Quiet Time... And the Next Trip: Wayne Wall

Soldier Blog Post

Quiet Time... And the Next Trip

June 10, 2010

Tags:

travel jordan fao

Greetings to everyone. I hope you have all been doing well the past couple of weeks. My apologies for taking so long to post since my last but as many other bloggers are saying, I find it much better to wait until I have something significant to say, in a quality-over-quantity sort of speaking. As the title of this entry suggests, the last few weeks have been very quiet compared to the previous months. I've spent a week in seclusion with my good friends the Jordanians, gone on an extended diving / birthday party weekend to Aqaba with some local friends from the embassy, and taken some time out to prepare for upcoming travel. Not being on the road as much, particularly this week, has been a blessing, and who can argue with 30m visibility on a shipwreck dive in the Red Sea. I know there are plenty of people out there who would pummel me for saying this, but I've needed the break. One of the lessons that I have learned from this year is that you have to take a break, even from fun. Like dehydration in the desert, you can get fatigued without realizing that it is happening.

So, I'm recharged now and ready to go on my next regional travel. This time I'm heading west, across the Jordan River and through the heart of the West Bank onward to Israel. This time I'll be meeting up with Tom and his family from Cairo, as well as another FAO from Cairo. The six of us will check out Tel Aviv for a few days, visit the embassy, head to Haifa, then on to Tiberius. Saving what I consider to be the best for last, we finish out in Jerusalem. But first, I have to drive from Amman to Tel Aviv, passing through the West Bank, so I'm expecting to have one of those "how in the world did I end up here" kind of moments. I'm sure it will be nothing short of exciting. I just hope I will be able to adequately capture the essence of such an important place in such a relatively short time. But, it feels good to be going out on the road, alone and unafraid, in such a hot spot. I wonder if twelve days will be enough. More to follow of course once I get there.

The soldiers of my adopted Jordanian unit preparing for an upcoming inspection:

My weekend in Aqaba was great. We took a tour of the U.S.S. Ashland (a Marine transport ship) organized by the Marine Attache at the embassy. This is the same ship that was assaulted by pirates off the Somali coast. The pirates thought it was a cargo ship... oops.

And then there was the ATV ride into the desert...

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Comments

Chuck
Jun 16, 2010 4:50 PM

Hey Wayne... Chuck again, I commented a while back. I hit Monterey next spring so it'll be a while until I get to the ICT portion. Wife and I are trying to decide which location to ask for, we like Tunisia and Jordan. I'll have a two year old boy during ICT, is Jordan a good place for a young family? You can email if you want..chrlscnn@gmail.com.

No hurry, obviously, and any response would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Chuck

Reply
SFC Maes
Jun 18, 2010 12:30 PM

Hello Sir, First and foremost congratulations on the promotion. I see life is treating you well. Currently I am stationed on the west coast with the health care community, enjoying life myself. Good to hear from you, are you still jumping?

Reply
Wayne Wall
Jun 21, 2010 2:38 PM

Chuck, the way things seem to be working out here is that everyone becomes somewhat partial to the ICT location they are in (unless they are in Egypt, in which case they aren't so thrilled), so take what I'm saying with that in mind. I can tell you that Jordan is the most western of all the ICT locations and that there are many, many families with young children here. I know a few of them and the parents say they are having a wonderful time. The embassy here is very family oriented and a closer community than you might find elsewhere, but since I have not yet been to Tunisia I can't make that specific comparison. If you have specific reasons for wanting to request Tunisia then you will probably be fine there, but I am certain from the sound of things that you would be equally if not more happy with an assignment in Jordan.

Rob,

Great to hear from you brother! Yes, life is treating me very well after a rough ride at DLI, so I can't complain. I hope you and yours are all doing fine. It's great to run into you again, even out here in cyberspace!

W.

Reply
Chuck
Jun 27, 2010 1:22 AM

Wayne,

Thanks for your input..wife and I really appreciate it. Keep posting!!!

Reply
Chuck
Jun 27, 2010 8:43 PM

Hey Wayne,

We have a Beagle and a Terrier mix. What's a dog's life in Jordan? Any families have pets over there?

Reply
John
Jul 1, 2010 5:19 PM

Hi Maj Wall,

I was wondering if you have any impression of how 'fish tanked' the families are that are over there with their FAO husbands? Is there safety and opportunity for families to lead a somewhat normal life or if you take your family with that they will be able lead reasonably normal lives. Also, how often do you think you will travel once you are assigned to a desk after grad school? Thanks, I hope that your current travels are going well!

CPT B

Reply
Wayne Wall
Jul 22, 2010 2:31 PM

John,

Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you and thank you for the well wishes. I can't speak for all locations but on a whole your family will be able to make the necessary adjustments to enjoy living abroad. I'm not going to use the term "normal" because it won't be what you are used to and everyone in the family will have to make adjustments in some regard. But, I can assure you that the expat communities within and around the embassy are very good about taking care of each other and keeping the interest up. Family members can get out in the community as much as they like, and do so with relative safety. I say relative because there are inherent risks to living in this part of the world, but when you consider the historical data your family is actually more at risk of unwanted attention walking down the streets of Chicago than they are over here. Just know the rules, pay attention to customs and threat messages, and there's no problem. Wives and kids will all acquire foreign friends over time and before you know it you've got yourself a new version of "normal". If by "fish tanked" you mean your family won't be able to leave the home and will revolve solely around the FAO, nothing could be farther from reality. Trust me, you'll all have a great time.

Hope this helps!

Wayne

Reply

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Profile

Wayne Wall

Affiliation:	Active Duty
Rank:	Major
Branch:	Foreign Area Officer
MOS/AOC:	Foreign Area Officer: Middle East/48G
Location:	Baghdad, Iraq
Hometown:	Winston-Salem

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Chuck

Jun 16, 2010 4:50 PM

Hey Wayne... Chuck again, I commented a while back. I hit Monterey next spring so it'll be a while until I get to the ICT portion. Wife and I are trying to decide which location to ask for, we like Tunisia and Jordan. I'll have a two year old boy during ICT, is Jordan a good place for a young family? You can email if you want..chrlscnn@gmail.com.

No hurry, obviously, and any response would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

SFC Maes

Jun 18, 2010 12:30 PM

Hello Sir, First and foremost congratulations on the promotion. I see life is treating you well. Currently I am stationed on the west coast with the health care community, enjoying life myself. Good to hear from you, are you still jumping?

Jun 21, 2010 2:38 PM

Chuck, the way things seem to be working out here is that everyone becomes somewhat partial to the ICT location they are in (unless they are in Egypt, in which case they aren't so thrilled), so take what I'm saying with that in mind. I can tell you that Jordan is the most western of all the ICT locations and that there are many, many families with young children here. I know a few of them and the parents say they are having a wonderful time. The embassy here is very family oriented and a closer community than you might find elsewhere, but since I have not yet been to Tunisia I can't make that specific comparison. If you have specific reasons for wanting to request Tunisia then you will probably be fine there, but I am certain from the sound of things that you would be equally if not more happy with an assignment in Jordan.

Rob,

Great to hear from you brother! Yes, life is treating me very well after a rough ride at DLI, so I can't complain. I hope you and yours are all doing fine. It's great to run into you again, even out here in cyberspace!

Jun 27, 2010 1:22 AM

Wayne,

Thanks for your input..wife and I really appreciate it. Keep posting!!!

Jun 27, 2010 8:43 PM

Hey Wayne,

We have a Beagle and a Terrier mix. What's a dog's life in Jordan? Any families have pets over there?

John

Jul 1, 2010 5:19 PM

Hi Maj Wall,

I was wondering if you have any impression of how 'fish tanked' the families are that are over there with their FAO husbands? Is there safety and opportunity for families to lead a somewhat normal life or if you take your family with that they will be able lead reasonably normal lives. Also, how often do you think you will travel once you are assigned to a desk after grad school? Thanks, I hope that your current travels are going well!

CPT B

Jul 22, 2010 2:31 PM

John,

Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you and thank you for the well wishes. I can't speak for all locations but on a whole your family will be able to make the necessary adjustments to enjoy living abroad. I'm not going to use the term "normal" because it won't be what you are used to and everyone in the family will have to make adjustments in some regard. But, I can assure you that the expat communities within and around the embassy are very good about taking care of each other and keeping the interest up. Family members can get out in the community as much as they like, and do so with relative safety. I say relative because there are inherent risks to living in this part of the world, but when you consider the historical data your family is actually more at risk of unwanted attention walking down the streets of Chicago than they are over here. Just know the rules, pay attention to customs and threat messages, and there's no problem. Wives and kids will all acquire foreign friends over time and before you know it you've got yourself a new version of "normal". If by "fish tanked" you mean your family won't be able to leave the home and will revolve solely around the FAO, nothing could be farther from reality. Trust me, you'll all have a great time.

Hope this helps!

Wayne

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