This place..
Let me see if I can give you an idea of what being out here is like.
On our first night here, we arrived at 0100, the base was pitch black. All that we could see were the barriers that surround every building on the base. Every parking lot or open lot is surrounded by concerntina wire or some form of man made barrier. Understand that before we even made it to Kuwait the rumor mill was in over drive so we heard stories about how base security were finding IED's ON THE BASE and how although no one had been injured the possibilities that more IED's were out there was very possible. So after our first night in our 40 man tents we made it out and about. Well, with the rumors still bouncing around, we had it in our minds that every rock and piece of trash could be a trigger for an IED so there was not a whole of wandering around. That went on for a few hours until we received an official brief. The rumors were a form of initiation. Ha-freakin'-Ha!
The insurgents have been known to take a chance and launch a mortar or two our way but they do so without aiming. They set the mortar, usually on a timer or with ice (it melts and the trigger goes off) and then run away. So when you here about a incident involving one of the good guys, it is about as random a hit as you can get. It sucks. Anyway, the base has not been attacked in almost a year. The Marines and Soldiers keep pushing our perimeter out further so unless we need to go outside the wire, we are fairly safe.
Now, the base is swarming with foreigners, some of them are Iraqis. Needless to say there is not whole lot of trust floating around. I am sure that the majority of them are good people and they are just here to make a living but still, the fact that they are locals just adds to the tension. We eat in the same galleys, chow/mess halls as they do so you alot of sideways looks going on. What can you do? It's very strange. In order for any foreigner to work here, they have to go through a background check and 0nce they are hired on they cannot leave the base for the duration of their contract. But still...
Anyway...more later.
Take care y'all.
LCPL Seals: He gave his life securing a FOB for us. RIP my friend.
On our first night here, we arrived at 0100, the base was pitch black. All that we could see were the barriers that surround every building on the base. Every parking lot or open lot is surrounded by concerntina wire or some form of man made barrier. Understand that before we even made it to Kuwait the rumor mill was in over drive so we heard stories about how base security were finding IED's ON THE BASE and how although no one had been injured the possibilities that more IED's were out there was very possible. So after our first night in our 40 man tents we made it out and about. Well, with the rumors still bouncing around, we had it in our minds that every rock and piece of trash could be a trigger for an IED so there was not a whole of wandering around. That went on for a few hours until we received an official brief. The rumors were a form of initiation. Ha-freakin'-Ha!
The insurgents have been known to take a chance and launch a mortar or two our way but they do so without aiming. They set the mortar, usually on a timer or with ice (it melts and the trigger goes off) and then run away. So when you here about a incident involving one of the good guys, it is about as random a hit as you can get. It sucks. Anyway, the base has not been attacked in almost a year. The Marines and Soldiers keep pushing our perimeter out further so unless we need to go outside the wire, we are fairly safe.
Now, the base is swarming with foreigners, some of them are Iraqis. Needless to say there is not whole lot of trust floating around. I am sure that the majority of them are good people and they are just here to make a living but still, the fact that they are locals just adds to the tension. We eat in the same galleys, chow/mess halls as they do so you alot of sideways looks going on. What can you do? It's very strange. In order for any foreigner to work here, they have to go through a background check and 0nce they are hired on they cannot leave the base for the duration of their contract. But still...
Anyway...more later.
Take care y'all.
LCPL Seals: He gave his life securing a FOB for us. RIP my friend.
posted by szamora at 1:12 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home