Life Inside the Wire - August 20, 2005

20AUG05
Life Inside the Wire


At Camp Ramadi--as in other camps--when one is in the camp working it is considered being "inside the wire" (as opposed to going "outside the wire" on a mission). Most of the news reports focus on events outside the wire--such as IED attacks. However, I have been amazed at the life "inside the wire."

We have a dining facility (complete with ice cream), barber shops, BX, alteration shops, and phone/computer centers. Most of these shops are managed under contract and employ non-Iraqis.

During dinner I have had a chance to meet workers from all over the world. One man came from Sarajevo, Bosnia, to work on generators. He has been at Ramadi for more than 8 months and cannot wait to get home. He couldn't get over the lack of trees and mountains. "There is nothing but flat, sand, and brown here. My home is full of trees and hills and green."

An Australian supports the Army technical shop and has almost been here a year. He manages a security company back home, and only wants one thing here--to stop having to change rooms every month.

I have had dinner with workers from India, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, and a few other African nations I cannot remember. Very few speak English so our conversations produce very little. Basically we both say a few things over and over while the other nods his head in agreement--all the while neither of us actually understand anything the other is saying.

The food has been fine--quite a bit and much to choose from. For dinner I have started waiting until closing so I can get some of the curry the workers from India prepare. They make a spicy curry I eat with rice, and each time I get in line they point to the line "for the Americans." I nod and remain in line, and then they break into a smile and say, "Oh, you eat the curry?" We both nod and give each other the thumbs up. Which I'm sure means something different to each of us!

Just like high school, the army guys eat with army guys, air force with air force (all 7 of us), marines with marines, and workers with each other. Yet, the most interesting meals are when you eat with someone new. I've met army tank mechanics from Tennessee, translators from North Carolina, plenty of yankee soldiers from Pennsylvania and New York, and surfer marines from San Diego.

We have all come to this sandy slice of Iraq to do the work asked of us. I believe the workers from Africa, India, and Europe are here for a higher paycheck than what's offered back home. Some soldiers work inside the wire every day in finance, supply, motor pool, medical, and planning. Others work outside the wire every few days. But we are all doing the job we have volunteered to do. And we all miss our families, we all hope to leave soon, and we all hope to leave this area better than we found it.

Please feel free to ask any questions about life over here. I will try to answer as soon and as honestly as possible. This is a fascinating place filled with fascinating people, and quite different from what I expected. Imagine what a stranger would think of downstate Illinois if the only information he received came from the Chicago evening news. Well, its just about the same to think one can understand what's happening all over this country just by watching a few network news stories from Baghdad.

Local Iraqis seem mostly concerned with everyday problems, like getting enough water from the canals and rivers to irrigate their crops, or how to keep their herds fed, or how to escape the traffic jams downtown. And many soldiers worry most about the chow hall running out of Coke, or the phone center closing, or the power going down before they could save their work on the computer.

Of course we also encounter mortar and rocket incoming, IED's, and sand fleas, but its a small part of our day--granted, perhaps the most memorable part of the day. Just stay in touch with those you know overseas, it helps to know that you are not forgotten. Blessings till next time.

Shocker out.