The Wandering Soldier: The Sinai Deployment

Tel Aviv 

I know this happened over 30 years ago, but I now realize the importance of this trip.  It was the moment in my life that opened my eyes to the world.   From 1992 through 1993, I spent 9 months in the Sinai with the 101st Airborne Division.  I had the opportunity to travel throughout Egypt and Israel.   I did what I like to call the Sodom and Gomorrah tour—just kidding—but I did have fun.

Yes, people, I have walked in the steps of Jesus in Jerusalem.   Then at night, I saw the discotheques glow as weapons from young Israelis stacking arms, where they were blowing off steam.  Have been to where Moses saw the burning bush.  Drank wine on a hotel roof in Nazareth. Yes, that little town of Nazareth is a place where Mary and Joseph raised Jesus.  I have prayed at the Western Prayer Wall.  I tried to walk on water at the Sea of Galilee.  Floated in the Dead Sea.  Been to the top of Masada and everywhere in between.

Bethlehem 

It's a misnomer to call this a deployment; my room had a view of the Red Sea, with a 5-minute walk to a great beach for swimming and snorkeling.  Then in the evening, it was to the camp club where Heinekens, Rum, and Cokes were 50 cents a piece.  Saturday Night was always steak night.  Oh, how I missed the Army before Order Number One.

 

Traveling in Cairo was the biggest Adventure of my life.   The Nile, the Pyramids, the Mosaics in the Churches and Mosques.  I even learned to scuba dive here, receiving my certification from a Navy dive detachment stationed at the same camp.   Stopping at Israeli war battle sites on a whim.  Climbing on burned-out tanks and artillery pieces that still had the feeling of War in them.  It was all just living history,y which I now feel a part of.

Scuba Diving in the Red Sea 

Located in the gated community of South Camp, in Egypt, on the southern tip of the Sinai, where the Gulf of Aqaba meets the Red Sea.  It was Paradise for a few months.  This is where I learned to love travel and all the adventure that comes with it.  This is where I learned that The Dude Abides.