From Green Bay to the Persian Gulf Preston's Desert Storm Letters

Tues, 23 Apr 91
Ramstein, Germany

Here I sit in Ramstein, Germany.

Long story: I was supposed to leave with our second group at 4:00pm yesterday. At 9:00pm, Sunday night, I found out I had been switched to the first group (which was leaving at 7:30am, necessitating a 1:00am wake-up). To aid in my preparation for the early move, I broke down my cot and slept (fitfully) on the floor for 2 1/2 hours. At 1:30am, Monday, I got up, got dressed, and trudged downstairs with my baggage only to find out that the flight had been delayed to 4:00pm! Wait, it gets better.

We waited in the hot sun for four hours until our bus showed up to take us to the airport. After passing through customs, we watched movies in a waiting shed. 4:00pm passed - our flight had been delayed to 8:00pm. Around 6:00pm we found out the plane was ready NOW! So we bussed out to the flightline, boarded the C-5, and waited. Oops.

Incirlik Air Force Base, in Turkey, had been closed down for some reason. While the pilots left to file a new flight plan, we sat outside the plane and ate MREs. Why we came to Ramstein, rather than staying in Dhahran, or going to another airbase, I don't know. Anyway we took off about 9:30pm, Monday, Dhahran time, and arrived in Ramstein about 3:00am local time. I read a book the whole flight over. Just as I put my head down for what I expected to be a two hour nap, the plane began its final approach.

We were supposed to be here for only four hours. That was soon extended to 10:00pm, so we spent a good portion of the day at the colonel's niece's house drinking real, live, German beer.

It's now 8:40pm local time and prospects appear good that we might spend the night here as our departure has, suprise!, been pushed back again (to midnight). Sigh. Oh well, at least they have trees & grass here ...

23 Apr 91

© Copyright 1995-2009 by Preston V. McMurry III