Grandpa’s War – Part 37 – Daman

The day came that we left KKMC for the drive to Daman. This drive would pretty much put us right on the boarding steps for the airliner that would take us home.

It was a long and uneventful drive, and we got there just in time for supper.

The mess hall had been set up in a garage parking structure . It was large and spacious with dozens of tables. It was very clean.

We walked in still dusty from our teardowns and loading. We were tired from the drive. We all needed of a bath. We were still in full combat gear to include M-16s slung over our shoulders, 45s on our

hips, helmets and protective masks.

There were a couple of dozen soldiers in there eating their meals. There uniforms were clean. Some of the uniforms looked like they’d seen an iron in last week or so.

They all looked at us as we came in. I felt like we were some flea ridden, tumbleweed battered sheepherders that had wandered into a country club. I almost expected a bouncer to come in and ask us to leave.

I’ve spoken how on occasion there were some Twilight Zone like incidents during out deployment. Those were places where reality seemed to take a left turn into something totally unexpected.

This was one of them

I got a tray. So far reality was in sync.

Here’s where it took that left turn.

I got real silverware. A fork, knife, and spoon of metal. Not plastic. Metal. And the handle of the silverware had a pattern in it.

I also got a china plate. Not cardboard. China. There was a gold ring around the edge of the plate.

About the only thing normal so far was I was standing in line.

Now here’s where reality threw up its hands and walked away.

At the end of the line was a man wearing a white, frilly shirt. He had on a red bow tie. He also wore a tall white chef’s hat.

And he served me my dinner from a tray that looked like it had come from a four-star hotel.

We ate fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn. Apple pie and ice cream was dessert. And there was ice water and ice cold canned soda.

After dinner we were shown to our apartment by a man in BDUs. We were each given a key and got our rucks and duffels. Our apartment was on the eighth floor but God had smiled on us here.

We had access to an elevator. Better yet, it worked.

The big plus was toilets that flushed actually flushed. We had a bathtub with a shower and a sink. Much to our dismay, we discovered our water heater (it was one of those on demand jobs) didn’t work. That meant ice-cold showers.

There was no furniture and no AC. Since the cots were all packed in the HUMVEEs to ship home, that meant sleeping on the cold, stone tiled floors. The place could easily get hard to walk around with an entire platoon living in it.

I often suspect they put us in these apartments so we could remember what a flush toilet was. That and how to turn on a faucet.

The apartments were supposed have been built for the nomads. But since there was no place to keep their sheep, they never lived there.

As it turned out, we wouldn’t be there long.

But we were able to walk around and enjoy the sights. Not that there was a lot to see. It’s not like there were tons of museums, parks, or attractions. But during one of our excursions, we did get to have the closest thing to a beer in Saudi Arabia we were going to get.

Saudi Arabia is an Islamic nation, and unlike some its neighbors, it’s Dry. That means no alcoholic beverages.

We were told about this place where we could get a “Near Beer.” We found it. It wasn’t exactly Cheers. But we were able to get us a drink.

At the time, I thought it tasted pretty good. A little more like a Guinness Beer than a Heif-Weisen.

Looking back, it was trash. More like a cheap malt-beer than anything worth drinking.

But hey. Beggers can’t be choosy.

We drank it and we liked it.

We walked around, spent some money, and wondered how long we’d be there. I should point out that while we were walking around, we were without weapons, combat gear or the like. After all that bulk, it was like going to the beach. We felt, for the first time in a long time, airy and cool.

About the only issues we had weren’t with the locals, but with fellow MPs. While we were sitting and enjoying the shade when two MPs came up. They told us we weren’t supposed to be wearing our brassards, the arm band that says MP on it.

Not in a mood to argue with took them, we took them off. If we’d felt naked before, it was worse now.

A few days later, we got to take our vehicles down to be shipped home. What had arrived in Saudi Arabia in good shape wouldn’t be in such good shape when they got home.

Windows would be cracked and shattered, fenders broken, tires flat. In a lot of cases the batteries were dead. One or two of the vehicles just didn’t run anymore. It was like someone had gone out of their way to break things.

Our proud fleet of Humvees that had served us so well and so faithfully looked like candidates for the junkyard. We weren’t happy and many expressed deep disappointment. In some cases, items that had been shipped back were now missing.

I ended up taking several rolls of pictures of the damage for the captain.

While there, I spoke with the MPs who were doing the inspections of stuff leaving the country. One of the big things they kept coming across were units or individuals trying to smuggle weapons out. These were captured AKs, RPG launchers and the like. Often it included ammunition.

The MPs had gotten very good at finding false floors, walls and etc in shipping containers and the like. While several units did take captured weapons for Company displays, those had paperwork giving them permission.

These weapons were being smuggled out for individual use.

They told me of one trailer they were looking through. At first glance it seemed okay. But on second glance they realized it was longer on the outside than the inside.

Someone had built a false wall in the front of the trailer. And they’d done a good job of making it blend. Someone slightly less attentive might have blown the whole thing off.

When they opened it up, they were surprised to see there was a high end Mercedes tucked away inside the trailer.

I wonder if they ever figured out who was trying to steal it.