al Udeid

Okay, I guess I have some explaining to do. I seriously considered pretending that I was still in Afghanistan, knowing that few of you would catch on unless you talk to Jessica. But then I realized how totally stupid of an idea that is, and it's mainly my own self consciousnesses I'm dealing with right now.

I'm writing you from al Udeid Air Force Base, just outside Doha, Qatar in the Persian Gulf (Southeast of Iraq/Kuwait). There's not much to the story...here's what's going on...When I was at the National Training Center, I began to have some discomfort and realized that I had, well, a hernia. I think I may have had this issue previous to mobilizing in July, and I probably aggravated it repeatedly while deployed. My leadership was made aware of this issue early on, and we collectively decided that I would wait until later in the mobilization to have it repaired.

Well, three-four nights ago I was having enough pain that I wasn't able to sleep, and I decided it couldn't wait any longer. I visited our unit Aid Station, and they advised that surgery was necessary soon, and it couldn't be conducted at Bagram. They decided to send me here (al Udeid) for surgery and recovery (1-2 weeks).

I think the toughest thing to deal with right now is leaving my section. We've been together nearly every single day for months now. There's most definitely a sense of guilt when you leave, especially since others must absorb your duties.

It's also difficult dealing with what is now my second medical issue of this deployment. Although the first issue (basal cell) didn't pull me away from my duties, it was still nonetheless a medical issue. It seems these deployments always take their toll on my health, although to be fair I think I would have been dealing with these same two issues regardless if I was deployed or not..maybe just with a bit more privacy.

So that's the story. I'll have surgery in the next couple of days, and then have a few days to recover. I'm going to attempt to be back on a plane to Bagram as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I am backlogged on posts from Afghanistan, and will work on posting them soon.

There is also much to post from here...al Udeid is like a resort, and I suppose I'll have to provide pictures as proof to just how nice it is here. One thing about the Air Force, they have comfort down to a science.

Last, your prayers are of course appreciated. Most importantly to me is a fast recovery and return to my unit. Thanks, Lee.


For orientation, here's the flight path from Bagram to al Udeid. It was a 6 hour flight (around Iranian airspace) via C-130.



Video of the flight from Bagram to al Udeid. The view out the window is of Doha City on the Qatar coast.