Ruth's Adventures: Operation Pacific Angel

Operation Pacicifc Angel is a recurring joint/combined humanitarian assistance mission designed to bring humantiarian assistance to areas in need in the Pacific region. This year the U.S Air Force decided to head to the Quang Tri Province in Vietnam and I got to be a part of this 2 week long mission ! It was pretty amazing and we saw over 5,000 combined patients in a 5-day period. It was exhausting, but very rewarding. Like so many other poor, communist countries most people simply cannot afford healthcare. On the way there we stopped in Hawaii and Guam to pick up more people, I had never been to either of those places, so I took advantage of every second. First stop in Hawaii was the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Only went to the U.S.S Arizona, but it happened to be on September 11th, which gave me a lot to think about that day. :( It was a very memorable experience.

Then it was beach time!! I have a friend who lives there and him and his family took me for a drive around the Island. It was awesome, we went by the "Chinaman's Hat" then up the North Shore and on to "Pipe" where they do the national surf competitions! There were 12 foot waves that day... Incredible! We also decided to do some snorkeling at Hanauma Bay! I loved this place!!

The next day it was on to Guam. I must admit, I'd would have a horrible case of Island Fever if I ever got stationed there, but the beaches just kept getting better. The water was a warm 82 degrees and crystal clear. I remembered I had a waterproof camera and decided to try it out on some beautiful scenery.

Then it was time for work... Off to Vietnam! We flew on a KC-135 Refueler which was a rather comfy ride if I must say... LOL You can see me lying on the floor, reading a magazine.

So after a 12 hours plane ride, we arrived in Vietnam just to have to get on a bus for 4 more hours to get to our destination. LOL We worked hard and played hard, trying to enjoy as much as we could. For some reason I'm always blessed with amazing people wherever I go, so that make my job very easy! All went well other then the interesting meals we ate... Fried Shrimp with the heads on them, Frog soup with the skins in it and you can't forget the rat/roach infested restaurants! I can only laugh about it now, cause you had to remember where you were. Overall it really was a great experience!