Camp Liberty is a much dirtier place than Anaconda. The biggest reason is that Camp Liberty sprung up on empty fields adjacent to Saddam’s former palace compounds. Anaconda was actually a base prior to falling under new management and had existing, paved roads and buildings. Everything at Camp Liberty is on dirt, dust, or gravel. It’s a very unattractive place that serves one purpose – house thousands of Joes. I’ve often wondered what the place looked like before the hundreds of CHU’s and jersey barriers went up. I imagine it was just fields, marshes, and occasional tree. Its post-invasion transformation hasn’t created an armpit as bad as FOB Warhorse. It is one ugly place though. I can’t decide which is uglier – Liberty or Camp Striker.
I guess what I’m saying is that there is nothing to see here. It’s not like some of the other places we go where there’s a palace or something. Here it’s just Joes and dust. There’s the DFAC. Over there you’ll find the gym and MWR. You can’t miss the PX outlet, barber shop, laundry, and calling center. Joes from outlying FOBs find this place to be paradise. There are plenty of DFACs, food courts, PX’s, gyms, and other things to do or spend money on. Hell, just today I saw a Joe that had purchased a 32” LCD flat-screen TV at the PX. All I could think was how ridiculous a waste of money that was. Oh well, it didn’t come out of my wallet. I don’t even look at the electronics stuff when I visit the PX. Joe does though. He buys up TV’s, video games, stereo equipment, computers, and anything else that looks good. Tax-free pay starts burning a whole in Joe’s pocket after awhile and he has to spend it somewhere. I must confess – even I indulged in Cinnabon the other day. I don’t know where else you can find one in Iraq other than Camp Liberty. I reckon that does make it paradise.
Walking out of the DFAC tonight I was greeted by a spectacular, perfect full moon. It hung low in the east. There’s a lunar eclipse tonight but it won’t be visible here. That’s too bad. It would have been quite a show. I broke out the camera and attempted to take a photo. My night photography sucks. You can see for yourself. After several frustrating attempts to get a good photo I gave up and called it a night.
I guess what I’m saying is that there is nothing to see here. It’s not like some of the other places we go where there’s a palace or something. Here it’s just Joes and dust. There’s the DFAC. Over there you’ll find the gym and MWR. You can’t miss the PX outlet, barber shop, laundry, and calling center. Joes from outlying FOBs find this place to be paradise. There are plenty of DFACs, food courts, PX’s, gyms, and other things to do or spend money on. Hell, just today I saw a Joe that had purchased a 32” LCD flat-screen TV at the PX. All I could think was how ridiculous a waste of money that was. Oh well, it didn’t come out of my wallet. I don’t even look at the electronics stuff when I visit the PX. Joe does though. He buys up TV’s, video games, stereo equipment, computers, and anything else that looks good. Tax-free pay starts burning a whole in Joe’s pocket after awhile and he has to spend it somewhere. I must confess – even I indulged in Cinnabon the other day. I don’t know where else you can find one in Iraq other than Camp Liberty. I reckon that does make it paradise.
Walking out of the DFAC tonight I was greeted by a spectacular, perfect full moon. It hung low in the east. There’s a lunar eclipse tonight but it won’t be visible here. That’s too bad. It would have been quite a show. I broke out the camera and attempted to take a photo. My night photography sucks. You can see for yourself. After several frustrating attempts to get a good photo I gave up and called it a night.
No comments:
Post a Comment