USA! USA!

I was so happy to be back in the USA on Wednesday that I kissed the floor inside the Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C.

And it wasn’t a cheap air kiss. I gave the tile a full-lip lock with an American flag in my hand (The Arabs entering the terminal after me were shocked or laughing). After six months in Iraq and Afghanistan, I would have tongued the tile had it the ability to kiss back.

God, it is ssssoooo good to be back the USA!

I flew out of Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan early Tuesday. I caught my connecting flight early Wednesday after a layover at Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar. Then, it was a 14-hour flight into Dulles. I had many rewarding and positive experiences during my war-zone deployments, but after six months of being without American infrastructure, I would have let the Army duct-tape me to the landing gear if that’s what it took to get home.

On Thursday, just 24 hours after landing, my eyes are still overwhelmed by the lush green trees surrounding the nation’s capitol. I did get to fly over central Iraq in a Blackhawk helicopter in April, so I did get to see some green farm fields. But overall, my view of the Middle East landscape was colored in 10 different shades of brown.

Today, I was caught in a Maryland rain storm with big drops – and I loved it. My boots and uniform were soaked cold. The air was fresh and my Subaru was washed clean. Normally, a rain storm is not a big deal. But after serving in the parched areas of the Middle East, I just got used to having a film of dust coating everything both in doors and outside.

I have privacy! I don’t have to tip-toe around a snoozing roommate who also works 12-hour shifts.

Clocks make more sense! Afghanistan is located between time zones, so it adds 30 minutes to clocks instead of a full hour like most countries in the world. That meant California time was 11.5 hours behind local time in Afghanistan.

I can walk and drive wherever I want! In war zones, movement is restricted by walls, wire or guards. Claustrophobia sets in after a while. Here, I can jog wherever I want.

And talk radio! I got to hear Rush Limbaugh live for the first time since February! I even savored the commercials.

Traveling overseas, and especially into war zones, has always made me appreciate America that much more.

After travels to Europe, I learned to appreciate that Americans take showers and use deodorant daily. Other cultures just don’t seem to appreciate soap as much as we do. There’s nothing like being trapped inside a German streetcar on a summer day to learn that lesson the hard way.

After travels in the Middle East, I’ve learned to appreciate the infrastructure Americans take for granted. Even with western help, the phone system and internet connections in much of the Middle East are still stuck in the 20th Century (if then)!  Six months ago, before my deployment, I would complain at internet connections that didn’t load instantly; now, those same connections seem like they connect at warp speed.

I’ve been in the US Army and US Army Reserve for 28 years. I’m 46 years old. I plan to stay in the reserves until Big Army forces me out at the mandatory retirement age of 60. I’m sure – considering how nutty and determined some of our current and likely foes are – I will get called back to active service two or three more times before I retire.

I’m not in any hurry to leave again. But until the next war comes, I will be appreciating the simple and daily joys of what makes America so dang special.