Baghdad

I just got back from beautiful Baghdad today, I had a great time. I was lucky enough to make it down there for a HAZWOPER class. The class, Baghdad, and the transit were all interesting.

The flight from Balad to Baghdad is about 25 minutes, but the process of getting to Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) is intensive. I woke up at 4:30am so I can sit though a 20 minute meeting, check in my luggage and get my report time of 9am. I show up at 9am get on a bus and sit on it until the plane lands at 11am. Showing up at 4:30am so I can get on a plane at 11:30am. “Hurry up and wait,” is the unofficial motto of the Armed Forces.

BIAP was an incredible site to behold for me. The last time I traveled though the airport the only people there were; KBR security, a few Iraqi desk Clerks, and Iraqi Police holding AK-47s. The place was deserted, ran down, looted, and dirty. It was the airport time had forgotten. This time the fountains were on, the place was clean, the lights worked, and most importantly people were using the airport. When I first landed I saw actual airlines using the airport; not just US military planes. The place was packed full of Iraqis moving in and out of the country. It actually looked like a real airport.

The last few times I went though you could see the dates and numbers of the last flights to leave before we invaded the country (really eerie). Now the area is alive and they have taxis waiting outside, people directing traffic and cars (unexploded ones) parked in the parking garage. In no time at all Iraq may be close to becoming a 2nd world country. It may even make it to a 1st world if we keep up this pace. Iraq has so much potential as long as everyone can learn to get along. I can’t wait to see how things improve my next time though the area for R&R.

One of the best parts about being here is that I got to see my relative John. He was also nice enough to let me stay in his room with him, which turned out to be walking distance from the DFAC and the training center. If it wasn’t for his hospitality I would have been stuck in a 10’x10’ room with six other people and would have to jump on a bus for class each morning. I would also have had to ride a bus for all my meals as well. Staying with John was a godsend.

The area which this base incorporates includes Saddam’s palace and the grounds around it. It is a pretty nice area with trees, grass, lakes and ducks. I was told by a guard that the grounds were a lot nicer before we blew it to hell and put a military base on top of it (imagine that?). It was nice walking down by the lakes Saddam placed around his “White House.” He may have been an evil vile person, but he did seem to have great taste in landscaping and architecture. Its been a while since I’ve experienced the smell of cool water. Walking around the Palace was a pleasant way to start my week. I even got to feed some ducks.

The class itself was pretty hard to deal with. It was a room full of older men and women who haven’t seen a class room in probably 20 years (The pace was a little slower then I am used too). The lady teaching the class was from South East Texas and had a very thick Texas twang. To top it off, all three days of class she felt the need to continually point out why Texas is the “greatest state in the Union” and why Yankees are crazy. Her choice of topics was a little annoying at first, but worked out in my favor. I wrote down the funny things she said to keep myself entertained during the class. Things like:

“….It will kill you dead….” And “….It will kills you bad….”
“This class, is what we call a ‘mores than’ symbol”
“sK-ooool” for School
“naK-uut” for Naked
The acronym PPE is pronounced’ “Paa-Paa-EEEEEEEE”
She also called everyone “Sugar” or “Sug”


Below are some pictures I took while on my little trip. It killed me to buy an overpriced SD card here, but I think it was well worth it. Also, I added a countdown to my Blog. It counts how many days, hours, minutes and seconds until my plane lands in Philadelphia International Airport. As of today I have 17 days!

The Flight out (MyBase)City of BaladCanal

Me and Saddam's Palace

Iraqi Ducks

The Palace

I had to take a picture of this. Poor VW in Iraq, named him Ishmeal.

???????

John and Me, go Steelers (It should have been the Eagels!)

Harley Davidson in the Baghdad Airport. That bike has traveld a long way.

The Flight out (Saddam's Palace from the sky)