Unexpected Weekend Off and 24 Hours of Travel

While in South Carolina, we received our transportation brief, which was just that. The coordinators told each different group of people (Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Kuwait, Tampa or those going to additional training) how they were getting from South Carolina to their respective next stops. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that those of us going to Djibouti would leave South Carolina on Thursday, July 15th and not have to fly out until Tuesday, July 20th. With this unexpected weekend off I was able to attend RDML Mike Giorgione’s retirement ceremony in Annapolis, MD and spend the rest of the weekend with my parents. The retirement ceremony was great and it was so nice to be able to see the Giorgione’s again along with many other folks I have worked with. My parents also attended so it was nice to introduce them to so many folks. On Saturday, my sister Kate flew down from Boston to spend the weekend and the four of us had a great family weekend together (family minus mine and Kate’s husbands ). We explored Baltimore and then headed back to Mom and Dad’s place in Northern VA. On Sunday we went to mass and just enjoyed spending the day together. We had a great dinner at home and played an intense game of dominoes.


On Monday I dropped Kate at the airport and headed back down to Norfolk. I spent Monday and Tuesday finishing my packing and just relaxing. The 30 of us that were flying to Djibouti caught a plane from the military air terminal in Norfolk. The plane was packed with other service members and families because before arriving in Djibouti, the plane made stops in Rota, Spain, Sigonella, Sicily and Bahrain. 24 hours after take off, we arrived in Djibouti and were quickly met by our sponsors and brought to base. That’s all for now, more to follow from Camp Lemonnier.