DESERT STORM

We were all aware that there was the possibility that our unit would be activated. At all the previous drill meetings, we kept joking that if anyone's time was up, or if they were non-obligatory, then the time to get out was NOW! Once you were activated, it would be too late to get out. The news was all filled with bits about Reserve units all over being called for active duty. And now it was our turn.

It all started when I got the call the friday night after Thanksgiving. My Staff Sergeant called up and told me that there was a meeting saturday morning of the entire unit. When I asked him if this was anything special, he replied "No, we're just taking some pictures...". Thanks a lot, Staff.

Reported in at 9am, and waited for the captain. When he arrived, everyone was there, then we were informed that we have been activated. Our period of active duty would start in one week, December 1, 1990. The next few hours were spent in a short Q&A session, followed by a briefing on what we would need to do over the next week to get our civilian affairs in order. Paperwork was passed around, official orders handed out, and stares of disbelief shared. We got out of there at 4pm.

I got home. No one was there, so I sat down to wait for the first ones to get home. My parents arrived home first at 7:30pm. I told them as they came in the door. My mom sat stunned for a while, then thinking she was okay, I went into my room. Then I heard her cry out, then cry hysterically. I ran back outside and phoned my cousin (who lived upstairs) and told her that I needed her mother downstairs NOW and I told her why. A few minutes later, my aunt came in to console my mother. A little while later, more relatives came over as the word got around, the mothers helping my mom, the younger kids flocking around me with questions I tried to answer. I think she was crying off and on for the next six hours. I think that was the first time I had ever seen my mother cry like that. Not a pretty sight.

Sunday was a quiet day, but much planning was done, and many phone calls made. The week was spent putting affairs in order. Calling friends to tell them why I'll be gone for the next few months, writing letters to creditors telling them to suspend my accounts while I'm gone, mothballed my computer equipment, called my BBSes to suspend my accounts, filling out paperwork to make my sister sole beneficiary of all my stuff, hitting the stores to get all the stuff I would need, attending some goodbye parties that were hastily put together by friends, tying up some loose ends, and other stuff. Even though our date of activation was saturday, December 1st, we were still in New York until final arrangements could be made for transport and billeting to Camp Lejuene, North Carolina. This meant we had we could stay home for another few precious days.

Tuesday evening, 12/4, was the day that we left. A goodbye dinner was held at the reserve center for all the families. For some reason, I didn't want my family there, so I said goodbye to them at the gate, and they went home. I guess my reasoning was that...it probably would've been torture to sit there trying to enjoy maybe the last moments together, only to be herded away later when they would have to leave. I didn't want to put my family through that. When the families left, we were left to finish getting our gear together. The buses came at 1am, and we boarded them and began our journey to Camp LeJeune, where we were to get final equipment and training in order to survive the desert that awaited us.

The following weeks were spent at Camp LeJeune training, PT, filling out more paperwork, getting physicals and shots, more PT, and more training. The training wasn't so bad, mainly classes on chemical warfare (and how to survive it), and sharpening marksmanship skills (at this point I was a Sharpshooter. Interesting, in Boot Camp, I was a basic Marksman, now a Sharpshooter, and finished a high Expert in '92). I think while we were in North Carolina, my biggest concern was if I could catch "The Simpsons" on TV. Since I was in the Motor Transport, our group was attached to the Motor Transport section at LeJeune. We prepped vehicles for the trip over, drove some vehicles to the port in Morehead City, and assisted in loading ships.

Some of the other platoons got word that they would be leaving any time during the next two weeks, while others had no set date. My platoon got lucky. Our leave date was set for January 8, so we were all given a 5 day pass. Fortunately, we were given advance notice of this, so I got together with three other guys and we rented a car. As soon as they said "Dismissed", we were on our way home to NY. Morales was driving, and ended up driving the whole way home nonstop, 10 hours at 70 mph. I offered to drive, but he insisted on making good time. We got home at 4 am, and the rest of us were dropped off, Morales taking the car with him. Spent a good weekend at home. Then Morales calls to tell me the car was stolen. So we made plans to take a Greyhound back to North Carolina. The other guys were flying down, so me and Morales were on our own. Couldn't believe one-way tickets cost $115!!! Well, 16 hours and four buses later, we were back at base. NYPD called a few days later to tell us they found the car. The car rental place wanted to try to get a $600 recovery fee from Morales, but when the First Sargeant heard about this, he chewed the rental place out. "These kids are going to war!" he told them. They dropped it.

More training, PT, driving, etc. We were told that the Jan 8 date was a go, so everyone spent the night of the 7th packing. I managed to mail home a 20 pound package of stuff I couldn't take with me. It started raining that night.

The morning of the 8th, it was still raining. We formed up, got our gear loaded on the buses, and went to Cherry Point. We waited around the airfield for a few hours, and loaded onto a United Airlines 747 at noon. I learned that there is a Federal Law or agreement that requires the major airlines to provide planes and personnel (volunteer pilots and crew) for wartime transport. Not that I was complaining. I was expecting a C-130 Transport. The trip lasted 20 hours, with a couple of refueling stops in Philadelphia and Rome. I slept for most of the trip, and don't even remember making and stops. I woke up for ten minutes about a dozen times during the flight. Remembered seeing bits and pieces of 8 different movies, "My Blue Heaven", "Dick Tracy", "Ghost", "Days of Thunder", "Working it out", and I can't remember the rest. (The airline gave out complimentary headphones to everyone.) Managed to wake up every time they served food and drinks. Finally woke up for the final approach in Saudi Arabia. We touched down in Al Jubal at 4:00pm local time.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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