Iraq - Day 69

I’ve been here for just more than two months now… I feel like I’ve settled into the job and my living arrangements. For the most part, the days seem to tick by pretty quickly, although I wake up every morning with a very clear understanding that I still have a long time to go.

Last week, a friend of mine left after a six-month tour. During his time here, he did a weekly radio interview with a news/talk station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which I ended up taking over for him. While I’ve spoken to hundreds of reporters during my career, I’ve never done a live radio interview so I was a little nervous. I prepared for the 20-minute conversation by creating a cheat sheet with all sorts of statistics and talking points and by thinking through some of the key points I wanted to make sure I covered.

When the interview started, the host, Pat Campbell, introduced me to his audience by asking me to talk briefly about where I was from and how I had been deployed to Iraq. After that, he asked me what about Iraq was most surprising to me when I arrived here. I smiled when he asked the question because I knew immediately what the answer was. The thing that surprised me the most about Iraq was how normal it was when I arrived here. Normal is a relative term of course. Things are still very different here than they are in the U.S., but I do believe that most Americans would be surprised if they saw what life was like here.

The media tends to focus on bad news. I’m speaking generally of course and I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that I’ve had the opportunity to meet an amazing and talented group of reporters here. Yet, in these days of the 24/7 news cycle, bad news is what makes the headlines, particularly on the all-news television channels. While I’m based at the Embassy and don’t get to leave very often, I have been out a couple of times and life is pretty normal. Take a look at the picture below for instance. This is a photo captured by a Reuters reporter of Iraqis hanging out at Lake Habbaniya, which is a huge lake about 50 miles west of the center of Baghdad. The jet skiing, in particular, made me chuckle because it’s simply not what you envision when you think about life in Iraq. News like this is being captured, but it’s not often reported by the mainstream media.

I’m going to go off on a tangent for a second and provide a quick thought about the media environment in the U.S. I have encountered so many people over the years that gather their news from a single source, often times this source is television news. My grandfather was a lifetime newspaper man and he always used to tell me as a child that you can never get the whole story from the TV, he said, “you need to read the newspaper if you want to know what really happened.” What I’ve realized in my career, which on many days has comprised reading through hundreds of media clips, is that the more sources of news you follow, the more likely you are to understand any given story. Yet, I’ve also realized that no matter how many news sources you read, you’ll probably never know what really happened. Any event that occurs in the world is shaped by so many hidden actors and factors, backdoor conversations and PR people like me, that you’ll be lucky if you get 75% of the real story.

Going back to life in Iraq, I shared an almost surreal experience with a group of people at the Embassy earlier this week. It started when a colleague and good friend of mine, Russell Newell, read a story about the Iraqi Symphony in the New York Times a few months ago. Russell decided that he wanted to invite the Symphony to perform here at the Embassy. Through his endless connections and hard work, he organized the performance and for that I’d like to thank him.

For the hour that this small group from the Symphony performed here, I forgot that I was in Iraq. Other than the fact that I was sitting in my camo uniform, it wouldn’t have been different than watching a musical performance in Florida, Atlanta, New York or anywhere else in the world. It was a magical experience and the Symphony put on an unbelievable performance. It started with a group of performances by the young children that the Symphony is currently training. They were adorable, which you can see for yourself from the photos below. They were followed by a group of four of the regular Symphony musicians who performed almost a dozen pieces.

The performances were incredible and as I listened to the music, the thing that kept going through my mind was how incredible it was this group has organized itself in a war torn country and is performing classical music at a level that was nothing less than perfect. While the mainstream media in the U.S. often focuses on the bombings and other violent acts that do continue to occur here, the changes that have simultaneously occurred in this country are simply awe inspiring. While I’m here on the tail end of our military presence in this country, I couldn’t help but feel extremely proud of our efforts and the progress that has been made by the Iraqi people because of their willingness to embrace positive change. I only wish I could have shared this experience with all of you.

Getting Settled in Baghdad - Day 26 of 350

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:


This is me in the chair that Yasser Arafat gave Saddam:



This is me in the Humvee during our combat training:


This is a bathroom in Saddam's palace... pretty nice:

These are homes of Uday and Qusay... we bombed them pretty good as you can see:

Day 3 of 350

We arrived in Kuwait on Friday night just before midnight local time. Our flight left SC and stopped briefly in Bangor, Maine and Liepzip, Germany before arriving in Kuwait. We traveled for about two hours to Camp Virginia where I will be stationed for the next week or so before heading to Iraq, my home for the next 341 days.


Overall, the base at Camp Virginia is pretty nice. The downside, of course, is that it is about 115 degrees outside and very, very dusty. I described it to a buddy as putting your face right by the oven door, opening it, waiting for the gust of hot air and then having someone throw beach sand in your face at the same time. On the brightside, they do have a Starbucks.


Our living quarters are somewhat interesting too. I am in a 9-man tent with a guy that snores far louder than me. Those of you that have shared a room with me before know that is an accomplishment. The saving grace in this situation, which I am eternally thankful for, is that we have an enormous and powerful air conditioner in our room, which drowns out essentially every noise. Nick and Suzanna, think of a sound soother the size of a VW Jetta. In fact, it's so cold in our tent, I have to wear socks and sleep in my cold weather sleeping bag. Again, this is strange because as soon as you wake up you realize that it's about 40 degrees hotter outside and the wind is sandblasting your tent.


Tent photo:





Here is a photo of our tent city:



The landscape almost makes you feel like you've traveled to a Martian outpost or something. Anway, that's all for now. I'll take some photos at Udiari and send those when I get some time.

My New Life

I just finished three weeks of Army training at Camp McCrady, which is a small section of Ft. Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. For those of you who have not been there, Ft. Jackson is enormous, about equivalent to the size of Columbia itself. To put it in perspective, it takes about 30 minutes driving at approximately 60-70 miles an hour to traverse the base.

My stay there was interesting. The officer barracks held about 25 people and was about average (maybe below average) on quality. Overall, however, the training side was great. We learned survival skills, land navigation, shooting on the M-9 (a 9mm semi-auto handgun) and M-16 (a semi/fully auto rifle), IED training, Iraqi customs and culture training and many other things. The most fun was shooting the fully auto machine guns. As a guy that likes guns, I really enjoyed this part and took full advantage of the opportunity to light up the targets they had set out for us on the range. That said, I realize after wearing body armor for three weeks in 95+ degree heat, I am much more cut out for a desk job in public affairs than an infantry job.

Whether or not you want to be in the Army, you will feel like a soldier at Camp McCrady. I will tell you that the Army drill instructors are top notch. Some of them are a little odd, but very knowledgeable nonetheless. My favorite drill sargeant was a gent named Staff Sargeant Jacobs. He came in everyday in a great mood and really made us laugh. You could say he was one of those guys with an infectious personality.

I'm including a link to a video of him explaining to us that we needed to arrange our gear into two bags... in his words, a "need bag" and "don't need bag"-- basically the gear we would need for our training during our stay and the gear we wouldn't be using. If you have trouble understanding what he is saying, he is referring to our IBA (individual body armor), our IBA plates (the heavy metal plates that protect you from AK-47 bullets and our pistol belt (gun belt). You may not think this video is as entertaining as I do, but I can't help at laugh at the fact that SS Jacobs is used to making things very clear for his Army recruits. After all, they can be a little dense. Just kidding.

The biggest downside to the training-believe it or not-was the administration by the Navy side. For some reason, the Navy felt it was important that we were treated like recruits. There was no off-base liberty except for two days, we had to stand watches despite the fact that there was someone in the barracks at all times and even though we finished training early most days, we had to sit in a classroom and clean our weapons whether we had fired them that day or not. Having been in the Navy for almost 16 years, I find it some what demeaning and demoralizing that the leadership felt that we needed to be babysat like boot camp recruits. I honestly felt that the Navy leadership could have treated everyone with far more respect and treated us like we were capable of being responsible adults. Maybe the next administration will see things differently. That's my biggest gripe about Camp McCrady training... the rest was pretty good.

For those of you reading this for enjoyment purposes, you can skip this part. I promised some people I'd write a short survival guide. Here goes:

Things to bring:

Quick dry towels: someone recommended these to me and they came in very handy. It's damp and you have to hang your towel in your locker so regular towels don't dry out very well.

A headlamp: if you want to walk around in the barracks when the lights are out, these come in handy. They will also come in handy when you get to Kuwait where brownouts are frequent and lighting isn't great to begin with.

Universal power converters: for Kuwait

Carabiner clips: you can hook pretty much anything to your IBA and these will come in handy with all the gear you have to carry. I hooked my camel back to my IBA and several others hooked their kevlar, knee pads, elbow pads, sunglass cases, etc.

Coffee: if you like coffee, there are coffee pots in many of the barracks. I enjoyed skipping breakfast at the chow hall, which sucks btw, and drinking good coffee and eating my cinnamon pop-tarts.

Laundry detergent and dryer sheets: there are laundry machines and, while you can buy stuff in the shopette, the supplies are pretty limited and often sell out.

PT Gear: Take at least two sets... I recommend four.

Pillow/sheets/blanket: It's navy issue all the way and my guess is the blankets haven't been washed since WW2.

Locks: Take at least four locks with you. The best are the type that have all the same combo or all the same key.

Boots/socks: The boots issued to you are not good. Many will tolerate them and many will have blisters, but if you want comfort, Danner boots are a great investment. I spoke to several people and they were almost always recommended as the best brand. Even better, they are one of the cheapest of the higher end brands. I bought a pair and have been very pleased. Also, I would recommend some thorlo coolmax hiking socks. They will cost you, but they are worth it, trust me.

Colored duct tape: Not a necessity, but when you get to Kuwait, you will be sorting through at least 400 sea bags. If yours is marked well, it will be easy to find. Also, you never know when you are going to have to duct tape someone's mouth shut. Trust me, you will have several urges to do that at Camp McCrady.

Sharpies: Again, they always come in handy.

Gerber: You will get a Gerber issued to you, but if you want a nicer one, you could buy one. It will come in handy.

Civilian clothes: You won't get much liberty so one or two pairs of civvies will be fine. Anything else will just be in the way and space is limited.

Shower shoes: unless you want trenchfoot :-)

Books: there is a lot of white space.

Baby wipes: Also for Kuwait. You will have to spend what everyone says is three days on the Udiari range practicing convoy training. Really, you will leave in the evening, spend a full day on the range and then leave the morning of the second day (two evenings there). There isn't any running water so baby wipes will be your shower. Also, baby wipes are nice in Kuwait generally because you consistently have a fine coat of dirt on you.

Ballistic sunglasses: The issued type are pretty crappy. I can't really tell you what type to buy. I hear great things about Oakley's moisture repelling glasses. I wrote earlier (see below) about my experience with WileyX. Based on the post, one of my friends, Stephanie Shields, called Wiley and expressed her surprise at their response. According to her, they were very apologetic and told her that the person I previous dealt with was not stating their policy accurately. Needless to say, I received a new pair of sunglasses from them on Sept. 7, which pleases me overall.

PREVIOUS POST: [I will tell you that I have had an absolutely awful experience with WileyX. I bought a pair of their glasses that cost me about $100. Literally, within two weeks the nose guards came unglued and fell off. I tried glueing them back on and they came off again. So, I called Wiley when I was at Camp McCrady and they told me that without my receipt, they wouldn't do anything to help me. I explained to them that I had a grand total of four sea bags comprising all of my worldly possessions and that my receipt was likely packed in storage somewhere, but they had zero sympathy and, in fact, haven't even responded to a long letter I sent them.]

Start from the Bottom

The U.S. government just passed a $700 billion bailout bill it hopes will remedy one of the worst financial situations faced by this country since the Great Depression. As part of the bill, the government announced yesterday it would take an equity interest in America’s largest banks in exchange for providing much needed cash infusions into the banking industry.

Unfortunately, a cash infusion is only a short-term solution to a larger problem, which is that the housing market and the troubled securities associated with it are going to continue to be a drag on the credit markets. While the most recent cash infusion should help add some liquidity to the markets, it is unlikely to do anything to stave off the continued detritus of foreclosed and abandoned homes that is systemically infecting the global financial system.

Our government needs to look at options to boost the housing market. Housing prices have fallen precipitously around the country, which, in any normal market, would lead to a surge in demand. The problem, as we hear about in the news everyday, is that there isn’t any credit that Americans can draw upon to purchase these homes.

Until the ailing housing market regains some vitality, credit problems will persist, which is why the government needs to open up a source of cash to help create demand in the housing market. A huge untapped source of cash is the hundreds of billions of dollars held by U.S. citizens in their 401Ks and IRAs. The only problem is that because of current tax regulations, it is far too expensive for Americans to draw on the funds held in their 401Ks and IRAs.

Both of the presidential candidates have already proposed relaxing the penalties that are assessed for early withdrawals of 401K and IRA funds, but they should also consider providing other tax breaks.

The government should implement a significant tax cut or even a tax exemption on any withdrawals from 401K or IRA accounts as long as the funds are used to purchase real residentially zoned property or purchase equity in an existing home mortgage. Second, the government should extend the capital gains tax advantages that homeowners currently receive to a second home purchased under the auspices of this program.

Putting ownership of the thousands of abandoned or foreclosed properties out there into the hands of individual Americans is extremely efficient. There are hundreds of homes sitting on the market at fire sale prices. Yet, the credit markets are so tight, banks are requiring significant down payments on properties that they want to get off their books. Potential purchasers don’t have access to the funds they need so the “toxic” assets become more and more poisonous.

This country’s financial system is caught in a vicious cycle, and one of the ways we can help alleviate some of the stress out is to free up the cash that Americans have sitting in their retirement accounts.

If we give Americans a tax incentive to purchase second homes or investment properties, they will provide much needed liquidity to the financial system and also help remove significant portions of the toxic assets from banking industry balance sheets.

In addition, these tax cuts would give the housing market an instant shot of liquidity, which would result in increased demand in the housing markets and, in turn, a boost in housing prices. For struggling homeowners, this means an instant boost in home equity that could help provide them the means they need to refinance their home mortgages at lower long-term rates.

The government should give the people in this country that have money in the bank the opportunity to help support the country by providing much needed cash infusions into the housing market. The government’s current cash infusion will help free up some liquidity in the markets, but it’s not a remedy for the ailing housing market.

The government needs to free up the average American’s capital reserve and let them invest in property that is currently selling for pennies on the dollar when compared to market prices from only a few years ago. The current solution is attempting to fix the problem from the top down, but the government needs to look at the roots of the problem as well.

A tax cut puts some control of this bailout in the hands of the people in this country who have saved significant amounts of much needed capital. Let’s let go of the reins and allow Americans to invest their retirement funds in real property. We can not only provide some stability to our housing markets, but keep ownership of American property in America’s hands.