My first deployment with the Air National Guard has come quite by accident. For years I’ve wanted to deploy overseas, but in the end it was a cancellation more so than pestering my supervisors that sealed the deal (click here for a more detailed account).

Unlike the movies, this is not a last-minute affair with some crusty sergeant declaring you now have 12 hours to pack your bags and say goodbye to your spouse and kids before shipping out. I’ve had almost a solid year to prepare, get paperwork and passports in order, get introduced to my soon-to-be colleagues via FB, and even find a sub-letter for my apartment.

Now that my departure date has finally arrived, it turns out that getting there is quite the adventure in itself. After nearly a week of holding in place at Norfolk Navel Station, eating meals in the galley amid bright blue uniforms boarding on and off ships the size of the Titanic (my favorite monument there is the Navy sea mermaid, pic to the left), I taxi’d to the AMC Passenger Terminal to board my rotator plane. Our first stop will be a 0130 flight to Ireland.. then to Kuwait.. and finally to United Arab Emirates (unspecified location). Nearly two straight days on planes, assuming no delays. If you’re accustomed to direct flights at convenient times, don’t ever join the military.

As a Public Affairs broadcast journalist, I am carrying almost $10K worth of camera gear in a mobility case weighing over 100 lbs, plus two additional oversized bags as well as a carry-on backpack. When I first enlisted at age 36, I never thought I could take it this far.  As of this writing I’m 41 — high time to scratch deployment off the bucket list while I still can.

Adventure awaits; the unknown is what I live for.