Return to Baghdad Update 2

Orphans and Street Kids Project
Return to Baghdad Update 2
Monday, 1 August 2005

BAGHDAD, IRAQ – Have you ever used an outhouse that has been cooking in the desert sun in the 120 degree heat? This is one of the wonders of being in Iraq that I forgot about until I returned yesterday morning on a Royal Jordanian flight from Amman. A driver picked me up at 4:30 AM so I could make my early morning flight into the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP). The only flight leaving Amman that early was the BIAP flight, and the crowd was very distinctive with their shorter than average haircuts, khaki cargo pants, and survival packs as luggage.

As we approached Baghdad, the flight remained relatively high, but once we were over the landing strip our pilot dove into a corkscrew that reminded me of many a Six Flags ride. This unique landing allowed us to make it safely to the ground, but also sent a message that we were returning to a War Zone. We were then picked up on busses from the landing strip and ferried into the airport to deal with customs.

Visas are needed for Iraq, and without a contract can cost up to $80. Luckily I was able to use my VVAF contract to get in. Once I gathered my luggage, the real challenge began. Most contractors or federal employees have a distinct crews they are to work with so many of them are picked up upon their arrival. Mike Tucker had given me the tips for traveling here that allowed me to work through Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR), a Halliburton organization, to catch a ride to Camp Stryker. This trip opened my eyes to how much Baghdad has changed since I last left.

Bob Hope’s Dining Facility and the Division Headquarters built around it were no longer there, the Division Artillery Headquarters I visited weekly was no longer there, and Camp Stryker, which our sister Battalion built the skeleton of, was now a major operating base on BIAP. Here I was able to manifest myself for a Rhino, the armored bus that takes you from BIAP to the International (Green) Zone, which was to leave in the middle of the night. After catching a meal and meeting with a few State Department guys, I was able to get myself manifested onto a Blackhawk flight earlier in the evening. Four years in the Army and I was never able to fly in a Blackhawk, first day in Iraq as a civilian and I was going for a ride!

This flight shortened my travel greatly and gave me a spectacular view of the city of Baghdad at night. VVAF coordinated for me to be picked up at the Landing Zone and I finally arrived to the compound around 2100 hours (military jargon). Welcoming me to the International Zone (IZ) was Kim Brandt, one of VVAF’s representatives on the ground. Also, Steve Jafar, an Iraqi born Buffalonian and founder of Opportunity for Kids International, was able to spend the evening with me as we set up our plan of action for the time I am in Baghdad.

Monday morning I met with the rest of the teams here in the compound I am staying. After briefing them on whom I was and what the project is, there was a much different view of my being there. Before I arrived I was viewed as a 27 year old boy coming to work on an unknown project, and for many of these career military and life time humanitarians, they were unsure how to take it. Once I briefed them on my military experience and the project, I was in a much better position.

As I received my tour of the compound I was now living in, I also received a bit of history of the grounds. We are living in what used to be Saddam and sons motor pool for their magnificent fleet of vehicles. Some of these vehicles, like the destroyed limo pictured here, still remain on the grounds. The compound overlooks the 14th of July Bridge, this date commemorates an important Iraqi holiday, as well as the Tigris River. Ironically enough, my first trip to Baghdad I lived in Uday’s Palace on the Eastern banks of the Tigris, now I am back, living in his motor pool on the Western Bank.

During the evening I was able to contact those folks I know here to prepare upcoming meetings. The pieces of the trip are beginning to fall together. Everyone here who I tell about the project, to include two Army Generals I sat with on the Blackhawk, agree that this is something much needed in the city of Baghdad during this most difficult time.