Pass To Qatar

After 78 missions & 286 flight hours, the opportunity arose for a 4-day pass to Qatar. Always up for an adventure…and accompanied by our youngest flight engineer (21 years old)…we disregarded the warnings about a brutal commute and set off for a change of scenery. The highlight of the commute was the opportunity to fly in the “jump seat” of an Air Force C-17 from Baghdad to Kuwait City. The C-17 is massive and the newest cargo aircraft in the Air Force inventory. It was about 2 AM on a cloudless night, when I was provided with a set of night vision goggles and given a complete overview of aircraft systems…while cruising at 28,000 feet and over 300 knots. After getting bumped in Kuwait, my friends from Tennessee hooked us up on a “Space A” C-12 flight to Qatar—Thanks Andy & John! Turns out the travel warnings were true; it took us 30 hours to make it to Al Udeid Air Base and then another couple hours to in process at Camp As Sayliyeh.

Qatar is a predominately Muslim country located just east of Saudi Arabia on the Persian Gulf. Due to oil and natural gas reserves, Qatar has become one of the world’s fastest growing and highest per-capita income countries. Known as the "Pearl of the Gulf", Qatar mixes classic architecture with modern structures. The capital city is Doha, which will be host to the 2006 Asian Games starting in November.

Although Camp As Sayliyeh is the largest pre-positioning military base outside the United States, it is also used as a pass facility for soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. The base has a quality gym, pool and dining facility. In addition, there are two lounges and an O’Charleys restaurant on site…although limited to three drinks per day; this is the only authorized location for a soldier to consume beer or wine in the Middle East. In addition, this will be the only time we can wear civilian clothes during our deployment.

Friendly Faces

By deploying to Iraq as an Active Guard/Reserve (AGR) soldier, I traded 6 months in Kuwait flying a C-12 airplane…for 12-months in Iraq flying the C-23. My rationale was that either way, I was headed for the Middle East, therefore, I might as well select the position which offered the best retirement opportunity. A consequence of that decision was that I had to transfer out of a National Guard unit that I had been a member of for 11 years. It was 7-months before I saw a familiar face…that changed in March when my previous unit took over the mission in Kuwait. About once per week, I get the opportunity to stop by their hangar for a visit. There is a saying that captures the spirit of our times---the only constant is change---thus, the chance to talk with someone from your hometown is meaningful when you’re deployed on the other side of the world.

Another bonus for the month of April…the chance to fly a mission with each pilot with whom I attended the C-23 qualification course.

Lambskin & Leather

Everything is negotiable in the Turkish market…by resorting to tag-team shopping and leveraging the principle that buying in bulk should lead to lower prices…this flight crew was able to obtain wardrobe upgrades at a bargain price. Lambskin jackets with fur liners and a lightweight leather jacket are modeled by these satisfied customers.

Mountain Run

The most scenic area of Iraq is the northeast portion of the country. When the weather is good and time/cargo permits, one of the favorite routes back to base is what we refer to as the “Mountain Run”. A typical flight path enters the Zagros Mountains, which is a chain of parallel ridges that start in Turkey and separates much of Iraq from Iran. The ridges of the Zargos in Iraq range from 4,000-11,000 feet in elevation. The highest peak in Iraq is Haji Ibrahim at 11,811 feet.

In addition, the Zab and Diyala rivers originate in the Iranian section of Zagros Mountains and eventually feed into the Tigris River. When flying by the Zab River we can see the Dokan Dam. A flight along the Diyala River reveals the Darbandikhan Reservoir, which is 18 miles long by 6 miles wide. When the war began in 2003, there was concern that Saddam Hussein would use these reservoirs to cause catastrophic flooding.

Just east of the Darbandikhan Dam is the Iraqi Kurdish town of Halabja. This town was the site of the greatest chemical weapons tragedy in modern warfare. During the 1980 Iran-Iraq War, the Iranian army took control of Halabja in hopes of gaining control of the Darbandikhan Reservoir water supply. Some of the fiercest fighting of the war ensued in Iraq's effort to retake Halabja. Shortly before the war ended in March 1988, the Iraqi Kurds living in Halabja were exposed to multiple chemical agents, killing thousands of the towns residents. This event was one of the reasons used to justify the invasion of Iraq. In 2003, President Bush was referring to Halabja during his State Of The Union speech when he said “The dictator who is assembling the world's most dangerous weapons has already used them on whole villages, leaving thousands of his own citizens dead, blind or disfigured”.

How ironic...a place with such beauty was the stage for so much misery.

Ancient Ur

A volunteer crew was put together to transport the chaplain and his guests to Tallil, located in southern Iraq, for a tour of the ancient Sumerian city of Ur. The City Of Ur was originally inhabited around 3000 BC, which is near the beginning of recorded history. According to one estimate, Ur was the largest city in the world (estimated population 65,000) from 2030 to 1980 BC. Ur is mentioned in the Bible (Book Of Genesis) as the birthplace of the patriarch Abraham.

Abraham is a key figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islamic religions. Jews and Christians consider him father of the people of Israel through his son Isaac. Muslims regard him as the father of the Arabs through his son Ishmael. In Christian belief, Abraham is a model of faith, and his intention to obey God by offering up Isaac is seen as a foreshadowing of God's offering of his son, Jesus. In Islam, Abraham obeyed God by offering up Ishmael and is considered to be one of the most important prophets sent by God in the Koran…how ironic that conflicts from today can be traced back to biblical times.

The City of Ur is marked by the ruins of the Ziggurat, which was constructed in the 21st century BC and is still largely intact after 4,000 years. The ziggurat in Ur, is a temple of Nanna, the moon deity in Sumerian mythology. The whole area is an active archealogical site--much of the ruins are still yet uncovered and pottery shards cover the ground—to move freely through this site was a unique opportunity.