Soon, I would have to say good bye to Kuwait again. Company leadership had decided that we had to move further north in order to be more effective in our jobs of supporting the troops. My second tour into Iraq would begin once it was determined if I would stay in materials management or move into a more logistical role. After it was decided that I would be best to more into the logistical side, I needed to get ready to head back to Iraq. Once a materials person, my staff group was split in two. I would now be a Logistics Coordinator and be assigned to a base somewhere up there.
Within a few weeks, my friend Darryl from Washington State and I headed to Baghdad for l some additional training. We first flew on a company charter plane up to Baghdad International Airport. At one time, this airport was a somewhat busy place but that was probably before 1991 when the US military moved into the country and shut down Saddam Hussein. Now, only a few Iraqi Air and Royal Jordanian are the only airlines other than military or contractor charters still in operation. The airport has two or three small shops open and a snack bar or two while most of the other terminals are unused. Now, when your aircraft flies out of the airport, it sort of spirals sharply upward so as not to take on any mortar or gunfire. There are still a lot of bad guys out there that don't want us here. Security is everywhere and precautions are taken. Landings at the airport aren't quite as dramatic but it isn't a very pretty site when landing. The aircraft must take a steep dive down after spiraling a few times. It is not for the faint hearted.
All over Iraq from the air, you can see a lot of flattened buildings everywhere and especially surrounding the area near the airport. It is hard to imagine that this will be a robust airport again someday but for now it is a bit bleak. Five or ten years from now, I'm sure it will be a whole different story. It will be a nice airport again lined with weary travelers for different reason but without the security issues. Once we had landed this time and checked in through customs, it was only a short while before our bus arrived at the side of the terminal and we were loaded onto buses with our gear. From there we headed out to the BTC (Baghdad Transit Center) operated by my firm. It was only a few miles but dangerous miles until we arrived there. After good nights sleep in a top bunk bed, Darryl and I headed over to Camp Liberty for about a weeks training. While there, I renewed all my forklift licenses as well as my military driver's license.
When we were hungry, we ate at the Defac (mess hall) on the base which was quite large. The Defac is today's name for a military dining hall. Also, the PX (Post Exchange) is big on Camp Liberty. They sold just about everything you might need there. This base is huge; it is actually connected to several other bases. There are phones to call home, computers to use for checking emails and food shops selling KFC and Burger King. Our training took place on another part of the base and I got to drive for miles in order to reach other parts of it. On the southern end is a place called Camp Slayer where Saddam had one of his palaces on a manmade lake. Most of the buildings were bombed out during the 1991 Persian Gulf War but it's still a pretty site (at least from the air).
Once my training was completed there, it was a bus ride back to the airport to board another charter flight up to Mosul airport. I would be working on a base somewhere in the H sites while Darryl went to another base (Marine) called TQ in the B sites. His base was in a more dangerous area but closer to Baghdad. Once in Mosul, I got in a military convoy for a 35 mi journey southward from there that took at least four hours to reach my base at Q West which was on Camp Endurance. We had to stop a few times. One of the vehicles in our convoy had not one but two flat tires plus the military stopped 45 mins to flash lights on a field and a building foundation along the way. It was apparently suspicious so we all waited in darkness while the army investigated. We finally arrived at Q West about three in the morning. My new boss was waiting to take me to my living quarters where I got good nights sleep. One of the people there had worked with me in Kuwait so it was nice to see a familiar face.
The next day, I got to go to my new work site. I learnt where everything was located and how to do certain reports etc. Q West is pretty peaceful now and the people are friendly to work with. There are a lot of Army troops here, some Iraqi troops, shops run by Turks and a sm PX. The Iraq Army is training here and expanding their presence and probably will take over this base eventually. For now, I am just as glad that there are lots of US troops here. I'm not sure I'd want to be protected by the new Iraqi forces. There is still some question about their loyalty. From the beginning, I was at this base for about a month then I was on temporary duty up on the Turkey border. I was back and forth a few times my first year from Harbur Gate to Mosul and then back to Q West.
John Sprague is an American currently working in the Mideast. He enjoys writing and working on his websites in his free time. He has a new site at http://marketingkindreds.com and an affiliate opportunity at http://websites.ws/yankee12gen His website has photos of the Mideast and marketing articles that you may be interested in viewing.
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