Troops on R&R seeking alternative destinations

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Maj. Larry Pundt, left, of the 82nd Airborne Division, deployed to Afghanistan, waited in Kuwait’s 1st Sustainment Command (Theater) Gateway on Thursday with Sgt. Andres Mejias, right, of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Division, deployed to Iraq. The gateway sends 300-400 soldiers a day on their mid-tour leaves.


Troops on R&R seeking alternative destinations
By Allison Batdorff, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, October 14, 2007


KUWAIT — France. Venice. Dublin. Sydney. Tokyo.

Not everyone leaving the Middle East on Thursday planned to spend their mid-war break at home, as attested to by the itineraries of troops waiting to go through customs.

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“It’s usually a madhouse in here,” SatoTravel contractor officer Staff Sgt. Domenik Desimone said Thursday. “Where else are you going to get a free ticket to anywhere you want?”

He works at Kuwait’s 1st Sustainment Command (Theater) Gateway where soldiers get their international travel tickets. Those who are using the time to travel are usually multiple deployers, said the 26-year-old from Philadelphia.

“They’ve done the family thing before,” he said. “But sometimes you have no time on a family trip for yourself, as you are pulled and stretched in every direction.”

Soldiers are eligible for 15 days leave on a 12-month tour; 18 days on the extended 15-month tour. The military provides a round trip to a destination of the soldier’s choice.


Rest of article at: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=49480