Voluntary Evacuation

After a lot of prayer and stressful deliberation, we decided that I should take advantage of the voluntary evacuation that the government offered to dependents of military members living in Japan. It had nothing to do with our safety - we trust all of the very smart people from our government that assured us we were not in any danger from radiation in Misawa. But we felt like the best thing I could physically do for Japan right now is to stop sucking up their resources until they get back on their feet. Plus, James would most likely be going TDY to a near-by location to continue their flying program until Operation TOMODACHI ends, and I didn't want to be there by myself.

The process of evacuating was extensive to say the least. It was a really long and tedious experience. But I am so impressed with our base leadership and how quickly they were able to come up with this system! They've never had to do this before, so the fact that they were able to find a way to get us all the information we needed to make this decision, then collect and organize all of the paperwork they needed from each of the 1,200 evacuees and figure out how to get us all to our separate State-side destinations in a very short amount of time is AMAZING!! I'm so proud of our base and the Air Force in general right now!

Once we decided for sure that I should go, I reported to the Colocated Club Ballroom to in-process. I had to provide them with all of my personal information, tell them where I was planning to go, get several powers-of-attorney from the legal office (just incase), collect all of the information I would need to help me get medical care if I need it while in the States, and then pin on a numbered arm band that would let me know when it was my turn to leave. Then for three or four days I had to keep checking official sources to see when that would be. I was a category 4, meaning that I was not a priority passenger, so I didn't expect to leave for several days. (Category 1 was pregnant women and people with babies under 24 months, Cat. 2 was people with children, Cat. 3 was spouses of deployed service members, Cat. 4 was all other active duty spouses, and Cat. 5 all other American citizens.)

However, I received short notice that I would be on the third plane leaving for Travis AFB in Northern California early in the morning on Thursday, March 24th! I guess they needed to fill a couple of extra seats with people who were traveling on their own. This was actually a blessing because our squadron commander's wife Jenn Steffens was on my flight, so I was free to help take care of her twin baby boys and 6 year old daughter. They were remarkably well behaved so I didn't mind at all. In fact, I was thankful to have a friend and mother-figure to help take care of ME during this long process instead of having to do it all by myself. O=^)

I received this notice around lunch time on Wednesday, and had to report with my luggage and go through final processing at 9:30 that night. So I had very little time to prepare to leave. I had already begun to pack because I knew the call could come at any time, but there was a lot to think about. In the back of my mind I knew that the future was uncertain. If the situation with the nuclear plant at Fukushima continued to deteriorate, there was a chance I may never be coming back to Japan. What should I take with me that I couldn't stand to lose - and would it all fit into my one large suitcase and small carry-on? First, I made an inventory of all of our household goods incase I needed to make a claim in the future to replace our things. Then I packed up all of my camera equipment, external harddrive, laptop computer, DVD of our wedding video and photos, my student Emmy award and diploma, all of the notes and files that I needed to continue working on my book, and my Kindle with a digital copy of the Bible and several other books in place of my book collection. Also, I had the file of all of our important documents (birth and marriage certificates, wills, medical records, list of family contact info, etc.) Of course, I had to fit some clothes in there too. (Not TOO much, though - I plan to do lots of shopping while in the U.S.) ;^)

After I packed, I cooked a few meals so that James wouldn't go hungry in my absence. Then I tracked him down at work and made sure he came home in time to say good bye. Thankfully, we had a couple of hours to spend together before he had to drop me off. It should have been a hard good-bye but I don't think the reality of it all had really sunk in yet.

The check-in process only took about an hour, thankfully. But our flight didn't take off until 4:50 am and so we all had to sit in the small Misawa passenger terminal for 6 hours and wait to board the aircraft. They provided us with a generous boxed meal, which was thoughtful. But there was no place to lie down and sleep, and there were so many small children and babies playing and/or fussing all night that we got no shut-eye. I was tempted to take a video of the dozens of kids climbing all over the baggage carousel and send it to TSA, but was too lazy to dig my camera out. ;^) Thankfully I had Jenn and a few other ladies that I know there to keep me company.

The flight itself was uneventful and only took about nine hours. We all slept for the first couple of hours, but after that the babies woke up so I spent the remainder of the trip keeping a watchful eye over the twin sitting next to me. But they fed us a couple of hot meals and played some movies. I put a headphone in one ear and watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 again, which definitely helped pass the time.

There was a tense moment a couple of hours into the flight that made it clear that we must all be suffering from mild post-traumatic stress. We hit a rough patch of turbulence and the plane started to shake pretty bad. It triggered that initial panic we all feel each time the gound shook, and it took several minutes for our hearts to stop racing. Even now, I get jumpy when someone bumps a table or bounces their foot and makes a bench I'm sitting on start swaying. I wonder how long it will take for that to go away?

We were welcomed with open arms when we arrived at Travis AFB at 9:30 pm Wednesday night. (Yes, due to the time change we got to re-live Thursday!) The base commander boarded the plane to welcome us, and then several airmen and volunteers got on to help carry bags and babies down the steps and into the terminal. There was a long line of people on either side of our pathway across the flightline, all smiling and welcoming us back to the United States. When we walked inside, they had the terminal set up with everything we could possibly need. There was all kinds of food and water that they were giving away for free, phones that we could use to call home (again, for free), long changing tables stocked with diapers, wipes, etc., a closed-off area for nursing moms, and a play area for the small kids. They even had some mats and blankets so the kids could lie down and sleep while we all stood in line to go through customs, get our paperwork all in order, collect our luggage, make plane reservations to take us home, and arrage for lodging and transportation to one of the three near-by airports. Again, I am SO impressed with the way the Air Force stepped up to the challenge. True, the process took a good four hours, but they did everything in their power to make it as pain-free as possible.

Around 2:oo a.m., the Steffens and I boarded a big bus bound for San Francisco. Jenn's daughter Samantha sat next to me, and we had a good talk until she fell asleep on my lap. It was a two hour bus ride, so those who had morning flights were just dropped off at the airport and waited in the USO. But my flight wasn't leaving until 4:15 that afternoon, so they took me to the near by Hyatt to sleep for a few hours, then catch a free shuttle ride to the airport. The hotel room was very nice, and I thought it was cool that they let me check in so early in the morning, and check out late, free of charge. I used their internet to talk to family before collapsing onto the hotel bed around 5:00 am.

The trip from San Fransico was pretty painless. They comped me on my overweight bag because I was a Japan evacuee (score!) and had lots of delicious food options in the food court. The plane was delayed because of rain, but I had plenty of books on my Kindle to keep me occupied. One short plane ride later, I was home safe in Colorado Springs. Over all, I traveled for about 36 hours with almost no sleep. So, understandably, I've been suffering from some MAJOR jet lag, and came down with a cold that I think is just stress-induced. But it's nice to finally be home and have an opportunity to rest and recuperate.

God is so good, and our government has taken such good care of us during this traumatic time. I am thankful!