Update from Sanchez
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Hi Friends,
Greetings from Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. It has been some time since I’ve written and so I decided to stop being lazy. First, I’d like to thank everybody who has written, sent an e-mail or package. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. The isolation that I’ve felt is overwhelming at times. It’s something that I hope I never have to experience again. The separation from my immediate family is painful, but the contact with friends and family help keep me going. I’m down to about 100 days or so before I head home. I can’t wait.
I’m not sure if the rest of my tour will be spent in Kuwait. There has been talk of me heading up to Iraq, but that has not yet been finalized. We’ll see. The moral and spirits are high among the troops. Most of the soldiers and sailors that are here in Kuwait are just passing through on their way up to Iraq or home to the States. I occasionally get to watch the news on television and the politics and bickering back home are not felt here in theater. We all have a job to do and it get’s done. This past week we celebrated Memorial Day and it was very meaningful to me, now that I’m here. Despite all of my accomplishments and failures in life, the one thing that I’m proudest of is the fact that I can call myself a Veteran and more importantly, a Veteran of a Foreign War. Unfortunately, our job here requires that we handle the logistics related to shipping the equipment, armor and personnel from the battlefield back to the States. We get to see all of the damaged tanks, humvees and other heavy armor. Much of the damage has been caused by IED’s and when you see the damage and bloodstains, it reminds you very quickly that we are in a war. I’ll never know the soldiers who were present in those vehicles, but I know that they have loved ones back home who are grieving. I say this to remind you to please keep all of our young men and women serving out here in your prayers. I know that it’s so easy to get caught up in your everyday lives, but there are real people serving in harm’s way everyday. I’m sorry, I didn’t intend to bring you down, just to remind you that this war is real and by me being here, hopefully it will personalize it for you, the next time you hear people bashing our country and servicemembers.
On a fun note, I had a chance to head out on a Blackhawk helicopter mission yesterday. It was AWESOME! We spent 3-4 hours touring some bases from the air, flying at 100-125mph and 200-350 feet off the ground. I was able to move over to the seat facing the open door once we refueled. You’ll see how I was literally hanging out. Thank God the seatbelts worked. We traveled all over Kuwait and up to the border with Iraq. I’ve attached lots of photos for your viewing pleasure. The sequence begins with us taking off from Arifjan and traveling up to the Udari base for refueling. We then traveled up to a new border crossing that we will be controlling near Iraq. From there we flew over to Camp Navistar which is the northern most Allied base at the border with Iraq. We flew on the outskirts of Safwan, Iraq which is controlled by warring shiite clans. From there we flew back down to the Bay of Kuwait and back to Camp Arifjan. The last few photos show the condition's yesterday, once we landed. It was 118 degrees with wind gusts up to 40mph. Needless to say, it created a sandstorm. The temperatures and conditions have been awful the last three weeks. It’s been averaging 115-120 everyday with a low of maybe 94 in the middle of the night. It’s 116 right now and expected to get up to 121, our hottest day yet. I can’t wait to get home to that beautiful weather in the bay area.
That’s all for now. Sorry for the long e-mail. Please do write me back and continue to keep me, Toni and the kids in your prayers.
God Bless,
LTJG Tim Sanchez, USN
