My Time in Iraq: Part 4

Security Problems:

When I was in Iraq things were very different. Most FOBs (forward operating base) now have Starbucks and Burger Kings, swimming pools and running tracks...we had dirt, gravel and sand.

During the first few months of my tour, we were in short supply of HMMVs. Most of the heavy fighting was going on in Baghdad and Mosul- so that's where the equipment went. That's okay though because our Kuwaiti rented Ford Explorers had a stereo and air conditioning. Who cares if the doors are plastic? I ran several convoy missions in those SUVs. We mostly went to Al Basra. There was an airport there and we would pick up the passengers and chauffeur them to Bucca or Navistar (a staging area on the Kuwaiti border). One mission shed some light on our little problem when we picked up a couple of high brass officers. They each refused to ride in the comfort of our faux leather and freon, choosing instead an uncomfortable hour in burning kevlar and sweat.
Then it was all over the news. A young soldier was bold during Q&A:
“Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles?” asked Army Spc. Thomas Wilson of the 278th Regimental Combat Team. (arktimes.com)
After that, our rentals were sent back to Kuwait...but then we got PODS

Yep, storage pods. It turns out that a whole lot of storage PODS were allotted for a unit in Baghdad but they wanted to sleep in a hollow bomb shelter/airplane hanger instead. Their loss right? I mean, these babies had an air conditioner each. Do you know how cold a 10x6 storage POD can get when it has an 8,000btu Made in China air conditioner in its' window? Those guys must have been crazy to pass that up...We accepted.
We were assigned 2 per pod. Each one had two twin beds and a locker. My roommate was once again PVT Allen. Get this- she sent for her Easy Bake Oven from home and would make brownies in our room. She was a bit wacko. Thank God we had that super thin camo poncho dividing our sides. Without that, I don't know what I would do.
On a side note- Deanna Allen was very friendly with some of the guy soldiers and Iraqi interpreters. She was very hospitable- inviting them in our "hooch" at night and doing very noisy things that kept me awake. For me, I can understand the need for companionship, affection, sex- whatever, but having an Iraqi man in your room late at night while you are sleeping does not bring comfort to any US soldier. I believed it was a security breach. Needless to say, someone gave a sworn statement to some Officer and orders gave PVT Allen a General Discharge for Failure to Adapt to Military Life. She was sent back home and eventually made it to Inside Edition for a $6,000 sell out interview.

Here's something that I don't think made it to the news:

One morning, soldiers woke up and walked towards the DFAC (dining facility). They stopped in their gravel tracks when they saw a one armed, one eyed Iraqi boy rummaging through our garbage for food. Now how did he get in there?