WWE Daily

Today was the craziest day of them all. Since we spent all of yesterday on the base, we were scheduled to venture out and visit some troops on other stations outside the main base. So after breakfast we were off to board the Black Hawk helicopters. Now, we had had a chance to look at these huge machines yesterday, but it hardly compares to suiting up and riding in one. The suits we had to wear were strictly for our own safety. However, I didn’t realized just how heavy they were until we had to board. Seriously, I think they weighed as much as I do. It was insane! And to think that these guys actually have to wear them everyday. The weight bore down on my shoulders so hard I could’ve sworn that I compressed two inches.

Once we were all loaded and strapped in, we were off to the first base. We had two Black Hawks dedicated to us for the day to transport all of us and the media. It was so crazy once we got in the air. These helicopters can go up to 200 miles per hour. The crew consisted of the pilot and co-pilot, along with a two gunners, one for each side, who manned these huge machine guns made into the plane. They did a test shoot once we reached the salt flats. It was really cool to see them because I didn’t realize the power the machine guns had or the amount of shots they could pump out in a matter of seconds.

We actually didn’t fly that high so we were able to take a good look at the land on the way. I was shocked to see how the Iraqi people live. Outside the cities are these rundown, one room shacks called “Mud Huts,�? which maybe had electricity and no running water. In fact, for the agriculture section, they have to bring in water from the rivers where it runs through these ditches to disperse the water. It was actually pretty innovative, especially since they were able to come up with this system to grow food in the middle of the desert.

The first base was called Camp Taji. It was pretty wild because it actually used to be an old Iraqi military base. As we were flying over the base, we could see the wreckage of tanks, trucks and other machinery from the take over. This totally took me off-guard because I wasn’t expecting to actually see any remnance of a battle.

After landing, we headed to the control center to take pictures and sign autographs for the soldiers there. I was pretty shocked when I realized that I hadn’t seen one female on the base while I was there. Apparently, there were a few stationed there, but I didn’t see any of them. In fact, I don’t think I saw a lady all day. After we finished up we went back outside. While looking around I saw a tank out of the corner of my eye and, of course, I had to check it out first hand. I climbed right up, like a kid on the jungle gym. I took some pictures standing on the hood and invited some of the troops up for a few shots. I sat down in the driver’s seat and took a look around. There was all kinds of equipment, I really had no idea what I was looking at. What was crazy was the fact that in order to see where you’re driving, you have to look at a screen rather than at the road in front of you. I even got to honk the horn! YAY!!!! It was sooooooo loud, it scared me.

The second base we visited was an artillery base called FOB O’Ryan. It had some of the coolest guns I’ve ever seen. Since we were at base crawling with any type of gun you could imagine, I made it my mission to find the biggest and best one they had. When I set out to do something, I never give up until I succeed! With that said, I found this huge missile launcher. I don’t even know the proper name of it. All I know is that it shot like 3-foot missiles. Not only did I get the crew to show me how to use it, but we even played pretend and I was able to to load it. FREAKING AWESOME!!!!!! We went through the whole process together from moving it to fusing the missile, finding the coordinates, loading it, shooting it and clearing the chamber. Teamwork, baby! Thanks, guys! That was the ultimate highlight of my visit to O’Ryan. After we signed a bunch of autographs, we were off to the next camp.

We had no idea exactly where we were going, nor did anyone forwarn us before we got there. It’s probably a good thing because I might have chickened out. I’m a fraidy cat! So what? LOL. So we were flying to the next camp when we passed over the city. In my mind I’m thinking, “How cool, it’s the city.�? It was actually a neat experience to be able to see the city from an aerial view.

I looked out the side window to see five or six soldiers scaling the forest and perimeter. I like to think I’m pretty tough, but seriously I started to freak out! The reality started to set in. All in all, I had felt pretty safe so far, but I was aware of the danger then. We were at war and right in the middle of it.

As we started to land, a huge dust cloud surrounded us. I could even taste it, as the grit was in my nose and mouth. The door swung open and the first thing I saw was a soldier on one knee, rifle in hand, primed to shoot anyone who looks remotely suspicious. They ran us behind a wall to an abandoned house so no one could see us. They wanted us hidden until the second Black Hawk landed and there was literally so much dust that they actually had to throw a smoke bomb so the helicopter knew where to land. As the chopper came down, it landed right on a huge concrete slab putting an 8-foot gash down the center of the Black Hawk.

As soon as the rest of the group was unloaded, both choppers took off to assess the damage. We were then quickly escorted in a single-file line by the soldiers back to the headquarters of Camp Tarmiyah. They even threw smoke bombs so no one could see who they were bringing in. Once we got inside, I felt relieved. However, I am truly amazed at the conditions they are living in. We were actually at a new location, which was supposed to be a youth center we were helping the city build, as the old one was destroyed. Since the old base was destroyed by a suicide bomber, the troops took over the venue.

The soldiers were actually shocked that we even came. What was supposed to be a 30-minute venture turned into a three-hour visit. The second Black Hawk was seriously damaged and a they had to find a new one and crew to come get us. It was actually an eye-opener for me. Not only did we sign autographs and such, we actually were able to see how the soldiers lived. A few of the, were kind enough to give me a tour around the building. The work-out area was just a pull-up bar, a dirty bench press, a mat and some free weights. Jericho worked out with a few of the soldiers, which I thought was awesome. I walked into their sleeping quarters where about 200 cots were placed in uniform and they pretty much just had their bag and boots. I tried out one of the cots to see how comfy, or un-comfy I should say, it was.

Somebody had a guitar so I asked him to play me a song. Another one of the guys had a skateboard that he managed to get his wife to send him. Skateboarding’s not my forte, but I gave it a shot. I enjoyed watching a group of the guys do tricks down the hall. At least they have some cool ways to pass the time. As we waited, I grew a little hungry, so they offered us to try some of their food. OK, can I just say: Worst-food-ever? Ugh! The Made Ready to Eat (MRE) had some type of macaroni that I steered clear of. The other option was a packed meal that had canned meat to make a sandwich and snacks. Needless to say, I chose the combos like pretzel sacks, a cookie and a Gatorade. I could hear the hoppers coming in as the sun started to set.

I fell asleep and when we landed, I thought we had made it back to Camp Speicher. However, I quickly realized that was not the case at all. The weather was too bad and we had to stop at Camp Anaconda until it let up. They were hoping it would stop before too late because if it didn’t, we would have had to stay there. They took us to grab some chow and brought us back to hang out until we had further information. We all ended up passing out in the room for about an hour before we were informed we would be spending the night. Of course, no one had anything to wear, nothing to shower with or anything. They took care of us, though, and provided us with pretty much everything we needed. Sure, we were going to have to wear the same clothes in the morning, but at least we had a bed and shower before we went to sleep. I even got a chance to work on and turn in one of my assignments before I went to bed. Tomorrow’s a new day.

Day 1
Day 2
Source