Stuck in Balad

Upon reentering Iraq from Kuwait, everyone must go to Balad (buh-lahd) air force base south of Baghdad. Here in Balad, all soldiers entering and exiting the country wait for flights that will take them to their respective destinations. In some cases it takes up to a week to get the flight you need. I have been here for three days now with a few other guys from my unit. We were told yesterday that we will catch a plane out tonight.

Being here is something like being in limbo. You arrive after the long flight from the states with a few layovers and a stop in Kuwait for in processing. In processing is just a bunch of paperwork. Once in Balad you go to transit housing and put your stuff down. Transit housing is like row housing in the ghetto; little wooden buildings lined up in a big grid with a basketball court in the center. You get assigned a bunk in one of the little barracks buildings, each of which house 20 bunk beds, and settle in.

On the one hand this is an extension of your leave time. There's no one to order you around and the base is pretty big with lots of stuff to do. These things include a big movie theatre with a balcony, two PX's, a recreation center, and of course the row housing with your own little bunk bed where you can sleep as much as you want. On the other hand there is no work to be done and it gets boring being laid over.

There is no schedule, you simply go to the 1445 daily meet up at the PAX terminal to see if there are any flights out. Me and the other guys stuck here went to the PX and then Pizza Hut after the brief announcement that there was nothing new to report. 1st sergeant Horney who is an old army ranger in charge of our company talked our ears off over pizza about promotion opportunities and advancement in the military. The longer you're in the better you know everyone and the more options you have. Then today after the 1445 daily meet up we went to the movie theatre and saw The Guardian with Jamie Foxx. I give it a 4 out of 10. The theatre is pretty cool though, it has a balcony and a subway restaurant and popcorn and candy and everything. I went to the rec center later on and played chess with a guy in the air force stationed here. He was pretty good at it, but I pulled out a surprising win in the first game!

My Battalion has changed locations to Camp Warhorse which is about 25 miles northeast of camp Taji where we were before. I have yet to see how good or bad it is, although it has all the basic amenities such as a PX, chow hall, and laundry facilities. Once I get there I will sit around some more, we don't pick up our patrol route until the 1st of December.