We are now in Afghanistan. Getting here with the 133rd Air Lift Wing was pretty interesting.

First, we had a mechanical problem on the way to Canada. We were supposed to spend the night there but because of the problem, we spent two nights and didn't get out until late the next night. We flew all day Thursday, right through Thanksgiving. We spent the night in Romania and flew into Afghanistan on Friday. We got to Bagram Air Base around 10 p.m. Friday night.

Getting into Bagram is more complicated then landing at a normal airport. Just before landing, everyone has to put on body armor and helmets. They block the windows and turn off the lights so it's tougher for the enemy to spot the plane in the air. With all the lights inside and out turned off, the pilots use night vision goggles to see where they are going. They let me sit in the cockpit for the landing and look out through the nigh vision goggles too. I could see every little bit of light on the ground.

When we got close to Kabul, there was of course a lot more light. The idea is to make sure the pilots can see a small threat hiding in a dark. It was another long flight.

It's about 3:30 a.m. in Afghanistan, but it feel like morning. We've been through so many time zones and slept on the plane or at a hotel, it's tough to know if I'm tired or maybe jet-lagged. Tomorrow it will be interesting to see what goes on on the base during the day.