DAY 13: Independence Day

The flying freezer

This journey is basically a straight shot home on board a new C-17 cargo aircraft with only one refueling stop in England. The cabin inside a military aircraft is quite utilitarian – designed for cargo, it is very noisy and cold during flight. Thus, passengers must wear earplugs and bring a blanket to keep from freezing. The one plus side is the ability to lie down on the steel floor and catch some zzz’s during the long journey – all 17 of us sprawl out into every available nook and cranny that is not utilized by the cargo. One of my folks actually finds some room under the spare engine to sleep!

4^th of July

After our 24-hour trek, we land back in California around 6pm – and it is still the 4^th of July! I am the first to debark the plane and as I walk on the tarmac towards our hangar a sizeable party of greeters is on hand waving American flags – how patriotic! In all of my deployments, this is the first time we had such a wonderful greeting. I hook up with my family and we have such a fun dinner conversation that we miss the fireworks – but all is good on this Independence Day. Mission accomplished, it is good to be home with family and friends.