aaronbedy: Getting Settled in Baghdad

I finally arrived in Baghdad about two weeks ago. We took a C-130 from Kuwait to Baghdad International Airport or BIAP as they call it here. The flight was pretty miserable. Whenever you travel anywhere in a combat zone, it is mandatory that you wear your body armor, Kevlar helmet, etc. So picture being in an airline seat minus about 3 inches of leg room, plus about 40 or 50 degrees, wearing 40 lbs of body armor and being crammed in the middle seat of a 5-seat row. It was bad... I'm not claustrophobic, but I thought for a minute I was going to lose it. I think it's the only time in my life when I've felt that way.

Upon arrival to Camp Victory, we were given some indoc briefs and set up in temporary tents. Yes, tents again, but at least these tents had beds, which was nice. I stayed at Camp Victory for two days before taking a convoy north to the New Embassy Compound or NEC, which is situated in the International Zone or IZ (formerly known as the Green Zone).

It's quite nice here compared to the other military bases I've been to the last several weeks. There is actually grass here, which is, for the most part, unheard of on Iraq/Kuwait military bases. Believe it or not, there is also some landscaping, but it's not doing very well right now. I'm not sure the plants that were chosen were hearty enough for the climate here.

Speaking of climate, the weather here in Baghdad is significantly nicer than Kuwait. So far, it doesn't seem to have been hotter than about 110. Given that there isn't much humidity 110 isn't really as bad as it sounds. In Kuwait, there was a thermometer outside the USO in the shade and one day it read 130. That is hot... if you've never experienced heat like that before it's actually oppressive. It not only dehydrates you almost instantly (I was drinking about 9 liters of water there each day), but simply walking across the base makes you feel as if you've just run a half-marathon.

The living accommodations in the NEC are quite nice. We have a Pizza Hut, coffee shop and Subway as well as a pretty nice dining facility. It even has real plates and silverware. I'm laughing as I write this because one day when I was in Kuwait, which has all plastic plates and utensils, I broke my fork three times in one meal and was complaining to my friends that I didn't think I could spend a year eating with plastic-ware. You find ways to have fun and joke around in this environment... So when I first arrived here, I made sure to send them all a note and let them know not to worry because I had real silverware and I was going to make it.

As far as living quarters go, we live in a place called Chuville, which is essentially a series of metal containers or Containerized Housing Units (CHUs). They aren't too bad. It's basically a metal box that looks like the back of a semi truck. It has a cable hookup, Internet hookup, electricity and, most importantly, a good air conditioner. It doesn't have a bathroom, but there are bathroom units very close. Each bathroom unit has three bathrooms with a shower, toilet and sink in each so there is some privacy.

As I've told some of you already, I'm very pleased so far with the work situation. First off, I work in a very nice office building. This compound, which includes the American Embassy, is brand new and quite nice overall. Lots of marble, nice architecture, etc. Most importantly though, the people I work with are great. They have been very welcoming and willing to answer all of my questions. There are so many factions in Iraq--from both a religious and political standpoint (sometimes overlapping)--that it's a task to simply understand who the players are in this environment.

The job that I've been assigned to do is also great. I'm working on media outreach and have been asked to keep in constant contact with the Iraq-based correspondents for the Western media, such as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, etc. What's nice about this job vs. a corporate media job is that the reporters genuinely want the information you have to offer. In corporate PR, it's like you are always trying to sell something (mostly something like a used car). This job is great because it's about politics, reconstruction, rebuilding and as my mentor, CAPT Vic Beck, says, "saving lives," and he is right.

These days the military has taken on an advisory role to the Iraqi government and military. Furthermore, we are planning to leave Iraq from a military standpoint within the next few years. The biggest hurdles to that are security and the development of a stable economy in Iraq. Therefore, my job should focus a lot on demonstrating that Iraq is increasingly secure (which is true) and that its economy is actively developing. The communications are inherently complex because we have so many audiences to talk to and are also communicating through a number of different channels. I'll write more about this another time.

Here are some photos:

This is what we ride around in; it's an MRAP or mine resistant, ambush protected vehicle: