Godbless you, and my honost thanks are yours for defending freedom.

A big Thanks to You for your Service!! [beer]

[marines]

OK, I'm awake for now.

Culture Shock: Everything looks so green! We came back through Rome (did not get to leave the plane) and Shannon, Ireland (got to leave the plane, was not allowed to have a Guiness, as we Paratroopers are not responsible enough, at age 36 in my case, to consume alcohol) which was GREEN, misty, and 50 degrees Farenheit cooler that Kuwait City Int'l Airport (it was 103 deg. when I left, and 53 deg. in Ireland).

I and 20 other Riggers, most like me with prior service in Combat Arms, were used as the security or Force Protection for the D-Rear, or backup 82nd Div HQ. We stayed approx. 20 KM behind the Infantry from the time we de-rigged and drove forward (due to lack of aircraft support, we could not drop, nor do the mission jump that was handled by the 173rd, as the attacks on the supply column required our immediate interdiction).

We went first to Talil airbase, and were there for 12 days, and then followed up to Najaf. We lived in a junkyard/limestone crushing plant for 3 1/2 weeks, with an unsecurable perimeter, no shelter other than a cammo net, no "facilities" other than what we could dig. No hot food.

The culture shock was in coming back to Kuwait, then here, in that while there was no privacy, we were with the same small group of people. And the landscape looked like Mars.

Don Out

Outstanding! HOOAH and welcome back!