The deployment journey begins
After several months of preparation, the deployment adventure has finally begun. In June I preached my last sermon in Dexter and said my temporary goodbyes. Most of July was spent getting the final details put together. No matter how many times I had been through the checklists, it always seemed like there was still one more thing to take care of. On the positive side, because both of us are on leave from our regular jobs, Lily and I were able to spend almost an entire uninterrupted month together. With our work and travel schedules, that much time in each other’s company is sometimes hard to come by.
Departing St. Louis
After one last weekend trip to Iowa to visit family it was time to head out. A few days ago I joined several members of our wing at the St. Louis Lambert Airport to begin our journey to the other side of the world. Several members of the wing came to the airport to see us off. It was reassuring to have so many people there to check us in. They were a visual reminder that deployment is a team sport. They helped us get ready for the journey, and they will be there to help us out if anything goes wrong.
Members of our team were headed to several different destinations, but the common theme to all our journeys is that they were extremely long and required lots of stops along the way. There is a strange combination of commercial, military, and chartered aircraft involved in moving groups this big. There is a well-orchestrated system behind the apparent chaos, but from the inside it can be an exhausting process of repeated hurry up and wait moments.
It took several layovers, a refuel stop, and even a couple naps on a concrete floor to get us to our new home away from home. To their credit, the airline crew did an amazing job of making the long journey a little more enjoyable. We had more food than we could ever eat. The movie selection was good. Unfortunately, the reality is that was the longest trip most of us have ever been on.
Even long flights have silver linings
One positive aspect of that much time sitting together is that it provided a great opportunity to get to know the people we are going to be working with. While hanging out in the terminal, waiting to board, and riding around in buses at our ultimate destination, Airmen naturally began to ask each other where they are from, what jobs they do, and learned about each other’s families. These conversations helped lay the foundations for the relationships that are already beginning to develop here.
Another benefit of this style of transportation is that it is possible to get where one is going without having to spend a lot of extra mental energy. Once we finally got through the commercial part of the trip and plugged into the big group of several hundred other people traveling our direction it was simply a matter of hanging on and going with the flow. This matters because when that many bleary eyed people are traveling for that long there is not a lot of cognitive power left to rely on. At every step of the journey we had chaperones making sure that we knew when to get on the plane, when to get off the plane, and which bus to get on. Without their help it is highly likely that none of us would have made it to our final destination.
It was a long journey, but getting to our location was only the beginning of the story. The check in process was an adventure all by itself. That story will come later. For the moment, know that I have arrived safe and sound in my undisclosed location. Thank you all for your support and prayers throughout the preparation process. It has meant a lot. I miss you all and cannot wait to see you all again several months from now.
OPSEC/Air Force disclaimers:
While sharing some particular moments from my government sponsored camping trip, I need to mention a concept that the Air Force refers to as OPSEC, or operational security. Essentially, it is a modern way of saying “loose lips sink ships.” Travel dates, my location, and the details of what I am doing are all going to remain unsaid in this forum and on social media. Instead, I am going to occasionally share generalized “day in the life of a chaplain” posts and news stories that are produced in conversation with our unit’s public affairs folks. Please understand if there are certain questions or topics that I refrain from discussing in this particular setting.
This blog is produced on my own time using personal equipment. No Air Force or DOD endorsement is implied.
Niece and nephew disclaimer:
Two of my nieces and nephews are old enough to understand the meaning of deployment. On the other hand, four of my nieces and nephews are still young enough that what I am doing is hard to comprehend. One of my goals with these posts is to give them a better understanding of the experience, but to do so in a way that is age and OPSEC appropriate. Many of my posts will include pictures of stuffed animals, pets, and their favorite action figures. This approach is by no means meant to downplay the seriousness of the job that our Airmen are doing. It is intended to help four particular young people understand why their uncle has disappeared for a while, and to give them a sense of what I, and the people with whom I serve, are up to.
