It's Easy To Forget

2/26/2007 09:31:00 PM UTC +0300

It's easy to forget what's going on outside of the Green Zone, that I'm in Baghdad, a warzone. In our compound, we have a barber shop, gym, dining facility (DFAC (pronounced dee-fack)--you're right, it's not an acronym, just like SECDEF (Secretary of Defense) and OPSEC (Operation Security)--the military astounds me sometimes), janitorial staff, basically everything we expect of home. The weather couldn't be more pleasant. Every day the sun is out and the high is about 20ºC with a gentle breeze. Sometimes I see the palm trees and imagine that I'm at a resort.

Then I'll be rudely jerked back to the real world, where this evening the entire office was smoked out of the building by a couple tons of burning rubbish a few blocks upwind. Don't take waste management for granted, Americans! Fortunately, we'd been at the office for 13 hours by then, so the day wasn't a complete waste. Some other subtle reminders that I'm not the United States: gunshots, mortars, sirens, razor wire, body armor, tanks.

We also have a basketball league among the various bases in the Green Zone. If you know me at all well, you know that I'm generally disinterested in sports. Nonetheless, sitting on a picnic bench, watching a rowdy bunch of uniformed amateurs engage in one of the Western World's more popular diversions put me at great ease. Last night was the championship, and we (Phoenix Base) were victorious against Blackwater, 44 to 35. That's five championships in a row for us--I suspect there are some demographical reasons behind this.

I know some of you are just itching to send me a bunch of stuff I don't need. I've always assured everyone that I don't want any care packages, but I'd now like to revoke that claim. We could really use some decent coffee--all they have at the PX is Folger's. Nothing fancy, mind you, though we do have a coffee grinder so whole beans are best. Contact my folks or my supervisor (or me) for an address.

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Getting Around In The Green Zone

2/23/2007 11:13:00 AM UTC +0300

The Baghdad International Zone (Green Zone) is an interesting place in which to get around. The area as a whole is considered secure, however there are also smaller sub-sections that have their own additional security. Any time we are outside any of the various bases, we're required to travel in pairs, wear body armor, and carry a weapon.

This segmentation of the Green Zone makes for an awful lot of walls. They're maybe five meters high and bear large spirals of razor wire. Were it not for these walls, the Green Zone might feel like a normal city, however it is now jammed with redundant barriers, sand bags, check points, etc. Some streets are just wide enough to accomodate a car, and walkways now feel like crawlspaces.

Baghdad also has a vehicle which, to my knowledge, is completely unique and custom-built for our particular environment. It may have a proper name, however it's affectionately called the "Rhino", a name which must have been planned by the manufacturer when you observe the metallic plate at the nose of the vehicle (open the image in a new window to enlarge). This thing could take a pretty severe beating--and has, from what I hear. Those windows in the side must be about four inches thick, and the rest is steel plate. With seating for a dozen or so troops, this is the primary means of transit out of the Green Zone.

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My New Job

2/20/2007 09:11:00 PM UTC +0300

I think most people have a perception of our military presence in Baghdad as either/both violent or/and authoritative. This is true to some extent, however there is a section of the US military that provides support and guidance to the Iraqi government and military. This section is much larger than most people realize. We often hear about the "cost of the war". This money doesn't simply go toward tanks, bombs, bullets, food, water--a great amount of money goes into building Iraqi infrastructure. This is where I come in.

One of the initiatives of the Department of Defense is to build Iraqi military and police forces. Most of the Iraqi military and police have non-functional, outdated, or otherwise inadequate equipment. My organization's responsibility is to provide equipment to both the military and police, from items as simple as socks to items as complex as mobile communication centers. My job, in particular, is to examine the needs (requirements) of the Iraqi police and military (as established by an affiliated "planning" organization), purchase vehicles that will meet those needs, and oversee the delivery of the purchased vehicles. This includes everything from your basic pickup truck, to fuel tankers, forklifts, excavators, etc.

I do have a great deal of oversight--every decision I make must receive concurrence from ten or so different people, all the way up to the commanding general. Nonetheless, this is still a pretty cool job for someone as young as myself. On my first day on the job, I wrote a purchase request for $26M worth of armored personnel carriers. One common estimate states that the Iraq War costs the United States $2B per week (on average). If that day were an average one overall, then on that day I committed over 9% of the entire Iraq War budget.

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My New Home

2/18/2007 11:15:00 PM UTC +0300

I'm finally settled in Baghdad, and about to spend a second night in my own bed. My room is basically in a trailer that has two double rooms (bunk beds) and a shared bathroom. We have hot water, air conditioning, and internet access. It's a little cramped, but is quite adequate.

In my same complex, there is a 24-hour gym, a laundry drop-off, a convenience store, and a helicopter pad. The helicopters are loud, but you get used to them since they are more often than not flying within hearing range. There's also a B-1 that has been zipping around--for what purpose, I have no idea.

More bothersome than any of the aircraft are the alarms that occasionally sound and calmly announce, "INCOMING", over a loudspeaker. This is some sort of detection system that gives us as much warning as possible of mortar or firearm attacks. I have no idea how this works, or how reliable it is, but we are told that it gives us just enough time to get into our body armor and assume a protected position. The alarms are all for more vulnerable areas though, so we don't have one immediately in my area. Aside from the smoke in the background of my profile photo, I have yet to see any violence of immediate concern.

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In Baghdad, Part II

2/17/2007 10:43:00 AM UTC +0300

I ended up on a C-17 into Baghdad International Airport (BIAP), which is far preferable to the usual C-130, from what I hear. I'd never been on a military aircraft, which was an unique experience. It felt like riding in the back of a dump truck, except louder.

Our arrival was less memorable than I expected. We were all suited up in our kevlar vests and helmets, which somehow made me expect to be running behind barricades with bullets flying overhead, etc. I won't go into detail of the events of the morning, but please trust me when I suggest they were quite mundane.

We were fortunate to just miss a significant rainstorm, however the rains left Camp Sather (at BIAP) thoroughly covered in mud. This is not mud like we have in the 'States. It's like walking in paste--it's thick and stringy, and has the adhesive ability to make even large rocks stick to your boots. You can't scrape it off, it's everywhere, and even when you go indoors, you walk an inch taller because of this gluey wad of rocks on the bottom of your boots. Buildings are swept hourly because this stuff invariably gets tracked everywhere. Hopefully the IZ will have better paths and roads.

I won't be at BIAP much longer, if everything goes as planned (a pretty big "if", if you've been following along). Tonight I should be able to sleep in what will be my bed for the next six months.

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In Baghdad, Part I

2/17/2007 10:11:00 AM UTC +0300

Ummm... Yeah.

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In Qatar

2/17/2007 12:51:00 AM UTC +0300

It's dark here all the time.

We left Cyprus just after sunset, so we didn't get into Qatar until shortly before midnight. It was a clear night for our descent, but instead of seeing grids of street lights and office buildings, there are only red-orange specks fading off into the horizon; a tainted reflection of the starry sky. These are oil wells, many of them with flames a hundred feet in the air.

We were originally scheduled to depart for Baghdad early the following morning, however once again experienced delays and will leave almost a full day later. I'm awake long enough to see a breathtaking Qatari sunrise. At night, one can't really appreciate the stark climate (operational military compounds tend to be such, regardless of the surrounding area), however with the sun comes visibility of stark white desolation as far as the eye can see. It's a no-camera zone, or I'd have some photos for you.

Meals lose significance. The dining facility is open 24 hours per day, and we have eaten five or six meals since waking in Frankfurt. What's the meal after dinner called? I don't know; dinner was at 0200 anyway.

There is transient lodging available--a couple of tents outside the corrugated aluminum airport terminal: each contains rows of cots, cheap mattresses, and a smattering of pillows, bedsheets, and blankets. A single dim light bulb dangles by it's own wire from the rafters, quivering at the sounding of cargo jet engines. Once word got out of our delay, it was time to do a face plant; I'd been up for 24 hours. I awakened ten hours later, once again in darkness.

Am I on the moon?

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Still In Germany

2/15/2007 12:05:00 PM UTC +0300

The complications involved in moving 150 troops half way around the world are quickly becoming evident.

Our initial flight plan from last week had us going through Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. However our airline, Omni Air International (who the hell are these guys?) has recently had some political complaints with Turkish air regulations, so we were rerouted through Cyprus. Unfortunately, The air field through which we planned on traveling has "quiet hours", providing a narrow window in which our aircraft could stop, continue to Qatar, and then stop again in Cyprus on the way back to Germany. When a troop's firearm went missing at the Ramstein Air Base terminal, our flight was delayed, which made the next window some 21 hours later. This was all learned after sitting on the plane for an hour and a half.

We file off the plane amid great confusion, to find out that because the Ramstein terminal is not open overnight, we'll be loading everyone onto buses and riding to Frankfurt, some 2.5 hours away. This is great for the government since the contract with Omni requires that accommodations be made for all of us at no cost. However, because we'll be leaving base, we have to go through everyone's luggage, and get all the weapons into the armory before we can even get on the bus. It took over an hour to unload everyone's (400 or so) bags, which all looked basically the same. More confusion ensued. It also didn't help that the Ramstein armory had only one person at the service counter, and that we were all standing in line with dozens of weapons at exactly the same time that thirty or so military police arrived (and had priority) for a personnel changeover. We initially boarded our flight at 1530 that afternoon, but did not leave Ramstein until 2130.

It was pouring rain in the Ramstein/Frankfurt area last night, which made for a dreary ride into the city. We couldn't see anything and hadn't had an opportunity to eat a substantive meal since Baltimore the previous evening. The bus driver wasn't having much luck either--she didn't speak a word of English, but I certainly understood what was going on when we rode around in a couple of circles and she would get on her cell: grumbling in German, "Scheisse!", more grumbling in German.

We arrived in Frankfurt at 0030 that night at the Hotel Intercontinental, to find that they had kept the buffet open for us. (The first bus load had arrived some three hours prior with all the troops that were not deploying with weapons.) Finally we eat! Real fancy stuff, with waitstaff in tuxes that would politely thank you for allowing them to fill your water. The rooms were no less inviting--probably the nicest hotel I've occupied. I finally got up to my room at about 0130, and breakfast was scheduled for 0530 the following morning, so I didn't get a chance to make much of our $200+ accommodations. The brevity of our stay wasn't really a big deal though; I was only able to sleep for about an hour.

I'm now back in the terminal at Ramstein, awaiting the boarding call for our new flight to Cyprus. We'll get there eventually, I have no doubt.

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In Germany...

2/14/2007 05:14:00 PM UTC +0300

...Not that you'd really know it by looking around. We're not authorized to leave the terminal because we never went through customs. A couple of German Polizei checked our military ID's though. And there's a truck outside that reads "Pfeffermühle".

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Deploying By Train

2/13/2007 06:37:00 PM UTC +0300

This morning at the airport we were alarmed to find that all flights into BWI are cancelled for the whole day. My associates and I have a Report No Later Than Date of 2105 13 Feb at BWI. Air Force requirements are that we book flights into BWI arriving six hours prior to this time, which is a good thing, because learning this at 0800, we still had time to make a 0935 train. The trip will now take seven hours or so, but will still get us there early enough to meet our obligation.

What a way to leave town though! I only have vague memories of riding a train as a child--this is the first time I've taken a train such a distance. I'm immediately fond of the sense of motion, and being able to see a bit of this country that I'll be leaving behind for so long.

I also commend our travel office for resolving the problem as quickly as they did. Fifteen minutes after finding that our flight was cancelled, we had a train reservation and were chasing a cab. That's quite a load off my shoulders, which are already bearing two forty-pound duffel bags and a thirty-pound carry-on.

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