. The Spirit of Enduring Freedom. No way. We were just talking about this exact jet. Weird.


C-17 crew hard at work


I zapped it (on the stairs). The plaque mentioned in the article linked above is the one at the top-center of this pic.

Incredible pictures, Jack!

Thanks

ATTACK!!

Coach

Dude you so rock. I am jealous, glad to have you home, pissed I wasn't there with you bro.

_________________
YGBSM !

Jackb,

thank you for sharing these pictures! Its hard to imaging what exactly such a deployment holds. Looks like a tad dustty everywhere but glad you guys have fun out there.

That Halloween mask is killing me.

André

Thanks for all those pictures. Very intresting and fuynny too.

_________________
73-1664

Great selection of photos, glad it wasn't all work out there.

Hope to see some more if you have any.

Neil

Great pics....thanks for posting!!!

_________________

Absinthe does make the heart grow fonder, doesn't it! Great pics. Change is an understatement.

_________________
\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson

Jack,

Great Pictures, , You guys got your \"SH-- Together!\"

I like seeing that the \"Old USAF \" still lives in the \"Crew Chiefs\" and no matter what \"A Crew Chief if told not to do something, is like a 5 year old,
Will do it Even more\"

Stealing the Snoopy Flag
That had to Hurt but that's how you get through those long days.


Glad your Home

Goose

_________________
\"Live Free Or Die\"

Jackb, nice shots. I miss the deployments sometime and sometime I don't.

I do Dice, I wish I could of done it this time.

Goose

_________________
\"Live Free Or Die\"

I'm with Dice. Whenever I start missing the deployments I think back to the times I was standing on the ramp with a shitload of broken jets, no parts, money running low, no airlift and no place to sleep. Remember those days Goose?

OC

Chief,

Yes I remember those days now I don't miss it as much.

But then again I never had a problem finding a place to sleep.
Then now they Court Martial You for stealing parts and carrying a \"Spare parts bag\" I hear so I better stay home.

But You had so go times though did you???

Goose

_________________
\"Live Free Or Die\"

jackb, watched 2 of your jets take off from Kandahar Air Field back in early Jan. Was only 200m away, unfortunatly camera was in my gear already on the Herc tho

Goose, I had some great deployments, proabably too many to mention. Though towards the end of my career I found the enjoyment factor was inverse to the number of stripes on my sleeve.

OC

Terry,!!!

Where you at Bro?

Chief,

I never had the \"Too many stripe problem\".

Goose

_________________
\"Live Free Or Die\"

Nice pix there jack, the place sure has changed since I was there. I feel like a lot of the old Hogtainers here and wish I could have been their with you. I'll admit I do miss the deployments and TDY's but you can keep the home station and training portion that goes along with it.



Glad to hear that we are still considered outcasts and not allowed to hang out in the break tent.

_________________


Faugh ah Ballaugh ~ Clear the Way

Yeah,
What's up with the Break room tent not letting you in?????

Is it a \"Pointy Nose Stuck-up thing or Over Weight Trash Haulers\" Break Room ?
If it's the \"Over Weight Trash Haulers\" I'm a Founding member and we didn't discriminate \" tell them that \"Sgt Goose\" from the 602nd aka \"Hog 2\" Silver Section (Old C-141 Line ) \"Scotty Bazaar's Bunch\" From Travis AFB said \"Let You Guys in\"
And We didn't Kick them out of the KKMC Tents in 90-91 When they had Nothing until we Hooked them up.

If their pointy noses, I can't help you. But if it's a Airlift thing I should know a few of the Top 3 guys they probably work for me.

Goose

_________________
\"Live Free Or Die\"

Goose, in Kandahar...... under 2 weeks left in my tour, been here since september.

Yeah, jackb! Although I WAS NEVER THERE, Al Udeid AB is very familiar to me since OEF launched just after nine-eleven. I archived a huge lot of public info, including F-16C and B-1B deployments.

Your photographed parking spot is the base's original sun shelter area, located near the new air control tower, visible in your picture. During the last couple of years, a second sun shelter area was builded on Al Udeid's south-eastern area. For related satellite pictures just try Google Earth...

_________________
Joachim Jacob
Warthog News Editor
http://warthognews.blogspot.com

We lived in the truck. I built a badass set of benches for it. Specs and weapons sat in that tent and watched soooo many movies it was ridiculous.
The way the flightline was set up it was ~1/3 of a miles from the A-10s, and with the ops tempo and stuff, like even when *your* jet didn't need something done to it, *a* jet needed something done, and we all helped each other out all the time, so the truck became out break room. It was actually the APG expediter who said we are not allowed in the tent unless specifically told so, so he wouldn't have to chase us down all the time. It worked out pretty smooth, we really got shit done.




Oh, is that where it was??

Jackb! I'm not sure that is allowed to post such a satellite photo of a base for ongoing OEF/OIF combat ops on this forum. If you want, I can e-mail you a copy.

_________________
Joachim Jacob
Warthog News Editor
http://warthognews.blogspot.com

JJ is concerned with OPSEC now? What a crock!

Coach

JJ, don't move....

jack:
Nice! The pic you just posted is blocked here at work, but judging by the filename, it is something I wish I would have thought of! I have written some pretty sarcastic posts about the same kind of thing here just to close out of them because I wasn't sure it was my place...

Back to the ORIGINAL point of the post...looking at those pictures, Bagram has changed ALOT since I was last there. And even worse...I really miss it...I really wish I was back in an operational unit more often than not Ohh well, one of these days I guess...I'll hang tight here and ride the wave of BS I am on now...

Good work over there, and I hope it paid off well for you! Glad you made it back safe and sound.