When I returned from leave on the 23DEC, I was immediately assigned as an IO (Investigating Officer) for a situation concerning improper use of the network. The only thing good about the investigation is that it allowed me to do some traveling off of JBB. I was suppose to Skye my family on 27DEC as that is when they were celebrating Christmas, but due to the circumstances and timing of events, if I left on the 27th I could catch a non-stop flight to Tallil, the beginning of my investigation. There was a special mission leaving that night via helicopters and I was able to piggyback on their flight an if all went well, I could return with them the next day. This sounded more appealing than flying on a C130 standby, hoping to get on. Other than decorating the DFAC with all kinds of cool sculptures made of food, Christmas was just another day here in Iraq.
In Tallil, is the city of Ur (I included a link on a little history of this city under History), in short it is considered the birthplace of Christianity and civilization. There was a tour starting at 1000 that I would have loved to attend, but I did not know the course my investigation was going to take and as you can imagine, after all is said and done, I would have had time…oh well, perhaps another time.
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I wrapped up my portion of the 15-6 (Informal Investigation) in Tallil, jumped back on a UH64 (Blackhawk) and headed back to JBB. The next stop on my 15-6 is BIAP (Baghdad International AirPort). I flew down there on FRI, 02JAN09. Oh, I should mention that my ringing in of the New Year was not that spectacular, Me, Grupe and Garret partied at our CHU with NA beer and watched a movie….ok, back to BIAP. The flight done there was neat as me flew during the day so I could catch a glimpse of what he country side really looks like outside my narrow scope of JBB. Surprisingly it is kind of green out there with lots of palm trees, I guess after all this is supposed to be the home of the Garden of Eden. It has gotten so cold that on the shallow puddles in the field, you could actually see the sun reflecting of the thin layers of ice, who would have thunk it!!
BIAP is quite interesting; it is actually made up of numerous Bases know as Victory Complex (Camp Liberty, Camp Victory and Camp Slayer), see the links in History for more details. Well since I missed out on the last historical trip of a lifetime, this time I planned to see some sites. Apparently the first meeting I had here, the individual was not ready to see me, so to stall; my escort took me to the Radwaniyah Palace, also known as the Presidential Place, this is/was the nicest palace in Iraq, you will see me sitting in the chair that Yasser Arafat gave to Saddam. All the lakes in Baghdad are man made, there is history behind having control of such an abundance of water you can send an email and ask or search on your own, but Saddam had them stocked with a special breed of fish, they look like a cross between a catfish and a carp. Apparently now, the water is no longer safe to swim in.
After I met with who I needed to meet with and get the information I needed, I signed up to go on the “Victory Over America Palace” tour. Saddam was actually building a palace named that. He had a palace built called “Victory Over Iran” and the VOA was being built to inter mesh with the VOI palace. The VOA was the place that the first bombs (see JDAM link) of the Iraq “war” hit. In the pics you will see the damage. In all the sculptures or carved art work in the palace, Saddam had his initials inset.
The next place the bombs hit was the Bathe Party House. It is report that 250 members of Saddam’s party members died with that strike and if it would have happened 15 minutes later, Saddam would have been there.
There is a picture of a swimming pool with a black stain in it. This pool was never filled with water, it was where Saddam executed his people if they messed up, or if he was just having a bad day, I will let you guess on what the stain is from….The big open bays of this building is where the boats docked, and because Saddam did not like the heat, he actually had this outdoor area cooled by AC. He was also fond of chandeliers, in the Bathe House use to be one of the largest chandeliers in the world...not anymore!!
Most of the buildings you will see in the water are actual brothels, Saddam believed and certain Muslims believe that no sins can be committed on water. So Saddam and all his cabinet staff had their own brothels, Saddam’s personal one is with building with the Hearts carved in it, and just to the left of that building is the house where Saddam’s mother-in-law lived.
In some of the other pics you will see “Flintstone Village” that Saddam had built for his grand children after he murdered their fathers (Aka Saddam’s son-in-laws), as you can see he was a real nice guy.
One last Saddam story…he had over 70 palaces throughout Iraq and since he never stayed in one place for more than a night, the palace staff had to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner at every palace, everyday, just in case he showed up!
Still to come: 101st Airborne 12 mile road march, MN Hockey Day, and other stories….as always, enjoy the pics.
2 comments:
Almost 10 years of my life went into the guidance of the JDAM bomb... I remember the first tests during the Kosovo conflict. They were a hug success and it was awesome. JDAM will always be one of my favorite programs ever. Also worked on GATGAM, JSOW, Stinger, Paveway, Hellfire, and many others.
Were there Iraqis killed in the VOA palace attack?
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