The plane ride was long as all hell, 16 hours to be exact. When the plane touched down, I had never felt more grateful for solid ground. Stepping out, the Sun's rays were blinding. Akita stepped off just behind me and instantly threw up on the ground. Wallace came behind her and patted her shoulder, "Come on kid, get it out and get mobile."
Our quarters weren't exactly the most accommodating. Large steel buildings, similar to truck trailers were our "barracks." I set my packs down in a hurry, grabbing the top bunk before Wallace could take it. His face was priceless, smiling and calling me a bastard on the way. We set up our can of a room and were called to formation outside shortly after.
Standing out in the brutal Iraq sun in formation was miserable. The temperature was 120 degrees in the shade, and where we were standing, there was no shade. Captain Deschamps stood in front of our formation, awaiting our base commanders arrival to report us fresh souls into hell. Within moments, a tall but wide built man arrproached and stood in front of us all. He was an Army General, but cross service work is common out here. "Good afternoon Marines," He spoke with a large booming voice, "My name is General John Maccines, and I am the Commanding General of this base. Y'all are new here, so I'll give you a basic run down. We are undermanned, Undergunned, and Underpaid here, you understand me? Life during your deployment is not going to be easy, but I have a feeling y'all don't much care for easy things. Most of you will probably go out past the wire and head into some serious shit out here. Who here is an Infantryman?" I raised my hand up high,among with at least half of the Marines baking around me. "Good." He boomed with a wide grin, "Y'all know what to do, or at least you should, you've trained your whole military life for it. Well.... this is it people. Welcome to Iraq." With that he did a quick kick to the left and walked away as quickly as he came.
Eating at the chow hall that night was quite the experience. The food was complete shit. Imagine a mysterious brown paste with inconsistent chunks and bits through it, then let that shit sit out for a week, that was our food. Wallace and Akita sat next to me, both of them chatting up a storm about beers and cars. Akita is a small Asian girl, but don't let that fool you, she's just as tough and tumble as any of the boys in our unit when it comes to much of anything (besides flying.) I'm pulled out of my space out from Wallace saying, "Hey Winters, you good? You haven't said a thing." I nodded a bit and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just didn't have much to say at the moment." He shrugs and says ,"Hmmm, okay then."
After eating, I decided to try and hit the Internet cafe and see if I could skype Courtney back home. As I sit at the computer and sign in, I remember the time zone difference and pray that she's up. Within 3 rings, I see her come on camera and groggily say, "Ohh, good. You made it okay." I nod and smile, relieved to hear her voice,"Yeah baby, I made it. It uhh... it sucks here, hahaha. It's hot as fuck and the food is awful." She smiles a bit and shrugs, running her hand through her hair,"Well it is what you asked for love." I nodded and laughed. "Seeing your face is such a relief right now. Sorry if I woke you up, I didn't remember about time zones until I was on." She shakes her head, "No,No, it's fine. I was up anyways waiting to see if I'd hear anything from you." I laughed and said , Baby, go get some sleep then. You need it. She shakes her head a bit but then nods, "fine. I love you." I smile and blow a kiss to the camera. "I love you too. Now sleep."
Going back to my barracks, I lay down in my bed and pull out my picture of Courtney and I from years ago. I hold it to my chest and sigh. "I'm coming back love." I say to myself, "I'm coming back." Wallace mumbles from the lower rack,"eww, sentimental bullshit." I lean my hand down and flip him off laughing, then roll over and fade to an uneasy sleep.
