Deployed to Baghdad

Deployed to Iraq

After being at my first duty station for only 6 months, I came down on orders to deploy to Baghdad, Iraq. Being that I was in an individual career field 3A Information Management (Administrative and IT Support), when I came down on orders, it was just for me. No other people in my Military Police unit were assigned. Just me. It was scary. I remember crying. I was just 21, and I didn’t want to go to war and potentially have to kill people. That wasn’t REALLY why I joined. But, after I got over the initial shock. I changed my mindset and decided to be strong and begin prepping for the task ahead. I got trained up on my M16 and an M9. Got issued all my deployment gear, lots I had never seen. Military tent, mosquito net, DEET, flak vest, and helmet, among many other things. I had to be given so many different vaccinations, Anthrax was a crazy one! It was all so different and felt a little surreal.

It took me a while to get there. I first landed in Qatar and stayed there for about 9 hrs. There were lots of other deployed Soldiers & Airmen, but I didn’t know any of them…so I kind of just stayed to myself.  And then finally we boarded a C130 and that is what we flew into Baghdad on. Upon landing, the pilots did some evasive maneuvers to throw off any potential attacks on us, and we landed safely. When I arrived at BIAP and walked off the plane, I remember the extreme August heat mixed with the heat coming off the plane, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I mean, I was used to heat, coming from Florida, BUT this was like a heat I had never experienced. I would soon learn that it was 120 degrees and oh, so dry!

When I entered the terminal, which was a building off the tarmac, there were so many Soldiers just waiting around. Either waiting to fly out or to fly in, or some like me who needed to figure out where to go. So, I handed the Sergeant my orders and waited. They made some phone calls to people, and what seemed like hours finally called me up to tell me I was going to the Green Zone. They told me I would like it. I was confused because my orders only said BIAP. I thought I was staying at the Airport. I was scared to leave. I had heard horror stories of people getting blown up once they drove out of the US-controlled bases, and I did not want to leave. But I was an Airman, I had one stripe on my sleeve, and I had no say in anything. So I did as they said, got my duffles put on my flack and helmet, and headed to a bus. Once on the bus, there were a lot of other people, most of them seemed like they had been in the country for a bit longer than me, maybe traveling in the country, there were civilians on the bus too. I just looked out the window and tried not to puke from the erratic driving. I soon learned that this was the way we drove when in country because you never know if someone is on top of a bridge just waiting to drop a bomb on you or if the trash bag in the road is actually an IED. 

When we arrived in the Green Zone, it did look a bit different. Soldiers were walking outside, lots of civilians, and most of the buildings were still standing and were very beautiful. And then we arrived. It was a huge building, with a fountain that no longer had water in it out front. When I looked up, it was impossible not to see the four Saddam busts that sat atop the sand colored brick building. This was called the Republican Palace. 

This would become home for me for the next 6 months. When I arrived at the Air Force personnel office, they were really sure where to put me. They said they needed to figure it out, but in the meantime, I would report to Lt.Col. Lovelady. Because the war had only kicked off in late March and this was August of 2003, they were still building up the compound, meaning the only place for me to stay was in the Palace. It was so surreal to be living in the Palace that Saddam used as his primary place of work. The doors were heavy wood, there were gold features like door handles, lighting fixtures, sink facets, and marble (or some sort of stone )that made up the walls & floors. The ceilings were tall, and I felt so small and alone. The first few weeks were tough, although I didn’t let others know what I was feeling inside. I showed up with a positive attitude and did what was asked of me. While I was waiting to be assigned to my permanent office, I was given a unique task of inventorying Uday Hussein’s personal belongings. What does that mean? Well, when the US killed Uday and Qusay on July 22nd, they confiscated his belongings and placed them in a secure room in the basement of the palace, and they needed someone to itemize every individual item. It was a lot; there was a huge room stacked from floor to ceiling with random items. Things I found most interesting were the canes…so many walking canes. See, some years prior, there was an assassination attempt on Uday’s life, and as a result, he walked with a cane. Some of the canes were very extravagant and detailed with different carvings, gold accents, and handles.   I also think he was someone who liked to collect things because he also had Lladro figurines. So many Lladro. He also had many cigars and liquor…so many expensive bottles of liquor. The most disturbing things he had were boom boxes that were meant to be gifts for women whom he raped. Yes, we knew this to be true by firsthand written accounts, as well as VHS tapes that documented the horrific acts (I never saw these firsthand, but people in my office had to watch to gather evidence). Later, I would visit the home of Uday, which we infamously called the “Love Shack,” as this was the smaller but still huge palace next to the Republican Palace where Uday would reign and torment. He had lions in a large enclosure, and it’s said that human remains/bones were found in the enclosure, which would correlate with the stories that he would often find a victim to abuse, and if she was accompanied by a male companion when taken, they would feed the male to the lions. 

Living and working in the Green Zone provided me with many unique opportunities. Within the month of being there, I joined the Governance and Human Rights office and became the Military assistant to the Director of Governance. The two departments had two different directors. There was Judy VanRest for the Governance side and Scott Carpenter for the Human Rights department. I really enjoyed being a part of the team. We also had a small group of Iraqi translators, and it was so fun getting to know them. The office soon became more like family. Doing most things together, eating, working, running, working, eating, and more working. There weren’t days off, but we did use Friday mornings as our day to sleep in, play ultimate frisbee, or run. Living and working in the Green Zone didn’t mean we never left. Just the opposite. Since our office needed to be with the Iraqi people, we were often traveling. We hosted Town Halls in the local communities such as Al Hillah, Baghdad, and beyond. We travelled to BIAP a lot to pick up or drop off dignitaries, political personnel, or office staff that was traveling. We convoyed out in town often, especially when our office was trying to find a building that would soon be the new Human Rights Ministry. My bosses, who were Washington DC political appointees and civilians, didn’t like me traveling off base in uniform as they felt it would bring negative attention to our mission. Judy wanted me to help with Women’s Issues, and she especially felt the US uniform would make it hard for me to work with the women. So, I mostly wore civilian clothing when leaving base or meeting with the Iraqi women. I loved this job. It felt like I was making a difference in a positive way. I got to meet so many amazing, accomplished Iraqi women, some I’m still friends with today. 

Working in the Governance office also allotted me the opportunity to meet some of the most influential people in DC. I got to sit in meetings with Nancy Pelosi, Paul Wolfowitz, and others. I was just a note taker, but it was so interesting to be a part of history in that way. I got to be in the room when Ambassador Bremer and General Sanchez announced we had caught Saddam Hussein!

Getting to travel the country to places like Halabja and Sulaymaniyah, meeting so many kind people, opened my small-town Florida girl's eyes. I learned that we all really want the same things. To feel safe, to be free, to feel seen and loved. To be able to practice our religions without fear. To enjoy our time here on earth and hopefully make a positive difference. 

Overall, my experience in Iraq was eye-opening and life-changing. It helped me see the world more clearly and allowed me to see there is so much I didn’t know and so much more to learn!

There are so many other stories I could share, but I fear I’ve already gone on too long. Maybe one day I will finish a book about my life with all of this included :)

Happy Veteran’s Day!