On the Tuesday after the Phoenix race, I flew to Doha, Qatar. Oddly, the 12-hour flight from Washington D.C., didn’t seem to last long enough. All the hours on the plane gave me time to sit and think about what I was really doing, and then I actually got nervous about the trip. I had been looking forward to it but didn’t really have a lot of time to think about it because we were busy racing. That’s when it kind of hit me that I was actually going to the Middle East where it’s anything but peaceful, and we were going into a war zone. As I walked off the plane, I knew it was too late to turn back. I reminded myself that I had made decision to go because I knew it was the right thing for me to do. Plus, I love to travel, and I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime.

We went straight to the military base in Doha called Camp Al Saliyah. Just getting into the base is a process because they inspected every inch of our vehicle and every item we brought. I guess you could say Qatar is kind of a neutral place in the Middle East. It’s in between Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and Afghanistan so having a U.S. military base there makes a lot of sense. People call it Club Med because it’s where the deployed soldiers can go for a couple of days of relaxation and be out of a war zone. Plus, it’s much nicer than most military bases which we would find out later. We met a lot of soldiers there. We met the Colonel of the base, Col. Cotter. He was very down to earth and very interesting to talk to. We also did a couple of meet and greets where we sign autographs, took pictures, and talked to everyone.

We spent two nights at that base and then left for Afghanistan on Friday. We left for the airport at 3 a.m. because were told that flying in the dark was much safer. However, hours ticked by, and we didn’t leave. It was mid-morning and broad daylight before we finally took off in a C-130 military plane. We don’t sit on actual seats because it’s meant to be a cargo plane. They have these suspended, make-shift seats made out of netting. I was a basket of nerves not only because of where we were going but because we were flying in broad daylight even though we had been told that wasn’t safe. It turned out that all of our flights were in the daylight, but that initial one made me really nervous.

Because the flight ended up being in the day, they had to do combat landings. This is to make it more difficult for any people who might be hiding in the mountains trying to shoot us. We drop altitude really quick, and then they maneuver the plane this way and that way so it’s anything but predictable. Let me tell you I was white knuckled and hanging on. To my delight, we got to do it twice because we stopped in Kandahar. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t exactly heard good things about Kandahar. On that first landing, I just buried my head and didn’t look. I used to pride myself in being really tough, but this trip slowly chipped away at that. At least it was somewhat entertaining for the military people to have wimpy civilians like me with them.

I decided to distract myself by talking with soldiers on the plane. I actually learned a lot that way. It was really interesting to hear their perspective on the war. They feel that the war on terrorism should be centered in Afghanistan. It is a difficult war for many reasons, but it’s tough for them to know who the bad guys are and who are not. Very often their allies become enemies. They are trying to build the region so Afghanis can live and work. It’s so primitive and has no infrastructure. Iraq has more of an infrastructure to build up. They feel they don’t have enough resources here. Almost all travel is done by air so there is shortage of helicopters and planes among other things.

One soldier asked me what’s going on the U.S. I asked why he didn’t watch the news because I know they get NBC, CNN, etc., on the bases. In fact, the Today show was on live the afternoon we arrived in Bagram. They don’t watch because they get frustrated with what is being reported. They feel that the positive things they are doing for the country goes unnoticed. For example, they just established a rule of law for one of the Afghan provinces. Now there is an Afghani man who serves as a judge of sorts. He can go off the rules of law. This way they can begin to have some sort of law and order.

We arrived safely at Bagram Air Base. It was a busy place. There were planes and helicopters flying in and out nonstop. There’s a heavy international representation there. NATO has a large presence there. We were totally immersed in military life. We ate where the soldiers ate. We had the same accommodations that they had. The sleeping quarters kind of remind of camp. They put multiple beds in one room. You have to walk outside to use common bathrooms. There’s running water and showers though, so I was content.

The food was much better than camp. I was pleasantly surprised by the choices we had, and I’m glad the soldiers get fed well. There were even a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. I thought I was going to have to go without coffee for the trip, but most bases had a place called Green Beans set up in pods. Their coffee was great even by my standards.

In Bagram, I finally got to sleep eight consecutive hours, so I got to feeling normal again. I was getting kind of delirious from lack of sleep. I was so tired that I slept through the F-15s coming and going all night. We stayed there one night and then we left for another base. This is getting too long, so I’ll tell you about FOB Shirona in the next blog.