Jack_Crow
Enlightened
Hi all,
I need to clue you guys into something.
If you ever read Joe Haldamans "The Forever War", remember when Potter and Mandela are recovering on Heaven? Remember how he described it. It was wonderful but there was a pall over things. Enjoy today, for tomorrow you go back to the fray.
Camp Doha is a small desperate slice of what was normal. It's also a way station from the safe and sane rear area to the forward areas. Doha has a well stocked PX, internet café, Starbucks, Basken and Robbins, KFC, Pizza, Hardee, and a Subway sandwich shop.
There is a place to buy cars and have them delivered when you get home. In fact I ordered an '05 Ford Focus for the wife. She has never had a new car before, so now was the time.
There were gold dealers, rug dealers, barber shops, dry cleaners, and a film developing shop. A little US in the middle of Arab land. A place where our rules for the most part applied. (No porn, no booze but the rest was there.)
Here is the scoop. I expected to be in Doha no more than three days. One of my side jobs was to transport a bit of commo gear from the Signal Corp in Doha to Scania. The Signal Corps was trying to arrange a direct flight.
Two or three times each day from the first to the 10th or so, I would stop in their office and see if I was on the list for this flight. I got some truly amazing excuses. I was stuck in Doha.
Just a clue. Asking the Signal Corp to arrange a flight makes as much sense as asking a hot dog vendor to be an air traffic controller. Aviation and Signal don't owe each other much in the way of favors. Care to guess who didn't go anyplace?
I had so much smoke blown my way by various excuse generators; I will be oozing toxic vapors for weeks.
I gave up on the Signal Corps, and got manifested on a standard flight to BIAP (Baghdad International Air Port). Turns out I took this trip with some company boss types going the same general direction.
Some of you know how uncomfortable and hot a C 130 is in the sun? With armor on? It was no fun at all.
90 min later we thump down in Baghdad. Baghdad has not improved visually. Then we are stuck at the Air Force passenger terminal. In the sun.
While I was waiting there, I got paid an enormous compliment. Some of the 'go fast' security dudes thought I was with their company. That was a nice moment. Being confused for one of the high speed shooters rather than my usual situation of FAC. (Fat Assed Contractor)
While I waited paid a visit to the PX. Gatorade and pretzels saw me through the delay. The company boss types got us some transportation. One boss went his way to the Green Zone, and I went with the boss of lesser rank.
Camp Victory is a fairly nice place for the five hours I was on the ground there.
The food service was rather good.
Had dinner with a Marine Major who was part of their JAG office. He seemed fascinated with what we did, we with his duties. During the meal, a young trooper joined us. Seems he was the camp Life Guard at the pool. (Scania just got a volleyball court while I was out of town. I can't believe these humps have a pool!)
Ran into some of the guys from my CRC class and a co worker from Scania before he got transferred. Nice reunion.
Around 21:00 a window opened up and I got hustled to join a convoy security team that was headed to Scania. Once more I get wedged into the back of an up armor Humvee and after some yelling and radio chatter, off we go.
That was a long hot trip. Seems with Sadars revolt in full swing, there have been more rude events going on in the area. All night the radio was reporting contacts and hit and run events. The crew did their best to hide this fact from me, but after 20 years in radio, I can hear the action. We were tail end Charlie on a fuel truck convoy.
Dust, and mogas fumes. Mixed well with the Kuwaiti Crud and the head cold I picked up in England.
Around 02:00 we pull into greater downtown Scania.
When you're that tired and most likely dehydrated ones sense of perspective is skewed. Mental process isn't all there. I know I wrote some very funny stuff in my head, and wanted to put it in this note. Poof, it's all gone.
After we pulled in, I had to walk to an MP's hq office to get to a phone. I used the phone to call the company office here. One of the guys 'Whistling Kenney' came by with a truck and got me. We humped the luggage back to the tent.
Sticky, sweaty, exhausted, and in a strange way glad to be back home.
Yeah this little place in the desert is a form of home. I don't much like this place, but I have more than a job here. There is a duty to keep the satcom working for the brown and tan community. To give the troopers some new music media to enjoy.
I went and took a very cleansing shower. Wiped out the last of my soap and shampoo from the trip.
It was good to get clean. Be has human as the conditions permit. Figure I got to bed about 03:00.
I slept till about 10:00. I slept through a power dump that took out the A/C in the tent. I just love to wake up in my own moisture.
Unpacked and started passing out things that turned out to be welcome.
I brought back some gifts for the guys.
One item that was well accepted was some cheap stainless steel 'flat ware'.
Our food service here treats us like mental patients. Plastic forks, spoons and knives. Some of the food items tend to be tougher than the plastic. So a common sound during meals is the snap and crack of plastic. Care to guess where those fragments end up? Real stainless flatware was very welcome.
At camp Doha I picked up a package of four sets. Kept one set for my self. Gave one to our phone guy Manney, one to my boss, and one to Major Frazer the Chaplin. He in turn gave me a real steak knife. Not a bad deal!
One of our sergeants wanted some Hershey bars. No way were they going to survive the trip. I would have had to pack them in dry ice. Not an option to bring a cooler onto a military flight, oozing fumes. The 'B' request was Jelly Beans. Made the man happy.
Delivered some Starbucks coffee for the office.
Some tasteless air fresheners and some power strips.
One tool I brought back is becoming popular. A non contact IR thermometer. It's got a laser spotter for the aim point, so I'm real careful as to when I use it.
The gifts were well accepted. The new commo gear is on the line.
I'm still recovering from travel shock.
Let's hope the mental state works well.
Again guys thanks for your help.
Keep it warm
Jack Crow in Iraq
I need to clue you guys into something.
If you ever read Joe Haldamans "The Forever War", remember when Potter and Mandela are recovering on Heaven? Remember how he described it. It was wonderful but there was a pall over things. Enjoy today, for tomorrow you go back to the fray.
Camp Doha is a small desperate slice of what was normal. It's also a way station from the safe and sane rear area to the forward areas. Doha has a well stocked PX, internet café, Starbucks, Basken and Robbins, KFC, Pizza, Hardee, and a Subway sandwich shop.
There is a place to buy cars and have them delivered when you get home. In fact I ordered an '05 Ford Focus for the wife. She has never had a new car before, so now was the time.
There were gold dealers, rug dealers, barber shops, dry cleaners, and a film developing shop. A little US in the middle of Arab land. A place where our rules for the most part applied. (No porn, no booze but the rest was there.)
Here is the scoop. I expected to be in Doha no more than three days. One of my side jobs was to transport a bit of commo gear from the Signal Corp in Doha to Scania. The Signal Corps was trying to arrange a direct flight.
Two or three times each day from the first to the 10th or so, I would stop in their office and see if I was on the list for this flight. I got some truly amazing excuses. I was stuck in Doha.
Just a clue. Asking the Signal Corp to arrange a flight makes as much sense as asking a hot dog vendor to be an air traffic controller. Aviation and Signal don't owe each other much in the way of favors. Care to guess who didn't go anyplace?
I had so much smoke blown my way by various excuse generators; I will be oozing toxic vapors for weeks.
I gave up on the Signal Corps, and got manifested on a standard flight to BIAP (Baghdad International Air Port). Turns out I took this trip with some company boss types going the same general direction.
Some of you know how uncomfortable and hot a C 130 is in the sun? With armor on? It was no fun at all.
90 min later we thump down in Baghdad. Baghdad has not improved visually. Then we are stuck at the Air Force passenger terminal. In the sun.
While I was waiting there, I got paid an enormous compliment. Some of the 'go fast' security dudes thought I was with their company. That was a nice moment. Being confused for one of the high speed shooters rather than my usual situation of FAC. (Fat Assed Contractor)
While I waited paid a visit to the PX. Gatorade and pretzels saw me through the delay. The company boss types got us some transportation. One boss went his way to the Green Zone, and I went with the boss of lesser rank.
Camp Victory is a fairly nice place for the five hours I was on the ground there.
The food service was rather good.
Had dinner with a Marine Major who was part of their JAG office. He seemed fascinated with what we did, we with his duties. During the meal, a young trooper joined us. Seems he was the camp Life Guard at the pool. (Scania just got a volleyball court while I was out of town. I can't believe these humps have a pool!)
Ran into some of the guys from my CRC class and a co worker from Scania before he got transferred. Nice reunion.
Around 21:00 a window opened up and I got hustled to join a convoy security team that was headed to Scania. Once more I get wedged into the back of an up armor Humvee and after some yelling and radio chatter, off we go.
That was a long hot trip. Seems with Sadars revolt in full swing, there have been more rude events going on in the area. All night the radio was reporting contacts and hit and run events. The crew did their best to hide this fact from me, but after 20 years in radio, I can hear the action. We were tail end Charlie on a fuel truck convoy.
Dust, and mogas fumes. Mixed well with the Kuwaiti Crud and the head cold I picked up in England.
Around 02:00 we pull into greater downtown Scania.
When you're that tired and most likely dehydrated ones sense of perspective is skewed. Mental process isn't all there. I know I wrote some very funny stuff in my head, and wanted to put it in this note. Poof, it's all gone.
After we pulled in, I had to walk to an MP's hq office to get to a phone. I used the phone to call the company office here. One of the guys 'Whistling Kenney' came by with a truck and got me. We humped the luggage back to the tent.
Sticky, sweaty, exhausted, and in a strange way glad to be back home.
Yeah this little place in the desert is a form of home. I don't much like this place, but I have more than a job here. There is a duty to keep the satcom working for the brown and tan community. To give the troopers some new music media to enjoy.
I went and took a very cleansing shower. Wiped out the last of my soap and shampoo from the trip.
It was good to get clean. Be has human as the conditions permit. Figure I got to bed about 03:00.
I slept till about 10:00. I slept through a power dump that took out the A/C in the tent. I just love to wake up in my own moisture.
Unpacked and started passing out things that turned out to be welcome.
I brought back some gifts for the guys.
One item that was well accepted was some cheap stainless steel 'flat ware'.
Our food service here treats us like mental patients. Plastic forks, spoons and knives. Some of the food items tend to be tougher than the plastic. So a common sound during meals is the snap and crack of plastic. Care to guess where those fragments end up? Real stainless flatware was very welcome.
At camp Doha I picked up a package of four sets. Kept one set for my self. Gave one to our phone guy Manney, one to my boss, and one to Major Frazer the Chaplin. He in turn gave me a real steak knife. Not a bad deal!
One of our sergeants wanted some Hershey bars. No way were they going to survive the trip. I would have had to pack them in dry ice. Not an option to bring a cooler onto a military flight, oozing fumes. The 'B' request was Jelly Beans. Made the man happy.
Delivered some Starbucks coffee for the office.
Some tasteless air fresheners and some power strips.
One tool I brought back is becoming popular. A non contact IR thermometer. It's got a laser spotter for the aim point, so I'm real careful as to when I use it.
The gifts were well accepted. The new commo gear is on the line.
I'm still recovering from travel shock.
Let's hope the mental state works well.
Again guys thanks for your help.
Keep it warm
Jack Crow in Iraq
