Redeployment Pictures Part 3

The day was finally here! It was nice knowing the next time I would go to bed I'd be back in my old room on Larson Barracks in Kitzingen. Well, as you'll see, the next time I went to bed in a *bed*! ;-) Anyway, the day started off with us dropping off our equipment at the rail head to be loaded up by the contractor. Then it was more waiting. On to the pictures!





I was in a second group to make it to the rail head and here is
everyone who was waiting for the bus back waving as I drove past.




On the bus for the trip from the rail head to Camp Able Sentry.
Everyone was more than ready to finish the trip back and to
be able to say we did our time in Kosovo. Seven months worth!




Back at Camp Able Sentry we waiting. It turns out we wouldn't be flying
from the airport in Skopje, but would have to take a bus to the airport in
Thessaloniki, Greece (same city where we picked up our trucks back in November).




This is inside the in and out processing station on Camp Able Sentry.
We must have waited for eight hours or so for the busses to arrive
to take us to the airport. It was hard waiting that long for them!
That's SPC Broussard looking at the camera and SPC Lopez next to him.




Here is SPC Pena on the left and SGT Hinojosa on the right.




A sign outside the in and out processing center.




Finally getting on the bus. I was quick and grabbed the back seat.
That's 1LT Morgan getting on the bus and looking for a good seat.




Several hours later, here we are at the Macedonia/Greece border.
It would be an hour or so while we waited here for something or other.




They finally let us out to use the bathroom and to stretch. We weren't
allowed to wear our BDU tops and our weapons had to be covered once we
were over the border due to the local Communist party being rather vocal
about our presence. Once over the border we couldn't get off the buses at all.




Here is some nice graffiti. It says, "NATO USA GO HOME". Why thank you!
I think we will! :-) There is also a swastika next to all that. Nice touch!




Several hours later and still on the bus. At least we were in Thessaloniki
at this point. Here is a picture out the window of some of the local language.




One of the escort vehicles we had through the city.




They did let us off the buses here since we were away from all the people.




And several more hours later we were finally on the plane!
Still not allowed to wear our BDU tops and the flight attendants
joke about, "Please place your guns under the seat," was getting old.




Back on the ground in Germany!! We'd landed at the airport in
Nuernberg and were going to get another bus ride to Larson Barracks.




Some of the other guys still getting off the plane.




This picture has no real significance other than it being of us on the bus
and it being the very last picture I took of us during the whole Kosovo thing.
It was so great to be back and for everyone to have made it back home safely.
The deployment was probably the highlight of my seven years on active duty
because I'd never done anything "real world" like I'd done down there. But
I was sure as hell glad to be back and out of the danger we were in there!!



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