So what is Iraq like?

Once on the plane you fly in total darkness and drop out of the sky into the base. (you have to drop down fast so you are not shot down) I am at Camp Anaconda or Balad AB depending on your branch of service, the bases are connected with a flight line. It is about 40 miles north of Baghdad and some consider it a suburb of that city. I am about ½ mile from the Tigers river.


I live in a group of pods that have been surrounded by 10 foot high 20” thick concrete walls and sandbags. My pod is U-55 and is near the main flight line, which makes it so fun to try and sleep with the 24/7 aircraft taking off next door.

The terrain is a lot like the desert outside LA. It is a bit of brush and a few palm and scrub trees. Lots of clay and gravel make up the paths that you can walk on. It is hot during the day and cold at night. Less dusty than Qatar where I was last. They burn all the trash 24/7 with a huge plume of black smelly smoke rises all day long. I bought some dust mask in case the wind shifts and it blows on me at the area where I work. (He did not know until later that day that when the smoke is thick, you cannot cover your face because they have to be able to see who you are. This is maddening to me becaue now he has to breath all that. Additionally, the natives do not like all the burning and pollution but that base does not want anything leaving the premises.)