Last week, Ralph Whitener & I had to go to the international zone (IZ) (AKA Green Zone) to get our ID cards reset . Why? Long story. But we were nonetheless excited for the opportunity to see something different. There aren’t many people like Ralph. He has become one of my closest friends here. Born & currently living in South Carolina he is a retired USAF Lt Col. He was a forward air controller & fighter pilot in Vietnam, Panama & Columbia, and since retiring in the early 90’s, he’s owned a few businesses, been civilian instructor pilot among a # of other things. He is a fountain of knowledge and experience from whom I’m constantly learning something. He took a 1 year contract to teach English with us here. So for this day, we were travel buddies. Even though downtown Baghdad is only 5 miles away, it just well have been a cross-country trip, trying to schedule flights, etc. Convoys are a possibility but for obvious reasons we shy away from those. We flew in a Blackhawk helicopter to and from. This picture is of me trying to see if my camera was working… it was. We have to fly w/ body armor and head & eye protection. My body armor weighs about 50 pounds.
Helicopters always fly in pairs. Here is a good view out one of our gunner’s door also being able to see the lead chopper.
The chopper was packed but I was able to get a picture of Ralph stowed away in a corner seat.
Here are some shots from the chopper over Baghdad. A large swimming pool…
The river running through downtown Baghdad…
This is the US Embassy where we got our cards renewed…
This is the ministry of Defense (the equivalent of our Pentagon)…
On the ground of the Ministry of Defense the T-walls are nicely painted w/ murals. T-walls are found ALL OVER Iraq for protection from ground and rocket/grenade attacks. The walls can be 6 – 18 feet high. If it’s one thing I won’t be sad to ever see again, it is a beautiful Iraqi sunset over the T-walls on the west side of our base.
We met up with some folks that we went through training with at Ft Dix, NJ and they gave us a driving tour of some sites within the Green Zone. Here is the parade route of the Crossed Swords. Here Sadaam had about a mile long parade way w/ a large grand stand with an air conditioning hose to each seat. At each end of the road are 2 crossed swords held by hands. At the base of the hands are piles of Iranian soldiers’ helmets taken in the Iran-Iraq war. Here Ralph is walking over the helmets that have been set in the road!
Adjacent to the Crossed Sword parade way is their equivalent of our Tomb of the Unknown Soldier…
It was a hot but fun day – temperature about 115 - with body armor, even hotter. The average temp now is around 115; the best analogy is looking into a hair dryer.
On the return trip I sat by a tiny interpreter who didn’t know which stop was his. He showed me his hand that had, “Rusty” written in marker on it. He was going to our base, so we made sure he got off with us. Don’t ask me what he would have done had he missed his stop – probably road a Blackhawk for the afternoon. Fun day! Here is the river to the east of our FOB.
Helicopters always fly in pairs. Here is a good view out one of our gunner’s door also being able to see the lead chopper. The chopper was packed but I was able to get a picture of Ralph stowed away in a corner seat.Here are some shots from the chopper over Baghdad. A large swimming pool…The river running through downtown Baghdad…This is the US Embassy where we got our cards renewed…This is the ministry of Defense (the equivalent of our Pentagon)…On the ground of the Ministry of Defense the T-walls are nicely painted w/ murals. T-walls are found ALL OVER Iraq for protection from ground and rocket/grenade attacks. The walls can be 6 – 18 feet high. If it’s one thing I won’t be sad to ever see again, it is a beautiful Iraqi sunset over the T-walls on the west side of our base.We met up with some folks that we went through training with at Ft Dix, NJ and they gave us a driving tour of some sites within the Green Zone. Here is the parade route of the Crossed Swords. Here Sadaam had about a mile long parade way w/ a large grand stand with an air conditioning hose to each seat. At each end of the road are 2 crossed swords held by hands. At the base of the hands are piles of Iranian soldiers’ helmets taken in the Iran-Iraq war. Here Ralph is walking over the helmets that have been set in the road! Adjacent to the Crossed Sword parade way is their equivalent of our Tomb of the Unknown Soldier…It was a hot but fun day – temperature about 115 - with body armor, even hotter. The average temp now is around 115; the best analogy is looking into a hair dryer.On the return trip I sat by a tiny interpreter who didn’t know which stop was his. He showed me his hand that had, “Rusty” written in marker on it. He was going to our base, so we made sure he got off with us. Don’t ask me what he would have done had he missed his stop – probably road a Blackhawk for the afternoon. Fun day! Here is the river to the east of our FOB.
3 comments:
50's here, you'll be needing your thermals when you come back! Glad to finally see some pictures. 13 days and counting. Love ya
The pictures of the countryside remind me of the song by Bette Midler, "From a Distance." We're anxious for you to get home safely to be with your family. Thank you again and again for your service. We love you ~ Gene and Susie
Jodie, I love all your pics. So much to look at! Steve, your posts kindof freak me out. In a good, you're a great guy and I'm glad Jodie has you kind of way. Thank you again for all you're doing overseas.
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