The President and the Sandstorm

Sounds kind of like a children's story doesn't it? Well, it has been busy here, a welcome change from the first few weeks of this little "vacation." Yes, I got to see the President (kind of). While I do work in Al Faw palace, and he did speak at Al Faw palace, I was one of about 2,000 people there that day. The media reported a few hundred, but they weren't counting everyone who was already there because they work there! The balconies were crammed full of people trying to get a view/photo, to the point where I thought we were in danger of having a catastrophic structural failure, especially since this place was built using bubblegum and scotch tape. I was stuck on the third floor since they closed off all the staircases for the duration of his visit, but I did manage to get one semi-good photo. Trust me, the black man speaking on stage really IS President Obama, REALLY!
And now the Sandstorm. No, Obama wasn't caught in a sandstorm (though wouldn't that have been an exciting media moment?). I was. Just this week I was to accompany my boss' boss (Brigadier General Walker) to a conference in one of the border regions. We were supposed to fly out to a place near Ramadi, about 150 Km west of Baghdad. It should have been a short 30 minute C-130 flight to Al Asad airbase where we were to get on a Marine CH-53 helicopter and fly into the conference sight. We had with us the Iraqi Director of Ports of Entry (a 2-star general), one of the Ports of Entry directors (a 1-star general), and a regional border brigade commander (a Colonel). We ended up flying halfway across Iraq to the north to pick up some other people going to the confrence, and then heading back south to Al Asad. What shold have been a 30-minute direct flight, ended up being a 2-hour flight with an extra stop. Once we got to Al Asad, we thought all was going well, since our helos for the next flight arrived on time, we all loaded up and then took off. Then we turned around, and landed back at Al Asad. It turns out a nasty sand storm was on the way and we couldn't fly, well, we could fly, just not land which is an important part of the flight some would argue. Anyway, so we got stuck at Al Asad, and what was going to be a day trip to Ramadi, turned into an overnight stay in Iraq's western desert in a sand storm. At least I was able to stay in some nice temporary billeting (travelling with generals has its advantages), but I learned a valuable lesson. Always listen to the advice from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, always bring a towel. It would have made the overnight stay MUCH more tolerable. Still I got to sit and take notes as General Walker discussed issues with two Iraqi generals, and I learned first hand quite a bit about Iraqi culture and perspectives. I also found the answer to a long-time question of mine. When working with a forgein leader through an interpreter, its proper to keep eye contact with the foregin leader while the interpreter is speaking, which is harder to do than you might imagine. Try responding to questions someone is asking aloud while focusing on someone who isn't talking.

Yes, this IS the President down there. I like this picture because it shows the crowd and the excitement more than it shows the President, a perspective the press didn't show.

Here is lovely Al Asad airbase. It used to be an Iraqi Air Force base, and now the Marines have taken it over. Not much out there but sand and wind.

Our ride into Ramadi that ended up being a big lap in the sky.

And this was why we couldn't fly. Umm, which way was the chow hall again?

Some people like walks on the sand. I got to take a walk IN the sand! The mask and glasses is not to look like some train-robbing bandito, but to let me breathe without inhaling the dust; it's like brown talcum powder. Hmm...train robbing asa second career maybe? Probably more time at home with the family...