Christian Isely, MS 03
Baghdad, Iraq
Baghdad Dispatch #2
Baghdad - April 28, 2004
Much to write about since I last sent a dispatch. First, I have received a tremendous response and more people have wanted me to add them to the newsletter. I have also had a few people requesting permission to forward on my dispatches. Feel free to forward them as you see fit. One of my objectives is to relate as much as possible of what I see is happening here on the ground in Iraq.
I will start with my trip to Baghdad. I was scheduled to depart last Saturday. They picked me up at the hotel in the early morning and drove me to an Army/Air Force base in the Kuwait. While there, I met up with the other contractors flying into Iraq. Many of them were blue collar types destined for a myriad of locations from Mosul to Baghdad. A couple guys I talked to were headed off to help run an ice factory. Another guy was to go work at a prison. Pretty rough and ready types all bent on seeking their various fortunes while leaving their loved ones back home. Some were clearly there for their country. Several wore t-shirts emblazoned with "Operation Iraqi Freedom". Most were Southerners. Of these, the majority were Texans. I'm already slipping into a Southern accent.
The process for boarding the C-130 was extremely tedious. The whole boarding process was stop and go, stop and go. A lot of waiting around to hurry up and wait some more. "Hurry up and wait" as those in the military refer to it. The whole boarding operation was contracted out to a firm. Every job in the process was outsourced except for the crew of the C-130. Although outsourcing has been happening in the military for a while, it seems to be gathering pace. I wonder if one day the entire military will be outsourced! Probably not but I think the trend will continue.
Well, the plane had problems with its tail so take off was delayed. We finally took off around noon. We were ten minutes into the flight when we had to return to base. Apparently, the plane was "bleeding air" which I guess means it was leaking fumes and exhaust into the cabin (plane aficionados? correct me if I'm wrong). The ride was hot as hell as if we were in a sauna. One poor lady needed to use a barf bag. Apparently, our landing was pretty scary looking too. Of course, being new to all this, I took it all as a matter of course but those who had ridden before told me they were scared. Anyway, we returned to base whereupon we waited for another flight. However, by the time one was available, I was kicked off the flight due to the fact that we would arrive in Baghdad after nightfall and no military convoys to the Green Zone would be running. I was told that overnighting at the airport was too much of a security risk for me. However, everyone else was free to go. A couple of the guys remarked that I was some kind of "VIP" and that my company actually cared about me.
Needless to say, I returned to the comfort of my hotel for two more nights. (There were no flights on Sunday.) I spent one more day on the beach where I received the worst sunburn I could ever imagine. I missed a spot on my lower calf when applying my sunblock. This resulted in a second degree burn that I needed to get treated with antibiotics. The Gulf sun is intense! At least the weather was very nice and water quite welcoming.
I arrived in Baghdad on Monday via the C-130. This time, there were no problems. We landed at Baghdad International Airport and took a military convoy to the Green Zone. I had to wear my flak jacket and helmet. Iraq was a sight to behold. Definitely looked like a war zone. The Iraqi Airways roadside advertisements damaged by the war/neglect harked back to another time. Several Iraqi Airways planes were left abandoned beside the terminals. However, after leaving the airport, we hit a stretch of a more "normal" Iraq with taxis and family cars driving speedily to somewhere or other. I saw the eyes of the children in passing cars and wondered what they must be thinking of our military convoy. What did they ask their parents? How did their parents explain it to them?
Occasionally, there was graffiti pledging belief in peace and the will of God. Sometimes, I would spot the letters "UXO" spray painted on a building. This refers to unexploded ordinance which includes all the munitions and bombs left lying around waiting to cause trouble. Eventually we reached the Green Zone. The trip wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I was more worried about getting into a car accident than anything else.
Having reached my new home for the next year, I was billeted in a tent that fits about 50 people. It is located far from the boarder of the Green Zone and probably well out of the range of the occasional mortar round lobbed over. To my knowledge, no one has been hit. Far more people are injured when they scramble for shelter. The tent also has a sandbag wall for added protection. Despite the noise of buzzing helicopters and people constantly coming and going, I've been able to sleep quite well. Hopefully, within a couple weeks I will move into better lodging.
They put me to work straightaway. I think I will average about 12 hours per day. So far, most of my work entails ensuring that we turn in our paperwork correctly. The military wants things done a certain way so this can be quite time consuming. So far, I've turned in contracts for several big infrastructure projects. If all goes according to plan, many big bridges and roads will be built thereby improving the infrastructure and providing many opportunities for the employment of Iraqis from engineers to day laborers. One senior guy told me the other day that local employment is the priority. All things being equal between two projects, the one that employs the most number of people is chosen. The Green Zone certainly employs many locals. They must be very brave to weather this storm and the terror that the enemy is trying to inflict. Granted, the wages are also quite high compared to what other work in Baghdad has to offer.
I guess my biggest disappointment so far has been the lack of opportunity to expose myself to local culture. I knew this going in. The security situation does not allow it. Hopefully, as the situation improves, we will eventually have more access to the rich country surrounding us. For now, being in the Green Zone is like being in a bubble. There is no sense of the violence surrounding us. Fallujah is only 30 miles away! However, I will say that I have never seen so many guns in one place. Practically everyone has a pistol. That is the constant reminder that we are still at war.
Still many more things to say! But I will write again soon.
Christian