Iraq

My MilAir flight was cancelled due to a sandstorm, but I was able to get myself booked on a UN flight the next day.  From 6 pm, I sat at the airport with some very tough, but jocular chain-smoking Norwegians.  A couple hours and a couple packs later, we were off for Baghdad.  The sunset over Amman from the air was unreal.  They’ve been so striking that I wonder if sunsets will always remind me of Jordan.

And then it was surreal.  Just surreal.  We landed at Sully air force base and were released so freely into what seemed like wartime action from an army flick.  Helicopters roared from all sides.  Seas of fully armored and fully armed soldiers headed…somewhere…back and forth at double time.  And it was sandy.  Horribly and hellishly sandy.  You could feel it in the air, on your skin and in your lungs.  It was a fine and dry sand that I can only compare to baby powder.  It covered everything like dust on the furniture in a century old house.

A jolly and plump chain-smoking man in a trailer fitted us for armor and helmets and soon we were quickly off for the Stryker compound where we would wait.  This speed greatly disappointed one the Norwegians who was looking forward to hitting the Taco Bell, as we had all skipped dinner.  We made it to Stryker around 11, where some soldiers played Monopoly and others slept in impossibly upright positions.  I helped myself to an MRE ration and awaited the arrival of the Rhino.  The MRE’s spaghetti and cherry cobbler weren’t horrible, but I don’t have to eat them every day.

The legendary Rhino comes at unexpected times in the night to take good little boys and girls to the Green Zone.  Sometime between midnight and dawn, it is scheduled to make its trip (this is for security reasons).  And at 2:45 am, it came.  I suppose I should count my blessings.

The Rhino was like that armored van from Dawn of the Dead or that other armored van from Land of the Dead (for some reason my mind is on zombie movies).  We slowly made our way down horribly bumpy roads to Baghdad’s downtown.  I was so tired, I couldn’t make out anything.  I think I too was gaining the ability to sleep upright.  I just saw trees, sand and checkpoints.  At 4:30 am, I made it to my room.  Next time, I need to take the helo.