Egypt: Like You've Never Seen Before

While my esteemed colleague, Crankbait, had the pleasure of living in Egypt and was able to experience first hand the daily ins and outs of Egyptian life, I was given a twelve hour express tour of Egypt via the Suez Canal.  My warship passed through the canal transiting to and from the Persian Gulf during my 2011 deployment.

Standing six-hour watch rotations, I really didn't have much time to enjoy the sites. But what I was able to see was quite enjoyable. One thing I noticed immediately was the Egyptian army. There was a soldier standing at attention every 25 yards the entire length of the canal. Some were in pairs, but most of them stood solo out in the heat in full gear, with an AK-47 across their chest. They did have a little shack, but I never saw the soldiers use them. A very well trained force indeed. What they were guarding against was never completely made clear. Perhaps it was to prevent ships from stopping in the canal to offload people or materials. Makes sense. We passed through just before the Muslim Brotherhood debacle. 

At one point, the Suez Canal widened and there was a resort on the shore. I never caught the name, but people were sun bathing and swimming in the canal. There was a barrier net to protect from the shipping lanes. The locals would wave to us as we passed by. Pretty awesome to see some people still like us in that region.  We also passed under the Egyptian-Japanese friendship bridge, which was cool to see. 

The differences between the two sides of the canal was pretty drastic. The west side was populated from beginning to end, while the east was mostly barren desert, with the occasional pipeline or army HQ. Small fishing docks dotted both sides of the canal, but the boats were empty.

I don't post many pictures of myself.  Back when I was pushing 200 lbs and used SH-60 sonar buoys as weights.

The Suez Canal in all of its glory.  This waterway is the most vital transit system of any in the world.

These guys were dedicated.  It was easily over 100 degrees, but they had a job to do.

The Japan-Egypt Friendship Bridge. 

While the Eastern bank was dotted with soldiers every 25 yards, the Western bank had snipers.  I was lucky enough to catch a sniper and his spotter making their way to their post.  

This bridge was pretty awesome.

The resort. I would have loved to spend some time there!

Mt. 508.  One of the two SCAT (Small Caliber Action Team) positions I commanded while on Anzio.  Twin .50 caliber MG's.