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| Dave Gatley / USO |
| Standing behind two Marines, NFL stars Danny Clark, Jared Allen, Will Witherspoon and Larry Fitzgerald donned Kevlar vests for the second leg of their trip to the Persian Gulf. |
Previous blogs: Day 1: Arrival in Kuwait | Day 2: Running into old friends
The NFL is continuing this March its legacy of more than 40 years of sending players overseas to visit with U.S. military troops. The NFL's Director of Community Affairs, David Krichavsky, is accompanying four NFL players -- Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, New York Giants linebacker Danny Clark, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and St. Louis Rams linebacker Will Witherspoon -- on a week-long tour to U.S. military bases in Iraq and Kuwait.
Following is Krichavsky's Day 3 blog:
Day 3 of the NFL-USO Tour began with a 5:30 a.m. wakeup call, as our goal was to travel from Kuwait to Iraq and still have a full day with the troops in-country. We accomplished our mission and then some, but more on that to follow.
New York Giants LB Danny Clark wrote his own blog post about the trip so far, and explains why teamwork in the desert means so much more than on the gridiron. More ... After a short ride to a military airbase outside Kuwait City, our group was fitted with body armor. Fortunately, the military makes XXL Kevlar vests that fit the players. We then headed to the flight line to board a C130 airplane to Iraq. At the flight line, the players signed autographs and took pictures with the crew before boarding the plane. Jared Allen found himself in a conversation with Cpl. Matt Van Ens (Call sign: Cashmere) of Lowell, Mich., a Detroit Lions fan, and Cpl. Steven Glenn (Call sign: Most Def) of Brooklyn Center, Minn., a fan of Allen's Minnesota Vikings. The three were soon discussing the now-infamous play from a Lions-Vikings game this past season when an Allen pass rush helped cause Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky to run out the back of the end zone. Van Ens, the Lions fan, continues to have faith in his hometown team.
The players had been briefed regarding the C130, but they didn't fully grasp what it is like to ride in one until they entered the plane and were airborne. First, flying a C130 is loud. The four propellers cause a constant drone; it is for this reason that the crew hands you earplugs upon boarding. Riding in a C130 isn't particularly comfortable. The "seats" are vinyl benches that are suspended from the side walls of the plane. Nevertheless, the C130 has remained the workhorse of the U.S. Military for 50 years, transporting troops and supplies wherever they are needed.
After getting settled, Larry jokingly asked Staff Sgt. Rob Hurley, one of the very hospitable crew members, about the in-flight food and beverage service, adding that he would prefer the beef entrée to the fish option. Staff Sgt. Hurley was up to the challenge, though. He came back with a handful of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) ranging from beef and broccoli to chicken pot pie to vegetable lasagna. Larry passed on the MRE, but Jared (as always) was game.
Following the direction on the MRE package, Jared added water to the entrée and waited a few minutes for the dehydrated food to constitute itself. Soon thereafter, Jared had a "breakfast" of Cajun rice, beans and sausage. "It's awesome!" Jared explained. "If I had these [MREs], when I was in college, I would have been all set. I'm going to grab a chicken and noodle one for my dad for later."
While Jared was enjoying the culinary delights of the U.S. military back in the hull of the C130, Danny Clark and Will Witherspoon had been invited to the cockpit to experience takeoff from the front of the plane. Will ended up staying in the cockpit for the entire 1½-hour flight. When I popped my head up there to check on him, I saw him sitting in the co-pilot's seat. When I asked him after we deplaned if he flew the plane at all, his response was "Can't tell you. I don't want to get anyone in trouble."
One thing I failed to mention about a C130 is that it is a painfully slow aircraft. Because our trip had us traveling the entire width of the country of Iraq, from the eastern border with Kuwait to our destination on the far western boarder with Syria and Jordan, we thankfully only took the C130 halfway to our destination. We made our "connecting flight" at Al Asad Airfield in central Iraq, just west of Baghdad. There, we picked up a CD Osprey Marine helicopter that zipped us to our destination, Camp Korean Village.
In the suburbs of nowhere
Camp Korean Village (CKV) is pretty close to the middle of nowhere. It sits at the far western edge of Iraq, at the country's three-point border with Syria and Jordan. In every direction you look from CKV, sand colors the horizon.
The one landmark at CKV is a major highway that cuts through the landscape. This highway is a very strategic thoroughfare because it serves as a major transportation route for commercial goods and sometimes arms and other black-market goods. In fact, the reason CKV got its name is because Saddam Hussein brought in indentured Korean workers early during his rule to work on the highway construction project. Those Korean workers lived in the same modest cement structures that now house our Marines.
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| Dave Gatley / USO |
| Did Danny Clark and Will Witherspoon get a chance to fly the C-130J? They'll never tell. |
Upon landing at CKV, our group was very graciously welcomed by the base command and escorted to lunch. The DFAC staff had reserved a large table for us in the center of the room, hung football pictures and figures from the ceiling, and designed an impressive model Lombardi Trophy as our table's centerpiece. The festive decorations were matched by the excellent chow (Mexican day: fajitas and tacos) that was declared our best DFAC food yet.
After lunch, we held a meet-and-greet for the 500 or so Marines on base. About 150 to 200 turned out to get an autograph and a photo with the players. This had to be almost every Marine who wasn't on patrol and was free to stop by and say hello. In fact, even the battalion chaplain, the inspirational Lt. Cmdr. Kobena Arthur, stopped by to thank Jared, Danny, Larry and Will for making the trip, and he offered a prayer for their safe travels. Even the chaplain, though, didn't leave before getting autographs and a photo with the players.
One final note on Camp Korean Village: The 2007 NFL-USO Tour actually visited this remote outpost with Tennessee Titans tight end Alge Crumpler, New England Patriots tight end Ben Watson, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shelton Quarles and former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Will Shields. I also was part of that tour, as was USO tour manager Jeff Anthony, who is with us again this year. Jeff -- a former Marine who is not only great at his job of managing the logistics and operation of this tour but also has a deep reservoir of knowledge that he is willing to share -- is a veteran of more than 50 USO tours, including at least four NFL tours.
Returning to CKV two years later and listening to the Marines' description of their jobs made it clear to Jeff and I how much progress the U.S. has made in this region of Iraq. Our Marines are no longer participating in combat missions in most of Anbar province. The work that the Marines are doing is primarily helping the Iraqis find "Iraqi solutions to Iraqi problems," as Maj. Byron Duke told me at CKV.
As an example, our Marines have helped the Iraqis develop local police forces, established school systems to help educate both boys and girls, worked on civil-engineering projects and helped establish government Web sites. When U.S. combat forces pull out of Iraq in August of 2010, as President Obama has indicated, these elements of civil society will be needed to support Iraq.
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| Dave Gatley / USO |
| The players flew from one camp to another in V-22 Osprey aircrafts. |
Morale, welfare and recreation
From Korean Village, it was back to the osprey helicopters for a wild ride back east to Camp Al Taqaddum (TQ). I'm not sure if the chopper was practicing training with us or trying to show us a good time, but the dips and twists on this flight brought both stomach discomfort and calls for more from the players.
We eventually landed at TQ (no air-sickness bags needed) and were escorted to the command center, where we met with Gen. Juan Ayala, the top-ranking officer on base. The players not only received traditional military coins from the general but also American flags that had previously been flown on the base. Our group reciprocated by giving the general a limited-edition Super Bowl XLIII game coin, a replica of the one that General Petraeus used before the game in Tampa, Fla. We also presented Gen. Ayala with an NFL football autographed by our four USO stars.
Our day ended at TQ with a meet-and-greet and the MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) center on base. After dinner, we saw a line of at least 100 people deep waiting for our players. By the end, this evening's session attracted well over 250 Marines, each one getting time to chat with the players, take pictures and just hang out.
As the last five or so Marines came through for autographs, I looked at Larry, Jared, Will and Danny -- still shaking hands, smiling and chatting away with the same enthusiasm as they had this morning. They had been up since 5:30 a.m. They were still jet-lagged. They had signed hundreds of autographs today and thousands in the past few days. They haven't said no to a single autograph request, and I feel like they have said hello to every single service member whom they have walked past. I couldn't be more proud of them. These guys have demonstrated over the past few days the commitment, dedication and passion for which the NFL stands.
