Back Safely

I arrived back safely last night from a three night trip I’ve been on. Thank you for your prayers for me, everything went more smoothly than I had hoped. Traveling in military aircraft probably deserves some explanation for those of you who have never had the opportunity: ear plugs are required, as there is no sound insulation anywhere on any of the aircraft. Engine noise is extremely loud, and can damage your hearing in less than a minute without adequate hearing protection. Because there is no insulation on the aircraft, there is nothing ‘hiding’ all the cables, hydraulic lines, control wires, wiring harnesses, framing members and so forth—all of that is immediately visible as you enter the aircraft. For seating, there are canvas benches that fold down from the wall of the aircraft, sort of like super long cots with no cross-members at either end, and these are “backed” by nylon open mesh webbing/strapping which you can lean against. Some people find this fairly comfortable, but I am not one of those people. As a final note, many military aircraft (there are a few rotary wing models particularly noted for this tendency) leak hydraulic fluid, which splashes onto your clothes, luggage, etc. sort of at random—not to mention coating the canvas seat you’re sitting on, increasing the unpleasantness already assailing your backside through the vibration transmitted through the canvas ‘benches.’ I can remember watching movies of military units in transport situations thinking that it was probably pretty “cool” to travel that way, but the actual experience is hardly glamorous. None of these comments reflect negatively on the pilots and crew of these aircraft, who are extremely professional and always go the extra mile to ensure guys like me, who don’t know what we’re doing (like how to get the seatbelts to fit over all our gear, etc) and don’t know the procedure (like how to egress the particular aircraft in the proper method at the proper time) still have a safe and as enjoyable a trip as possible.

Semper Fi, Jon G.