Today marked the beginning of "split operations" for my team’s mission. Half of them would remain at Camp Liberty. I’d take the other half to some outlying FOBs that were home to subordinate units we were also supporting. My first stop would be UNION III. As you may recall, this is the home of the mausoleum we slept in back in July. It sits on the edge of the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad. Our helicopter flight didn’t have a show time until 1030 so we stopped by the food court for some coffee. I then counseled my NCOIC on my expectations for while I was away. I was leaving him in charge of the operations at Camp Liberty. I had a similar discussion with the Sergeant who would be running the computer data operations. We’re on such a tight time schedule that I have to hear from them daily so I can react to any problems that might arise. Basically, I told them both how and when to submit a daily SITREP to me.
Once we checked in at Liberty Pad we waited for out helicopters. We were flying the "First Team Express". That meant helicopters under the control of "The Big Red One" – 1st Infantry Division. Lee Marvin was nowhere to be seen, which is good because the movie "Big Red One" is one of (if not the) worst war movies ever made. Our flight arrived on time and we loaded up. First Team Express is basically an air ferry service that makes a series of stops at various FOBs. Our first stop was FOB Falcon – only a five minute flight. We picked up a few more passengers and then took off. Just as we departed FOB Falcon we flew directly over the smoldering remains of the huge fire we’d observed from a great distance a few days before. It appeared to be a burning oil pit – definitely petroleum fires. Someone told me later that an underground pipeline had exploded. Our next stop was Camp Rustamiyah. This small FOB is home to some tank units. The Abrams Main Battle Tanks were quite visible from the air. The camp almost seemed too small for them. From there we flew straight into the heart of Baghdad and landed at a tiny postage stamp of a base. The landing pad was gravel surrounded by Hesco barriers. I think the place was an Iraqi Army patrol base. We were in clear sight of anyone on the rooftops surrounding the LZ. I felt very uncomfortable every second we loitered here. Snipers could have had a field day. Although we were only there for about five minutes it seemed an eternity. A few minutes later we were touching down at Washington LZ – our destination.
Our ride was waiting on us. A short time later we were back at UNION III. Actually, I was back. The two team members with me weren’t on the last mission here. I was expecting we’d stay in the mausoleum again. Fortunately, we weren’t. I was given a room of my own in the HQ. My two team members were housed together in a room of the Baath Party palace. Our accommodations are much more cozy than last time. We didn’t waste any time getting to work. One of my soldiers set up our computer operation while the Coast Guard Petty Officer and I went straight to a container customs inspection. We worked the rest of the afternoon and called it a day. Before supper we toured some more of the big palace. We saw the boxing ring Joes set up under the unfinished palace dome. Down in the basement we toured some of Saddam’s torture chambers. It just reinforced my belief that Saddam Hussein was a sick fuck.
After supper I got online to collect my SITREPs and write my own. Wouldn’t you know it? One of my folks back at Liberty failed to send in the required SITREP. As a result, I had to send an incomplete report. I’ll make sure this isn’t a trend.
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