A trip to Taji

I finally got a chance to get off of base and head to another base (Taji) up north. The mode of transportation was Blackhawk! These rides are really fun, the ride up there was ok, but the ride back was spectacular. It was a night time trip back with the doors open and this pilot was flying very low and extremely fast. Note the armor that I had to wear. This stuff is very heavy, it is a special type of ceramic instead of kevlar and as if 112 degree weather is not bad enough this armor is hot as hell.

---Berg: I am wearing a helmet above so I do not want to hear any more references to the crocodile hunter. Payback will come when I return.

I took a bunch of video, but 90% of it is useless because the wind from the speed and rotors was tossing me around like a little play toy. I managed to capture the counter measures being fired off, they are basically very bright and extremely hot flares that shoot out the sides of the Blackhawk as a defensive mechanism. The first time that they went off it scared the living crap out of me, because they shoot almost right next to my face and the door was open. They also have two very large guns pointing off of the front. The daytime flight videos I will not be posting because I do not want to provide the bad guys with an aerial view of bases etc… I will try to get the night time video up, or at least grab a couple of shots from it.

The flight up there was a direct flight and fairly short. It is a very odd feeling being up there and out in the open. I would describe the anxiety as if you were about to reach the peak of a rollercoaster before the big descent. The only difference here is that the feeling lasts for the entire ride as you sit there and wonder if something is going to happen. I worked that out of my system before the ride home and was able to enjoy it. We stopped at 4 other bases on the way home including the International zone. Some really interesting sights along the way.