We were stopped at the gate and refused entry because Keli's car didn't have a base registry sticker.
This wasn't how I envisioned my last morning in the U.S.
We drove down to the main gate in an attempt to get a temp pass. I don't remember what the problem was but we didn't get it. Keli was in tears. I thought we should just go back to the other gate were she could drop me off and we could say our goodbyes there. But when we approached the side gate for the second time and the guard saw Keli and I explained I was leaving that day, we were allowed thru. I was thankful for that.
Keli and I said our goodbyes. She was in tears and I remember glancing back twice as I walked away. She got in her truck and drove off. I don't think she looked back.
As it turns out we didn't quite leave that day as expected. There was some delay with the charter flight or something and we ended up having a few hours to kill. I borrowed my friend Taylor's forerunner and went into town. I got a smoothy and went to the movies. I saw Speed Racer. I know a lot of people don't like that movie but it will always have a special place in my heart. Aside from the fact that it was a well done film, it was the last movie I saw before my deployment. Around dinner time I came back and we loaded our stuff onto the buses bound for McChord Airforce Base.
We didn't finally board our flight and take off until 7 am the next morning.
Believe it or not, there are more than a few similarities between the acting industry and the Army. One of which is the concept of "hurry up and wait". In both realms you'll be told to arrive at a certain place and time but you won't actually do anything until hours later. There are a lot of moving pieces. Sometimes it's amazing we get anything done at all.
The first thing that hit me when we arrived in Kuwait was the hot air. It reminded me of the Mojave desert in California where I grew up.
(continued in War Journal part 2)
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