The Other Side of the Globe but not A World Away

I have been here in Iraq for a full week now. It is has been an interesting experience so far and it has only just begun. To begin, the camp at which my battalion is located used to be a resort town for Saddam’s sons and their Baathist friends. There is a man made lake that takes up most of the middle part of the camp. Palm trees line the lake and a paved road goes around the entire perimeter of the lake, about 4.5 miles long. Around the lake are small stucco bungalows that used to be nice vacation homes but they have since been made into our company offices and shop offices. I live in trailer like huts that we call “cans”. They are pretty much just bunkhouses with 4 to 6 bunks per room. I’ve been told eventually I’ll be moving into officer quarters and have a room to myself. That would be nice, but I feel a little spoiled. It isn’t exactly what I expected when I joined the infantry. I take pride in sleeping in the dirt under the stars, going weeks without a proper shower, and dining on MRE rations. That’s how I trained and that’s what a grunt wants to do. Now I fear we have become too comfortable. We have a wonderful chow hall that serves four meals a day to include a “mid-rats” (midnight rations), we have a full gym and weight lifting facility, we have internet, phones, full service laundry that washes and folds your clothes in four hours, even reliable electricity and hot water. I laugh at the irony sometimes. We’re fighting a enemy for a large part funded by petroleum related wealth and we’re using huge petroleum generators to give ourselves 24/7 electricity, hot water, etc. We use petroleum based plastic disposable utensils and plates in the chow hall. The waste and mindless consumption is downright ridiculous. I point this out, but in a slightly hypocritical manner I am still going to take my hot showers, eat my hot chow, and use the electricity to charge my iPod and write emails and blogs…you gotta choose your battles. Speaking of battles there aren’t many of those over here. Not much has happened in regards to the insurgency we are still fighting here. We’ve had only three IEDs go off in the whole battalion AO (area of operations) over the last week when that many use to go off in a company AO (one third the size of a battalion) in one day. Driving down the roads you see lots of patch holes, the only reminder left of how many IEDs use to be blown everyday. Aside from IEDs no one has been deliberately attacked. We find a weapons cache almost everyday. Most of it is old stuff that has been there since we invaded or it was staged just prior to the fight for Fallujah. I happened to get the chance to drive through downtown Fallujah which was cool for me. It is the site of the most historically significant battle for the Marine Corps in all of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I saw the bridge where the Blackwater agents were hung by insurgents prompting the Marine Corps to come down with a hammer on the city in an operation called Phantom Fury. It is a much quieter city now. There is construction everywhere. Road projects, building reconstruction, and there are new cinder blocks and cement on every corner. Overall, it is a very positive atmosphere. The Iraqis are taking there own security very seriously. There is evidence of great improvement in the Iraqi Police and Security Forces. They actually wear uniforms and maintain some discipline. They are the ones leading patrols, finding insurgents, detaining people, and processing them through their court system. It is an amazing accomplishment actually considering that just a year ago we weren’t sure we would ever make it out of Iraq. So don’t fret too much about me. I’m doing just fine with my hot showers and hot chow.