Day two in Mosul was for us. My team and I were strictly tourists. Our flight show time wasn’t until 1600. That gave us all day to drive around and see the sights. The only thing to see was the ruins of the ancient monastery. I’ve already seen the place. We were hoping to be able to tour the inside. However, the chaplains’ office wasn’t available. They control the tours and own the keys to the fence that surrounds the ruin. Regardless, we drove to the place and happily snapped photos from outside the fence. Although I already talked about the monastery during my previous visit to FOB Marez, I’ll mention some facts. The place was established back around 500 A.D. I was within the Holy Roman Empire. As a matter of fact, northern Iraq has several ruins (such as Hatras) that are from the empires of Constantinople. The monastery itself isn’t much to look at. Surrounding grounds are worn down and overrun. I’ve been told that inside the remaining ruin is an underground courtyard. There are also tombs. The chaplains’ office controls the sight to ensure there is no destruction of historic property. Strangely enough, there is still an old Iraqi army mortar position on the grounds. The mortar tube still sits on ominous display.
I guess we stuck around the ruins for about an hour. We also took a few pictures of the junkyard that sits adjacent to the ruins. I noticed some Albanian soldiers snooping around the rusting tanks and cannons. We’re not supposed to climb around on that stuff because, supposedly, there’s unexploded ordnance. That didn’t deter the Albanians. We joked that they were probably looking for spare parts. There really isn’t much to see so it wasn’t surprising when everyone quickly grew bored. Other than a few Bradley fighting vehicles driving around kicking up dust, there wasn’t anything else to see. So, we all went back to our hooches and took a nap.
At 1600 we checked in for our return to Balad. The Mosul pax terminal is awesome. It’s the nicest one we’ve seen. It was an actual airport terminal before the invasion. The place has an internet café, a coffee bar, television, and ample indoor and outdoor seating. Adjacent to the terminal is an MWR that was made out of an existing, ornate building. My theory is that it was a pilots’ officer club at one time. The MWR is also one of the best I’ve seen. All of this combined for an easy wait for the airplane. That was good because the C130 ended up being late by several hours. At supper time we drove back over to the Diamondback DFAC. True as advertised, it was karaoke night. I didn’t sing anything. Some poor Joe was belting out a terrible country tune when we walked in. Nobody else volunteered. That was the extent of DFAC karaoke.
Night had fallen by the time we returned to the airfield. The Mullahs had begun the calls to worship again. In the distance I could make out a TV in a building on Diamondback. After watching awhile, I realized that whoever it belonged to was watching South Park. I found myself wishing I was close enough to watch. I haven’t seen an episode of South Park since January. Inside the terminal a contract civilian wearing ACU’s was yucking it up with a female Major. He must’ve been doing well because she was giggling like a coed. She was leaning back on a counter in a suggestive pose that said, “I am open to anything you want to suggest.” I halfway expected them to start making out right there. They might as well have been hooking up at a bar.
We made it back to Balad. It was another surreal night. This is one of the times I realize how hard it is to convey the sights and sounds of daily life here. I’m glad I’m witness though.
I guess we stuck around the ruins for about an hour. We also took a few pictures of the junkyard that sits adjacent to the ruins. I noticed some Albanian soldiers snooping around the rusting tanks and cannons. We’re not supposed to climb around on that stuff because, supposedly, there’s unexploded ordnance. That didn’t deter the Albanians. We joked that they were probably looking for spare parts. There really isn’t much to see so it wasn’t surprising when everyone quickly grew bored. Other than a few Bradley fighting vehicles driving around kicking up dust, there wasn’t anything else to see. So, we all went back to our hooches and took a nap.
At 1600 we checked in for our return to Balad. The Mosul pax terminal is awesome. It’s the nicest one we’ve seen. It was an actual airport terminal before the invasion. The place has an internet café, a coffee bar, television, and ample indoor and outdoor seating. Adjacent to the terminal is an MWR that was made out of an existing, ornate building. My theory is that it was a pilots’ officer club at one time. The MWR is also one of the best I’ve seen. All of this combined for an easy wait for the airplane. That was good because the C130 ended up being late by several hours. At supper time we drove back over to the Diamondback DFAC. True as advertised, it was karaoke night. I didn’t sing anything. Some poor Joe was belting out a terrible country tune when we walked in. Nobody else volunteered. That was the extent of DFAC karaoke.
Night had fallen by the time we returned to the airfield. The Mullahs had begun the calls to worship again. In the distance I could make out a TV in a building on Diamondback. After watching awhile, I realized that whoever it belonged to was watching South Park. I found myself wishing I was close enough to watch. I haven’t seen an episode of South Park since January. Inside the terminal a contract civilian wearing ACU’s was yucking it up with a female Major. He must’ve been doing well because she was giggling like a coed. She was leaning back on a counter in a suggestive pose that said, “I am open to anything you want to suggest.” I halfway expected them to start making out right there. They might as well have been hooking up at a bar.
We made it back to Balad. It was another surreal night. This is one of the times I realize how hard it is to convey the sights and sounds of daily life here. I’m glad I’m witness though.
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