ISSUE #20 ~ 2nd Trip to DIWANIYAH ~ Part 2

Can you imagine a party with only Iraqi, Polish, and El Salvadorian guests? There were 2 Americans too – me and another guy. Who would have come up with this combination of Nationalities? It was a lot of fun though. It happened my last night in Diwaniyah, and all I heard from the Polish Major was that there was going to be a gathering in the building behind the gym. I decided to check it out.

They had food and music going (and no alcohol, of course) and everyone was dancing in frenzy. It alternated between the Euro techno disco preferred by the Polish, and Iraqi music. Considering the atmosphere, the Iraqi music was more fun.

One of the Iraqi men would pull out the bongo drums and the younger members in the group would form a ring and do a choreographed dance while snaking around the room. The dance was easy to learn and we were working up a sweat pretty quickly.


The older gents (and women) sat around the dance floor and clapped along between smoking breaks outside. I made friends with one of the men, (the gentleman in the picture with the beard), and although he didn’t speak much English, I found out he was from Baghdad originally and moved to Diwaniyah.


I showed him pictures of Baghdad from the helicopter that I had taken on the trip down (the same pictures in Part 1 of this report.) He was delighted and rather emotional as he excitedly pointed out buildings and sights from his hometown to me. In all I was there for about 3 hours. They shut down around midnight.

I really enjoyed the different cultures on the Diwaniyah base. Just in the office I worked at, there were Polish, Ukrainian, and El Salvador military. Luckily they speak English well, and this time around I had time to get to know them and learn about their militaries. All the guard duties around the base are performed by Mongolian soldiers, who kept a pretty cool looking camp.


Starting first, we have MAJ Czekalski and LT Perez. MAJ Czekalski tracks all the reconstruction projects that are happening throughout the area that the Polish Forces oversee. He does a phenomenal job of it and I learned a lot from his meticulous methods.



The head of the Civil-Military Affairs team is COL Rusin who is a military officer with incredible presence and an extraordinary understanding of the challenges at all levels.

When I was there, the Polish were counting down their last 2 weeks in country before returning home so spirits were high. It was an honor to spend 4 days working with them.


The Operations Officer is LTC Kovaljov from the Ukraine, who is with the IBM exec, LTC MacNeal in the picture.




The day we left, LTC Stasenka took us to an old bunker in the HUMVEE. We explored around there then the helicopters came in to take MSG New and me on a cold ride back to Camp Victory.

ISSUE #19 ~ 2nd Trip to DIWANIYAH ~ Part 1

Shortly after New Year, I took another trip to Diwaniyah. This time the weather was beautiful so I got to see the country and enjoy the trip.

I made sure to take advantage of this and get some nice shots of Baghdad from the Blackhawk helicopter.

You may recognize the Monument to the Unknown Soldier from my International Zone report. My reason for going this time was to train new staff in the reporting procedures we use to track reconstruction projects in Iraq. I traveled down with Master Sergeant New, who is our resident expert on the reconstruction database we use, and we picked him up at the International Zone along the way.


Once in Camp Echo, it was a lot easier getting around too since the dirt roads weren’t all muddy this time around.
















My main contact in Diwaniyah now is Lt. Col. Stasenka,
who joined the Army when I was 3 years old (1972!).

He is definitely one person with plenty of stories and all the Polish military love working with him. He is one (rare) example of a dual Vietnam and GWOT veteran now that he is here.

The other is Lt. Col. MacNeal who is an IBM Marketing executive in his civilian career. He does Civil Affairs and the job is a perfect fit for his talents and experience. When I was there, he had a big group of Iraqi border guards in to learn computer skills. It was a workshop he organized and brought in the educational software translated into Arabic.

My second day in Diwaniyah, we went to the Iraqi Bazaar which is just outside the main gate, but still within a fortified area.



The prices are a lot cheaper than in Camp Victory so I picked up an Iraqi style head wrap. All the Iraqi men I met wear them, probably as a defense against cold this time of year since it didn’t get much above the high 40’s on that day.

I also picked up a tourist guide to Iraq in English with an introduction by Saddam Hussein – a relic from the past. I was hoping it would help me identify some of those burial mounds I saw in Babylon from my last trip, but to no avail.

MSG New and I each got a trailer converted into living quarters made for visitors. Luckily MSG New brought his laptop with a DVD player and big speakers, so we watched movies from LTC Stasenka’s collection at nights. Camp Echo is an outpost and there isn’t too much to do after hours. Still, everyone who works there likes it. It is kind of like small town living compared to the Camp Victory metropolis!

ISSUE #18 ~ MILITARY VEHICLES Part 1

. . . ROAD WARRIORS . . .

I mentioned before about the variety of vehicles you see at the PX Parking lot.

You see a lot HUMVEES, but the most common vehicle on Camp Victory is the Ford Explorer, followed by Ford Expeditions. These are strictly on-base vehicles. The private security firms prefer armored Suburbans. These beasts are usually black or white with tinted windows and a spare tire strapped to the roof. The windows have round “portholes” for returning fire.

There are really a lot of interesting variations in the foreign military vehicles here too. Here are pictures of a few of them. I’ve seen other oddities too, but don’t have pictures of them – yet.

At the IZ, I came upon these huge MACK truck-type tractor-trailers that look like they came out of a Mad Max movie.

The Romanians have this little squared of
number that looks like a shrunken version
of the classic Jeep Grand Cherokee from
the 70’s and 80’s.

This Polish have built this miniature HUMVEE. Nobody will mistake it for anything else with all the Polish flags.

The Slovakians don’t mess around –

they simply bring over nice Mercedes Benz G-Class SUV’s.

ISSUE #17 ~ Happy New Year 2007

The only Japanese-style New Years in Baghdad this year?

New Years 2006 was nice. I wasn’t as busy for this holiday as I was for Christmas, so I stayed up late on New Years Eve and rang in the New Year with my Japanese friends. We all ate “TOSHI-KOSHI” Soba Noodles that Yoshie sent me to share.

The Japanese Military has NHK access in their office, so we watched the KOUHAKU singing contest. We are behind Japan by 6 hours, but luckily for us the KOUHAKU was broadcast on London time, so we watched it almost as if it was live.


We checked Japanese Yahoo to get the scoop on what to look out for too since it was over in Japan by the time we started. The only thing missing was a Kotatsu . . .

Yoshie sent over a traditional New Years door decoration for the Japanese office. It was hung up for about a month and was doing great until Jan 29 when we had huge winds come through and blow some of the paint and styrofoam off the tiger’s face.

You can see the wall where Sergeant Major Saito hand painted the entrance sign or HYOSATSU – he’s the guy with the moustache. The unit OIC is LTC Teranishi from Osaka – he is the one with the glasses. MAJ Natori is an Air Force Fighter Pilot and he is sitting with his legs crossed. Japanese Navy LCDR Matsuura has the near-beer in his hand. The Pre-Fab office where they work was shipped from Japan and the door bell makes the same sound that you hear in condos all over Japan. Hearing that sound in Camp Victory sure was surprising at first.

The next day on New Years was a beautiful clear day so

I went up on the roof of the palace and took some pictures.

Enjoy the Baghdad view in the distance!

ISSUE #16 ~ Merry Christmas In Camp Victory

Although we are in the middle of the desert, there was a lot to remind us of Christmas. Almost everyone who is anyone in the military came through for visits with the troops and MWR had a roster of bands and celebrity types in Camp Victory in the 2 weeks or so before Christmas. Here we are behind the Boathouse.

One thing they didn’t do was light up Al Faw Palace – we have to keep operational security. Lighting things up makes them targets.

For all the sailors serving in Baghdad, the Navy’s top Officer (Chief of Naval Operations), Admiral Mullen came with the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, MCPO Campa (the highest ranking enlisted leader).

They did an “All Hands” call at the palace and answered questions for the 150 or so Navy personnel that live in the Victory vicinity.

Canadian MG Devlin

On Christmas Day, the Deputy Commanding General, MG Devlin, who is Canadian, came to our Boathouse for a visit. It was fun talking about Canada – he’s from Ontario - and he was surprised to find a UBC Alumni out here in Camp Victory! You can see that the General is wearing a “digital pattern” uniform (as opposed to swirls of colors). The Canadian military was the first to use this type of camouflage, and it was subsequently mimicked by the Marines for their new uniforms in 2002 and now the US Army uses it on the uniforms everyone is wearing in these pictures.

Our engineers group, Multi-National Corps - Iraq C7 had a Secret Santa Christmas party too. There was plenty of food to go around for the party and for weeks after. Being here with mostly Army Reservist’s and National Guardsmen has its privileges. They all have civilian jobs in the US and they all got mountains of packages from their co-workers who got together as a company to send out packages from the US to those serving in Iraq. Then there were dozens of parcels from school classes and people just trying to help by sending packages to “Any Soldier” too.

I was grateful, of course, but have one request for anyone mailing stuff overseas to a war zone – food and soap don’t mix. It doesn’t even matter if the food is vacuum packed, it gets a soap taste. Please send toiletries and food separately.

Luckily that wasn’t the case for my boss MAJ Olvey. He is from Louisiana and his family sent a huge box full of home-baked pecan pies, candied pecans, and super moist pound cake. You can see from the picture of his desk that he was really into the Christmas spirit and showed it by sharing with us all. Of course those goodies went pretty fast. The key is that it is still warm enough, at around 55-dgrees F, during the day to go for a run and burn it all off.

The Palace Christmas Tree
A few days after Christmas, we gathered some of our bounty and a group from C7 took items to Iraqi kids.

Christmas Moon

Hopefully these pictures convey the atmosphere around here. Be sure to double click on the pictures to get the full benefit of the enlarged effect.

ISSUE #15 ~ My Day in Diwaniyah

Bob catches up his report . . .

Last time I wrote about Fallujah. Diwaniyah is the other location where I track projects. It is quite a bit farther away than Fallujah though. Even a straight shot in a helicopter takes over an hour. It is due south from Baghdad about 140 miles. The main camp in the area is Camp Echo.

Getting down wasn’t as easy as hopping to Fallujah. Flights aren’t as frequent, and we made several stops along the way at other bases, mostly small outposts for pick up and drop off. It is never good to go into details of these trips because of operational security. It’s best to say that you know the stops before leaving, but you don’t have a lot of notice. I will say that I flew over Baghdad and stopped in Hillah, which I would never see otherwise.

The day I flew was rainy in the morning and ended up clearing late in the afternoon leading to a cold damp night.

One bonus of Diwaniyah is what lies between it and Baghdad. I found myself flying over Babylon – scene of a lot of ancient culture. Of course it would be better to be on the ground running among the ruins, but the helicopter did pass by some man-made burial mound of some sort. I snapped off a few pictures in the brief time it was visible.

Camp Echo was even more compact than Camp Fallujah and it is in a much safer area. Whereas Fallujah was run by Marines, Camp Echo is run by Coalition Forces; Americans are certainly a minority here.

By far, the most personnel are from Poland, followed by Mongolia, then various Eastern European forces. I met Ukrainians, Romanians, and Slovakians in Camp Echo too. And just like the US forces, these countries sent a real cross section of personnel, both young/old, male/female.

The Chow Hall at Echo seemed different too – as if they tried to suit the food more to the European palate. Probably stems from what my Slovakian friend in Camp Victory told me; he has to put salt on everything he eats because American food tastes too sweet no matter what it was. They had a big stir-fry going in one corner, probably for the Mongolians, and that’s what I had for lunch. Out of about 50+ rows of tables, only about 5 were occupied by Americans. There was a real mix of different uniforms.

Camp Echo is laid out like a ‘†’ shape, and at the crossroads there is a huge row of signposts listing hometowns with directions.

I saw some Canadian cities too, which makes me think that there was a Canadian contingent here at one point. My Dad’s hometown of Winnipeg was in there.

From the pictures you can see that most of them are Polish cities (see the picture on the left where most of the signs are red and white.)

In an earlier report, I talked about the helicopters flying with no lights in the night sky. That was me on the return flight. The flight crew all wear night vision goggles so they can see. It is a black void for the rest of us, with the occasional light in the villages below.

It may have been a bigger thrill if I had any sensation in my body; I ended up in the seat next to the gunner with the big open hatch so I had freezing cold wind blasting me the entire time, with one lag of the trip lasting 50 minutes. I bundled up with my Gortex uniform coat and everything that resembled clothing in my backpack and so survived. But I hate to think how the trip would have been if I just had my uniform and nothing else. It reminded me of the trips to Canada in Dave’s old VW Microbus during the height of winter.

I have new contacts in Camp Echo, so I’ll probably be back again very soon. Hopefully I’ll get luckier with the weather next time.

ISSUE #14 ~ Going to Camp Fallujah

Bob writes:


I’ve been out to Fallujah once so far. Part of my job is to track the reconstruction program out in the Al Anbar area, and Fallujah is one of the main bases there.

Have you all heard of Fallujah from the news? It’s out in the wild west of Iraq in the Al Anbar Province – the biggest province in Iraq and the most desolate. The province is split by the Euphrates River. Leaving Baghdad heading west, you have the main cites of Fallujah, Ramadi, Al Asad, and Al Qaim in a line along the banks. Other than that, it’s all empty desert. This is a province that still has occupants leading a nomadic existence. I didn’t get that far out though.

Actually, Fallujah lies pretty close to the border of Al Anbar and Baghdad. I’m a little embarrassed to say it is only a 20 minute helicopter ride away. It would be a lot cooler to say that I went way out to the heart of this country. But I will say that even as close as the Blackhawks make the distance seem, it is a totally different scene out there.

Blawkhawk helicopters have a crew of four and can be configured a number of ways. In my case, it was used for hauling passengers. They always fly in pairs, and it is a requirement that all passengers wear body armor and helmet. Although safer and faster than traveling in a convoy, the Blackhawks are flying over potentially hostile territory. And this is particularly true in Al Anbar.

On my particular flight, it was me and two civilians, so everyone got a window seat looking out the big plexiglass panels.

Turned out to be a good thing as the Blackhawks fly so low to the ground that you see a lot – enough detail to see people going about their lives in the small settlements.

Mostly it was all desert expanses, but from a distance you can see clusters of green. These turn out to be date trees marking an inhabited area. Usually there is a 2-story dwelling with the roof used as a deck and a barn or utility structure. I saw a lot of cows and chickens. There were women hanging laundry, kids playing soccer, men standing around cars talking. Sounds pretty normal, right?

I landed in Camp Fallujah and spent the day meeting a lot of people I’d only known by e-mail in the past.

This base is occupied by Marines and Navy Seabees so it felt a lot different than Camp Victory. Also, whereas Camp Victory used to be a presidential retreat, the area of Camp Fallujah was simply a government administrative area with some military. Thus, there are no gorgeous palaces, serene lakes, nor marble toilets here. There are a lot of green areas though – groves of trees and bushes, which makes trying to figure out your direction difficult on the small base. Many of the buildings have chunks missing either from prior US attacks or subsequent mortar fire from outside the wire.

That night I went to ride out from the helipad, but was informed that flights were in a wait-and-see status due to dust storms. I sat in the terminal for a while feeling like Gordon Lightfoot after gambling his ticket away; “So I’m sittin’ here on the ground, with my pockets full of sand . . . ”

I got bored and hungry pretty quickly, so I hitched back to the main area and bunked in the Seabee billeting for the night. When you travel in Iraq, always carry a toothbrush and a change of underwear. I did, so it was fine.

The Seabee Camp was tidy. What struck me the most were the Seabee signatures I saw everywhere. One was homemade items to make life a little easier. Rooms had shelves and drawers all made out of scrap wood pieces. Another was the sign board that had distances to locations that wouldn’t mean much to non-Seabees; places like Port Hueneme, Gulfport, and Rota. (Okinawa and Guam were missing though!) Of course, all of the Seabee heavy equipment was present in the vehicle yard with their distinctive logos.



The next morning, I got manifested for a flight and it was a quick flight back home to Victory.

ISSUE #13 ~ The International Zone

Sunday,
12/24/06

Bob writes:

Camp Victory is part of the biggest military complex here in Baghdad, however there is another major US installation called the International Zone. It is located in downtown Baghdad.

It used to be known as the Green Zone and sometimes now goes by the nickname IZ. It is in a much more urban location though – right in the middle of downtown.

The center of the IZ, however, is Saddam’s old palace. This has now been converted into the US Embassy and offices for USAID, Army Corps of Engineers, US Contracting agencies, etc. Thus, when you are at the IZ in a military uniform, you are in the minority.

This is pretty clearly Department of State territory. You also see many Iraqi government workers in the IZ – something you never see in Camp Victory.






Here I am around back at the Embassy Pool.




During the initial invasion of Baghdad, most of the Western journalists stayed at the Al Rasheed Hotel. It’s in the IZ. We ate lunch at the Al Rasheed hotel, which was my first time here that I’ve been able to try Iraqi cuisine. It may also be my only time, as the price would put even Tokyo to shame!

The day I went to the IZ, I rode the RHINO. How do you describe the RHINO? It’s an armored bus. Riding the thing, I felt like I was back in Jr. High riding those old public transit buses into Granville Street. In other words, inside it doesn’t seem that remarkable.

We were part of a convoy that includes armored HUMVEE’s. I won’t discuss the route we drove or the amount of time we were outside secure areas, but I will say that when our convoy rolled down the street, everyone knew to keep the path open.

I went with the guy I replaced here, and were met by my department’s liaison officer in the IZ. Most of the day was spent meeting engineer types. For the most part, plans for rebuilding infrastructure are hatched at the IZ, ideally in coordination with the various Iraqi ministries, who reside just outside the gates.

We got outside to and managed to see most of the sights too. Here is the Crossed Sword “War with Iran” Promenade.

When we went to the Memorial for the Unknown Soldier, a young soldier from the new Iraqi army gave us a tour, and although he didn’t speak any English, made sure we saw the places.

Afterwards, we got a group picture with me holding his AK-47.

ISSUE #12 ~ WWE Comes to Iraq ! ! !

Friday,
12/8/06

Bob writes . . .

Today I was at the site of a newsmaking event!



WWE had a full-on wrastling show 100 yards from my office with their big name guys coming through on a morale tour.

Quite a few Iraqi military members were in attendance. I'm sure they were much bewildered by the entertainment value.

Glad I made it home from Diwaniyah in time, I wouldn't have wanted to miss all this fun.

ISSUE #11 ~ Base Camp Pictures

Thursday,
11/30/06

Checking in with a bunch of pictures I took today at Camp Victory. They will give you an idea of some of the people, buildings and interesting sites around the base. Not much time for explanation, however I might add more information, so check back again.


Entry into my Genkan.


Small, but it has everything I need while here.

Victory Building ~ My Favorite In the Group

The parking lot at the PX.

Typical for Camp Victory,
unusual for anywhere else!

The Australian Pool

This Victory building
is called
"The Juicer!"
Can you see why?

A broader view of Camp Victory.

~ Autumn Foilage in Baghdad ~

ISSUE #10 ~ Thanksgiving Menu

Thursday,
11/23/06

Thanksgiving Day!

No need to worry about me missing a deluxe Thanksgiving dinner. We had a beautiful meal prepared here at Camp Victory. (You can click on the menu above and it will produce a readable size.)

Judging by this fare, what more could anyone want for traditional choices? Only thing missing was Dad's creamed onions ~ a must-have in our childhood home.

Here I am with the Secretary of the Navy
who came to meet with us on Thanksgiving Day.
SECNAV and SEABEES

Best Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone

from Bob at Camp Victory, Iraq!

Thanksgiving Morning Sunrise!