Young Face
I was tasked to be a bus commander for the trip back from the airport. After all the troops had exited off the plane and loaded the bus I had to select a shooter. I had already selected myself as shooter number one but we needed two. I thought that one of the shooters had to ride the back of the bus so I selected a young troop from the back of the bus who could easily get out of her seat. After making her way through all of the troop baggage I told her of our task. The look on her face was a look of fright. She seemed to venture off into the dream that the bus had been attacked and that she would have to make the call to shoot someone. To snap her out of this nightmare I asked if she was all right with that. I knew that even if the answer was no that I would tell her that she would do it because if the fear is there then this would help her. After a short trip to the rest stop I issued her a magazine with Ammo in it. She looked nervous and said something to the effect that it has become reality. These words echo through my head as I tried to place where I had heard them before. Then it hit me I had said the exact same thing not one week prior. After a short brief and an even shorter break it was back on the bus. As we rolled down the highway I pointed out the things that had scared me on the terrifying trip just days before. I also stood and informed the passengers of the bus the same. It seems that all people of Kuwait drive fast and the big cargo trucks drive even faster. The big trucks seem to justify their speed by a flashing “woopy” light on the top of their vehicles. Imagine for a minute landing in a foreign country knowing that war fighting and death are possible and seeing a speeding vehicle gaining on you from the rear with a yellow flashing light on top. I was simply horrified. As I recalled this feeling I made the decision to stand and inform the passengers of the bus. As we traveled on I pointed out the Kuwait cities that were under construction. I also pointed out items on the side of the road that in a few short weeks would become things that would stop a convoy. Something as simple as an animal carcass, old tire or broken down vehicle used to seem like a harmless thing, but now these items could potentially take your life and that of your fellow soldiers. This seemed to alarm her even more. Most soldiers slept during our bus ride, as I would like to think that the information that I had given them had eased some of their tensions. She on the other hand did not. She stared attentively out the window to ensure the safety of herself as well as the soldiers on the bus. About an hour into the ride I noticed a slight swerve from one lane to the next by the bus drive. As I watched him out of the corner of my eye I noticed that he was starting to doze off. He was a Kuwaiti man about five foot five and seemed quite polite. I had spoken to him a little prior to the plane arriving. For the most part his English was good but there were a few times I could not understand him. From my seat I leaned over and offered him a bottle of water and he accepted with a gracious smile. After taking a small drink he placed the bottle aside and seemed to straighten up a bit, but it was not long until he was at it again. This time I leaned in and asked him a question. I said “, Tired huh? Been a long day?” He said, “Yes” and nodded with a slight grin, “Long Day” he continued in broken English. This continued off and on until thankfully we reached our destination.
