Hi everyone, Toni here once again to share with you Jeff Romack's pictures and editorial of Jim's exciting trip to Kuwait and Germany.  Until last night, I have only been able to communicate with him through email and every now and then a text message, but for some reason he got some phone service last night as he was packing for his trip home and we talked for a few minutes.  I have never heard Jim so excited and thankful that he was able to participate in such an amazing trip.  As he said to me, "We all had such a good time today with the troops and their families.  It is so rewarding to hear person after person thank us for being there.  It sure makes all of our efforts so worthwhile, and I am so honored to be able to bring a smile to the face of a young soldier who is away from their families to fight for our freedoms." 

Well, Jim and the guys are now on a plane heading across the pond to arrive back at Dullas this afternoon.  Jim will be able to make a late Thanksgiving dinner, but most of the others will be making connections and will not get home in time to celebrate with their families.  But I know that after the amazing week that they have spent, they really don't mind. 

I've got to get this posted so I am going to share with you Jeff Romack's emails and pictures.  Jim will be able to catch everyone up when he gets home and I am sure that he will have a lot of great stories to share with you.  Here is what Jeff had to say:

Jeff Romack:

Day 2 in Kuwait we headed north for the Ali Al Salem Air Base which is about 40 miles from the Iraqi border. It's a Kuwaiti Air Base but it is shared with U.S. Army and Air Forces and it's where a lot of the U.S. troops come for a few days to kind of unwind before flying home. There are these huge, thick concrete bunkers that are visible here that are about 60 feet high, and about 30 yards. These were smashed by US bombs when the Iraqis were ran out after the 1991 war. Understandably, there are also a lot of place where you can't photograph, including some flight-line areas around these bunkers. The first pictures coming your way, though, were taken at the Rec Center at the LSA (Life Support Activities) at Ali Al Salem. This is where the troops watch movies, play video games, catch-up on e-mail, watch football, play cards. There's a McDonalds here and other amenities of home, but at the same time, it's still a long, long way from home. A lot of the troops were getting ready to fly home for Thanksgiving and again, their appreciation for the drivers and the fact that they were there, meant a lot to them. You will see that in the photos and the smiles on the faces of both our drivers and the troops. Our drivers are doing a tremendous job with very little, and at times, no rest (catching catnips during some of the few downtimes we've had) and NHRA fans can be very proud of the way they are representing the sport. 

Ramstein Day 1 Tuesday morning we left Kuwait City at 1:15 a.m. for the six-hour flight to Frankfurt-Main. There's a two-hour time difference between Kuwait and Germany so our arrival time was around 5:15 a.m. After getting our passports checked and collecting our luggage, we met up with our Special Forces Association reps, Wayne Reed and Sonny Domelsdorf. It was about a 90 min. drive southwest to Ramstein and it was cold compared to where we had been for the previous two day. There was a big temperature change from 85 degrees Fahrenheit in Kuwait, to around 25 degrees Fahrenheit and snow when we landed in Germany. No rest for the weary, though. By 9 a.m. we were off to the 86 Contingency Response Group headquartered at Ramstein under the leadership of Col. Tim Brown. They're a very small, elite tactical group of about 450 highly trained special forces and they proudly wear the motto "Speed Precision Lethality."  This is the first group that goes into an area, and their mission is to set up an air base, establish and protect logistical operations, provide security after the airfield has been seized, or if needed, as in the case recently following the Russian invasion of Georgia, go in and set up humanitarian relief operations. The drivers' group spent about 90 minutes there being briefed by each of the specialized areas and then signed autographs and took pictures.

Well, that is it for now, I've got to get this bird stuffed and in the oven!  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday and I will have Jim write to you soon.  Thanks for checking in!

Toni