DAY 38: Mother of all Dust Storms

Mon, 3 October 2005

Today’s the day we start packing up and prepping to head home. One of our tasks is to gather our bags and build up cargo pallets that our bags will then sit upon. This is an outdoor event and unfortunately, today’s weather does not cooperate with us. While the weather for most of the tour has been basically hot and dusty, the wind soon kicks up and starts to blow at a consistent 30 mph. This storm is worse than the previous one (refer to Day 15), but not the magnitude of the one that hit the troops in Iraq during the early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Even with sunglasses, the blowing dust and sand soon starts to sting my eyes, sinuses and entire face. I head back to my room and grab my supply-issued goggles and gloves – a must if I am to stay out in this weather. A group of us then head over to the Maintenance Hangar and spend the next three hours outside in this weather to complete this important task.

There is a lone mountain just a couple of miles from the base that stands at 5000’ and is always clearly visible from the base – but not today. Instead, it’s a brutal dust storm that we must endure. By nightfall, the storm passes and the winds completely die down bringing things back to a calm state again. I have to take a shower to scrub my face and body and cleanse the clogged pores that are now filled with dust and sand. Facial sand-blasting is not conducive to a good complexion!