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.

Settling In

It has now been nearly two weeks since I arrived in Baghdad.  Those of us who went through training together and have ended up together in the International Zone (IZ), formerly known as the Green Zone, are figuring out where everything is, who everyone is, and what we're supposed to be doing.

I've enjoyed meeting the folks here - military, Defense Department civilians, contractors, State Department civilians and security personnel.  I'm amazed at the number of people who are here and live in the DC area.  I'm also amazed at the number of Navy personnel that are serving.

In the coming months, many people will get to go home and see their families while their replacements begin their tours. You can definitely tell those who are getting ready to depart - their is lilt in their step and a smile on their face.  But I've not met anyone who has regretted their time here.

One thing I'm having to get used to is, in Iraq, Thursday and Friday make up the weekend.  And the Embassy staff takes off on those days as well.  For the military, there is no weekend.  You work everyday for a minimum of 12 hours, but you try to take a little time here and there to take care of personal things like washing clothes and getting your hair cut.  You take an hour or so everyday to work out, too.

Establishing a routine is something I am trying to get nailed down, but everyday is just a little different.  But the variety helps make the day go by a little quicker.  And that means it feels like I'm getting a little closer to home.

Finally, Baghdad!

After five weeks of training in South Carolina and the deserts of Kuwait, I've finally made it to Iraq.

On Monday evening we departed Kuwait on a C-130 aircraft and flew to Baghdad International Airport (BIAP).  At BIAP, I said goodbye to the rest of the people I trained with - they went to get in-processed over two days, I was taken to a depot where, at 2 a.m., I boarded an armored shuttle to get to the International Zone as fast I could in order to meet with LCDR Matt Miller, whom I was replacing.  Matt, God bless him, is on his way home.

Matt met me in the IZ and took me to my temporary sleeping quarters for the night.  I got in bed at 4:15 am.

Tuesday, I hit the ground running at 0830.  Matt picked me up and took me to the New Embassy Complex (NEC), my home for the next year.  Let's just say that the NEC is an oasis.  Everything here is new - a gym, exchange, dining facility, swimming pool, and offices.

My office is better than anything I had before going to work with the Armed Forces Marketing Council.  Everything is modern.

That is, except the living quarters.  I live in a CHU in CHUville.  A CHU is a Cargo Housing Unit - basically it is a cargo container converted into a small apartment.  I share my CHU with a British Army officer who will be going home soon for the birth of his first child.

On Tuesday a sand storm blew in.  Now, we endured a sand storm in Kuwait - the sand actually blew and pelleted us.  The sand in Iraq is more like talcum powder - so fine you can't feel it.  Nonetheless, it got on everything and in everything.  You smell it and taste it.  It is going to take getting some used to.  Let's just say I'm glad I have a Netty Pot to help clean out the nasal passages.

I've been busy since arriving and will be so over the next few weeks, which I hope will help time move quickly.

How fast can you wait?

On Saturday morning, after five weeks, we completed all of our training in preparation for our deployment to our final destinations. Our final training evolution consisted to two nights in the desert conducting close quarter marksmanship with our weapons and convoy training focusing on counter-ied techniques.

Friday was an interesting day: we awoke at 0345 to be in formation on the range at 0500. I've never experienced 80 degrees at 0400 before, which was an indicator of how hot the day would get. By 1000, it had to have been nearly 110 degrees (and we were dressed in body armor) and only got hotter as the day progressed. That is until about 1500 when the hot winds blew in a sandstorm.

Just imagine sand in your ears, eyes, nostrils, mouth and every other part of your body. The uniform covers everything but faces and hands, but the sand finds a way inside. Our training site had no showers, so by the end of the training evolution, my scalp was covered in sand. Not a pleasant feeling.

Except for the oil here, I don't know what would possess anyone to live here. I guess to each his own - for me, give me trees, water and something, anything with color other than just brown/tan.

We are still in Kuwait waiting for transport to our final destinations, which is getting tiresome. I'm ready to do the job I was called to do and wasting days for transportation seems to be, well, a waste of time and money. I hope this is my last post outside of Iraq. I've waited as fast and long as I could, but don't want to do it any longer.