Mannheim, Germany. Arrived yesterday after one of those too-long trans-Atlantic flights. Managed to get booked on Singapore Airlines which is as good as its reputation. The 6 hour layover at JFK due to connections made us tired before we ever boarded.
Mannheim is warmer than we left it in December, but still pretty cold. Weather reports from Gardez show mid-50s. Never thought about going to Afghanistan to warm up! Also found a laundry room in the basement here at lodging, a huge relief, since we had to stash our unwashed gear here last year due to a lack of facilities.
After getting through some potential glitches ("...You won't be able to fly before 17 March! Might have to get routed through Kuwait!"...), we were able to secure seats on a military charter flight out of Ramstein tomorrow that will take us to Manas Air Base in Kyghystan. From there we'll face the challenge of getting booked into Bagram.
No idea about what Manas will be like but have a mental image of the replacement depot in Kuwait that Gordon transited back in spring of 2008. We expect the same confusion, hurry-up-and-wait, and sense of dislocation that comes with all transitory bases, just colder than Kuwait.
Elements of the 95th MP Battalion, 18th MP BDE, we're told, are already in place, and have closed on FOB Lightening, which will be our home for the next several weeks. Communications might be a problem for a while but we'll do everything possible to hook up to the web at the earliest opportunity.
Stay tuned,
Gordon & Avery
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