Sensing Iraq

Tomorrow will see my three week mark here in Iraq.  Tuesday will end two months of my one year deployment.  Only ten to go.

Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to make a few trips out of the International Zone, formerly known as the Green Zone, into the Red Zone.  Some trips have been via vehicle convoys while others have been via air in UH-60 Blackhawks.

Let me describe my experience using my senses:

Smell - The smell here is of dust.  Not the dust in your house, but rather the dust you may remember as a kid when you played in the dirt in the summer time.  Remember that distinctive smell of dry dirt?  That is the smell here.  We've had two dust storms since I arrived and we are currently experiencing our third.  The air is constantly permeated with dust and, thus, the smell.

Sight - Things you see here are date palms, eucalyptus trees (not the eucalyptus that you by dried at Michael's), and brown buildings.  Every building is pretty much the same color, which is the same color as the soil.  However, what they lack in color they make up in architecture.  Some of the buildings here are beautiful with handcrafted materials, carvings and interior art work.  The Iraqis certainly are gifted in this.  For our security, there are T-Walls everywhere.  T-Walls are made of concrete and stand about 12 feet tall, 5 wide, and 1 foot thick.  They do not add to the aesthetics of Baghdad, in fact they detract, but they do keep the enemy out.

Sound - There is a constant hum here - at least on the military facilities.  Generators and air conditioning units make up the background noise.  You hear the same birds chirping as you hear in any city - pigeons, doves, sparrows - and some you've never heard before.  Other than that it is pretty quiet, except for when the enemy lobs a mortar or fires a rocket.  Then things get noisy for a moment.  Fortunately, those sounds are rare.

Touch - The one thing you feel here is the heat.  Yesterday, it was 114 degrees in the shade, about 130 in the sun.  There is a breeze, but it feels like someone is pointing a hairdryer in your face.  It does not make you feel cooler at all.  You've heard the phrase, "chilled to the bone."  Well, here you are warmed to the bone.   

Taste - As far as taste, all I can say is it tastes like America.  I've really only eaten at the Dining Facility and a couple of pizza joints.  So I can't provide anything other than that, other than to say we lack nothing when it comes to food and drinks.  It's all free and it's pretty good.  They say when you come to Iraq you get fit or fat.  I now know why.  Be assured I'm working out almost everyday in order to win the battle of the bulge.