TRAVEL DELAYS, AS USUAL

(17OCT2008)

Our flight today is delayed, and is then cancelled altogether. For us, anyway. Turns out they need the air asset for another mission and we’re bumped from the flight.

There are no more flights to Salerno today, but we’ll swing by the APOD around 0300 tomorrow morning to see if a Blackwater STOL flight pops up. They update their flight schedule in the wee hours of the morning, I believe just to torture us.

We had put our names on the stand-by list 3 days ago and normally that’s only good for 72 hours. We ask if we need to be resubmitted, but they have a policy not to purge the stand-by list to Salerno precisely because it’s so difficult to get there – most people end up waiting more than 3 days for a flight. Travel within Afghanistan can be extremely frustrating.

I return to my room and do some work before walking up to the PX in the afternoon. As I’m strolling along, the most delicious smell makes my mouth water. I have a hard time identifying it, or locating the source, until I see smoke wafting from the DFAC across the street. They have large grills set up and, at 1400, are cooking the steaks they’ll serve to us for dinner tonight beginning at 1700.

This is why the steaks are always dried out by the time we get to sink our teeth into them.

APOD = Aerial Port of Debarkation
STOL = Short Take-Off and Landing
PX = Post Exchange
DFAC = Dining FACility