Since I was just here earlier this week it seems as though I never left. There’s not much to see at Camp Liberty. It’s just a dusty collection of containerized housing units organized into billeting neighborhoods. They surround the “commo hill” that dominates the camp. At the base of the hill you’ll find the PX on one end and the MWR/gym at the other. Mixed in with the billets is the MND-Baghdad HQ, a couple of DFACs, motor pools, and various HQs for lesser-sized units. The roads work their way out to the other compounds that make up the massive Camp Victory/BIAP complex. What makes Camp Liberty (and Camp Striker for that matter) different than the rest of the complex is a lack of palaces. As I mentioned before, this whole area was a huge private playground for Saddam Hussein and his cronies. There’s even a huge palace named “Victory over America”. In a case of life mimicking reality, the palace was never finished.
I woke up around 0630. Once I’d taken care of personal business I trundled on over to the DFAC. I caught up on baseball scores over breakfast. Unfortunately, the Red Sox and Braves lost. Because of the close proximity to division HQ, this particular DFAC has a large number of senior officers and NCOs coming and going. As I was about to leave I ran into another West Point classmate. He’s not going to the reunion either. It was great to see Carmine though. I hadn’t seen him in over ten years. We exchanged e-mails and promised to catch up. It’s likely I’ll run into him again on this deployment. I’ll definitely return to Camp Liberty.
My team and I got situated in the classroom for our day’s instruction. At 0900 we began our classes. We were teaching the Unit Mobility Officers (UMOs) of an infantry brigade combat team the redeployment process. I taught a complete overview class. Then my team got into the nitty-gritty of containers, HAZMAT, in-transit tracking systems, documentation, and various other particulars they needed to know. We had around 40 people in attendance. The poor AC unit was overwhelmed so frequent breaks were a necessity. I’ve got my team trained well on sticking to the agenda. That’s good because it meant we wrapped up our classes by lunch. The classes are necessary and important – just boring. Many of the UMOs present stayed after to ask questions and try to book individual appointments with my team. Then we broke for lunch. We weren’t completely done. After lunch we had to inspect their computer software to ensure they had the correct redeployment software installed and functional. This took a few hours of the afternoon.
Once I was satisfied we had successfully completed our training I released everyone. I stopped by the Iraqi bazaar to buy some post cards. Then I hit the DFAC for supper. On the way back to my hooch I made a latrine stop. Once inside I heard the distinct sound of sniffles coming from one of the stalls. The soldier inside came out while I was in the latrine. Sure enough, he had been crying. I asked him if he was ok. At first he didn’t acknowledge me. He just stared blankly into the mirror. I asked again. This time he snapped out of it a bit and said he was ok. I put my hand on his shoulder, looked him in the eye and asked again. He straightened up, took a deep breath, and said that he was fine. I asked if he needed to talk (to me or anyone else) and he said no. I asked what unit he belonged to. It turned out he was in the same unit we’d just taught classes to. I passed his name on to his chain-of-command. It could have been anything – dear john letter, red cross message, some other bad news from home, personal experience on mission, or even just being homesick. I didn’t ask. I hope he’s ok.
I got comfy back in the hooch. I fly out with one of my soldiers back to LSAA very early in the morning. It’s better to just catch up on some sleep. Besides, I’ve seen about everything to see at Camp Liberty. We’ve had a successful mission – again.
I woke up around 0630. Once I’d taken care of personal business I trundled on over to the DFAC. I caught up on baseball scores over breakfast. Unfortunately, the Red Sox and Braves lost. Because of the close proximity to division HQ, this particular DFAC has a large number of senior officers and NCOs coming and going. As I was about to leave I ran into another West Point classmate. He’s not going to the reunion either. It was great to see Carmine though. I hadn’t seen him in over ten years. We exchanged e-mails and promised to catch up. It’s likely I’ll run into him again on this deployment. I’ll definitely return to Camp Liberty.
My team and I got situated in the classroom for our day’s instruction. At 0900 we began our classes. We were teaching the Unit Mobility Officers (UMOs) of an infantry brigade combat team the redeployment process. I taught a complete overview class. Then my team got into the nitty-gritty of containers, HAZMAT, in-transit tracking systems, documentation, and various other particulars they needed to know. We had around 40 people in attendance. The poor AC unit was overwhelmed so frequent breaks were a necessity. I’ve got my team trained well on sticking to the agenda. That’s good because it meant we wrapped up our classes by lunch. The classes are necessary and important – just boring. Many of the UMOs present stayed after to ask questions and try to book individual appointments with my team. Then we broke for lunch. We weren’t completely done. After lunch we had to inspect their computer software to ensure they had the correct redeployment software installed and functional. This took a few hours of the afternoon.
Once I was satisfied we had successfully completed our training I released everyone. I stopped by the Iraqi bazaar to buy some post cards. Then I hit the DFAC for supper. On the way back to my hooch I made a latrine stop. Once inside I heard the distinct sound of sniffles coming from one of the stalls. The soldier inside came out while I was in the latrine. Sure enough, he had been crying. I asked him if he was ok. At first he didn’t acknowledge me. He just stared blankly into the mirror. I asked again. This time he snapped out of it a bit and said he was ok. I put my hand on his shoulder, looked him in the eye and asked again. He straightened up, took a deep breath, and said that he was fine. I asked if he needed to talk (to me or anyone else) and he said no. I asked what unit he belonged to. It turned out he was in the same unit we’d just taught classes to. I passed his name on to his chain-of-command. It could have been anything – dear john letter, red cross message, some other bad news from home, personal experience on mission, or even just being homesick. I didn’t ask. I hope he’s ok.
I got comfy back in the hooch. I fly out with one of my soldiers back to LSAA very early in the morning. It’s better to just catch up on some sleep. Besides, I’ve seen about everything to see at Camp Liberty. We’ve had a successful mission – again.
1 comment:
Yes.....We are still hanging in with you! Thanks for taking us along! Looking forward to your homecoming party!
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