the Qatar Edge

We’ve all heard older generations talk about where they were when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, or how they mourned when they learned that Elvis, The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, had passed.  I was roughly a month shy of conception when the former President was slain in November of 1963, and again, a month shy of being a teenager when the King over-dosed on August 16^th, 1977. 

In more recent years, when historical events occurred and the media made those events more memorable, people have attempted to remember where they were and what they were doing, just so they can have a story to tell when people ask. 

September 11^th, 2001, when the hi-jacked aircraft flew into the Twin Towers in New York City, and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., or December 13^th, 2003, when Saddam Hussein was captured will be significant events to talk about in this manner for years to come.  When 9.11 occurred, I was in my office at the Buffalo Flats Public Schools, in Buffalo Flats, Nebraska, where I worked as the K-12 Principal.  On that day, I comforted students, and privately wondered where my National Guard unit might get deployed. 

I was having this very discussion with a few of my co-workers one night, Wednesday, the 17^th of December, 2003, just four days after the capture of the former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein.

Some background is required regarding our location at that time.  We were stationed at Al Udeid, Air Base, Qatar.  Most people don’t know where the country of Qatar is located.  It’s a Connecticut-sized peninsula country that borders Saudi Arabia and sticks out into the Southern portion of the Persian Gulf, resting between S.A. and the U.A.E (United Arab Emirates).  I worked with a great crew of active duty folks in the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Group.  I was the only Nebraska National Guardsman in the organization, but served just as proudly as the active duty folks while we supported operations in Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and Iraq.  Our debate started when we talked about what we were doing when Saddam Hussein was captured or what we were doing when his capture was reported.  The argument was over who had the worst truthful answer to those related questions.