Najaf

On the 22nd I flew to Najaf in Southwest Iraq. I was on a C-130 that was loaded with supplies for a camp filled with displaced Iraqis. These folks have moved here over the last few years to get away from violence and sectarian fights in other parts of the country. The supplies originated with some charities in the United States and included wheelchairs and shoes and some winter clothing. It’s still hot as hell down south, but the winter in that area can be brutal and it’s better to get them the clothing now than wait for it to get cold.

The cool thing was that the Iraqis took over control of the mission. The airplane belongs to the fledgling Iraqi Air Force and when it landed, the cargo was put on Iraqi Army supply trucks. The Iraqi Army delivered the supplies the next day to the camp.

I ended up with a Provincial Reconstruction Team, which is made up of U.S. Army soldiers and various State Department workers. The team watched over the project, but for the most part, it was coordinated by the Iraqis. Even though the supplies were from the U.S., it was good to see the Iraqis step up to the plate with transportation and delivery.




The camp is in the district of Al Manathirra in Najaf Province. It’s houses more than 3,000 men, women and children in tents and container housing units, which are trailers much like the office I work in. I don’t know why they all ended up here, but they are all Shia and Najaf is mainly Shia. So, I guess they feel protected from whatever violence they fled.




One of the boxes given out was filled with soccer balls. Each ball had the name, PFC Nicholas Madaras written on it. If you want to see what that is all about, go to http://www.kickfornick.com/web/ and check out the ESPN story about this young man and the legacy he left in Iraq. I didn’t know much about PFC Madaras, but most of you know my love for soccer and I had to know more. If you can, check out his story.

We didn’t spend long at the site. The Iraqi Army set up a system to have families come over one or two at a time, grab a bag, and start loading it with the supplies. When we left, that's what they were doing.

My flight back to Baghdad later that day had been cancelled. I didn’t mind hanging out with the PRT for another day. They were all good people and my main contact was an energetic Lt. Col. They made me comfortable and I burned a cd for them of the pictures I had taken.

While I was working on the pictures, the LTC came running in and asked me if I could be ready to go in ten minutes. I told him I was ready. We’d heard some helicopters fly in and he had gone outside to see who it was. He came back and told me it was a couple of birds heading back to Baghdad straight to the IZ (International Zone).

I grabbed my gear and ran to the LZ expecting to see Blackhawk helicopters. Instead, I saw two dark blue Hueys. I’ve seen them over Baghdad and was curious to see who was flying them. They were Americans, but I don’t know who they were with.
We lifted off...myself, two pilots and a couple others in the unmarked helicopter. We didn’t hover long and blasted out of there at a high rate of speed. The ride back to Baghdad was phenomenal. We zoomed low over the palm trees in some areas and zipped back and forth when we crossed barren desert. It was “Map of the Land” flying and I had a window seat. What and adventure.

Problems: I am having trouble posting on the blog. The pictures only show up as code and I can’t move them about. I can log on, but can view my posts. I can’t even read comments, although I can see that there are some. I think they’ve adjusted the system at work and I don’t really have a way to get on the internet otherwise. So, forgive me if there are less pictures and less response to comments. I will try to keep the blog going as best I can. But for now, that be all.