Gulf Coast A Year After Ike

Hurricane Ike, a Category 2 storm, hit the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana on Sept 13, 2008. The storm’s surge flooded the coast and caused billions of dollars worth of damage. According to residents of Crystal Beach on Bolivar Peninsula, just east of Galveston, where Ike hit the hardest, there is no official death count. Crystal Beach wasn’t under an order for mandatory evacuation. No one is sure how many stayed behind or how many were lost. Entire houses disappeared with no trace. Much of the peninsula is still uninhabited. Jean Peshenella showed a friend from New York the slab where his cabin used to be. He sold it six months before the storm and feels very lucky. A few more miles east in Gilchrest, Joan Vogel was shocked to find her home relatively damage free. It was one row of houses in from the coast. Only a handful of homes remain there. The pylons holding the house up were cracked, but her windows didn’t break, so her house didn’t flood. She now has beachfront property. Her insurance company covered the repair, but nothing makes up for her missing neighbors.

As I write, Angela Street in Arabi (just outside of New Orleans) is underwater. A heavy downpour is causing some minor flooding, a reminder of the area's vulnerability. Waiting for approaching storms when you are a property owner is no fun. Coastal erosion has added to the mix of already dangerous conditions for those who inhabit coastal areas
and low lying one’s like New Orleans, a reality one must deal with every hurricane season. Whether one acknowledges the connection between global warming and unstable weather conditions or not, hurricanes are a force to be reckoned with.

Watching people rebuild with the Gulf in their backyard and the ruins of damaged structures dotting the landscape left me scratching my head. Yes, it is nice to live next to the sea, even a polluted one. The Gulf Coast from Galveston to Cameron is polluted with all manner of contaminates. A sign on the beach at the Sabine Pass, where Texas and Louisiana meet, warned not to go into the water due to high levels of unfriendly bacteria. But a few miles further east I found people swimming and catching fish; pollution doesn’t lower peoples' desire to enjoy the sea. Why do people go back after a storm and rebuild? There's no single answer, but the concept of “home” is a common denominator. Sony Meaux of Holly Beach, LA is sixty-five and though he lost his home to Hurricane Rita and then a trailer home to Ike, he and his wife Loretta moved into a new trailer home on his lot. He reopened his seafood shop in a giant freezer and sells crabs and shrimp. He doesn’t know anything else and isn’t planning to ever live anywhere else.

The people I spoke to on Bolivar Peninsula and in Holly Beach are frustrated by new government regulations. Many cannot afford to comply with revised building codes. The new codes call for construction at costs much higher than their homes were worth. The Meaux’s were sent a certified letter saying their power will be cut since their trailer home is now an illegal dwelling. The local government is trying to force them out. Coastal communities that were made up of working and middle class people will now be accessible only to the rich. The rich aren’t any more protected in the event of a storm surge than the poor; though some of the hurricane-proof homes did make it through Ike, most did not. A mobile home can be moved before a storm, so it isn’t in danger. But economic factors dictate what's acceptable these days. If a residence has a license plate on it, the owner doesn’t pay property tax. The Meaux’s aren’t asking FEMA (Sonny says he has yet to meet anyone from FEMA) for money; they have spent their own. If the government would stop trying to regulate them, the rebuilding process would happen much faster. He is convinced the new rules are about economics, not safety.

Ike hit as a Category 2 storm. Nothing is in place to stop nature from whipping up a Category 3, 4 or 5. The big one is still an ominous possibility.

Too see a large range  of images from the Gulf Coast click here- Flickr set 

And to watch and hear what coastal residents have to say about what life for them is like a year after Ike watch these video clips 

Sonny Meaux of Holly Beach , LA who has re opened Meaux's Seafood for a third time

Alice on her slab in Holly Beach, a newcomer who bought land after Hurricane Rita

Jean, former property Owner in Crystal Beach explains what the area was like before the storm

New Orleans four years after Katrina

Last year, just before the third anniversary of Katrina, President Bush visited Jackson Barracks, where a 200 million dollar renovation was well under way in the Lower 9th Ward, and reaffirmed his promises: “Together, we are working to make sure that New Orleans comes back - even stronger, safer, and more vibrant than it was before the storm.” He acknowledged more work needed to be done with the tone of a cheerleader, not a world leader. Bush's first view of the devastation after the storm was from the windows of Air Force One. I wonder which neighborhoods he toured before giving his rah-rah speech. Did he see what I was seeing?
A year later as Katrina’s 4th anniversary approaches, a headline in the local paper, the Times Picayuane, reads, “Obama keeps close tabs on New Orleans recovery -- from a distance.” I wonder what these "close tabs" are. Can one know the situation without seeing it for oneself? Block after block of abandoned destroyed homes, a city with the nation's highest murder rate, and many other substantial problems with no plan in place to solve them.
This anniversary, Mayor Nagin's focus won't be remembering the dead. He has said it is time to move on from mourning. Nagin plans to highlight some of the progress made under his administration while his staff scrambles to protect themselves against lawsuits and Federal investigations. The Feds are looking into numerous acts of wrongdoing going up the ladder to Nagin himself.
The 4th anniversary of Katrina is a good time to ask why New Orleans recovery is so far from complete. Ivan Van Heerden, a former professor at LA State University, stated, “If we had the will and one month’s money we spend in Iraq, we could do all the levees and restore the coast.” Many neighborhoods have not recovered much at all, others are threatened by levees that still do not offer protection against a Category 4 storm. While 130,000 troops and countless private contractors remain on stand-by in Iraq in case Iraq proves unable to handle its own security, and while we expand the battlefield in Afghanistan, much of New Orleans resembles a war-torn Third World country.

I have been following the progress of Brad Pitt’s “Make it Right” housing project in the lower 9th Ward since 2007. Currently there are fifteen completed homes and another 150 to be built. I met one of the residents, Lloyd Griffin and interviewed him. Here is a link to a video interview of him http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia19Wodq_sc
To see more images of a photo series on New Orleans right before the 4 years anniversary of Katrina check out this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliedermansky/sets/72157621951982065/

To New Orleans on Katrina’s Anniversary, may the healing process speed up.

In Honor of Primo, a New Orleans Police Dog

Today in New Orleans there was a memorial for Primo, a police dog who died on May 27th. He was left in a vehicle by his handler on an 88 degree day; he ripped the interior of the vehicle up, struggling to get out. The dog suffered a number of seizures, and heat shock. Primo’s temperature was 109.8 before he died. Primo’s handler has been transferred out of the K-9 unit. This is the third K-9 death in New Orleans this year. Now all three are under investigation. Here is a link to the story that has images of the car's interior from the Times Picayune ( warning disturbing images): http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/heat_killed_police_dog_left_in.html

In Primo's honor I'm posting another story from Iraq on other service dogs.

To see a video dispatch Phin Percy Jr. and I created with John Snell for Fox 8, New Orleans click here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYXRzFwXI9c

On March 5, 2009, on Camp Victory I met bomb-sniffing dog Rain, and his handler Corporal Perkins. Perkins had Rain run through the training course before bringing out the rest of the training dogs and their handlers. The dogs are trained to find IEDs (improvised explosive devices) without setting them off. Still, setting them off remains a threat to both the dog and the handler, as do snipers who try to eliminate them while they are on the job. Rain found 17 IEDs on his first deployment in Afghanistan. His work has saved countless lives.

The unit lost one team in Iraq. Seargant Cooper, another canine, and Corporal Wiens, his handler were killed by an IED on July 6, 2007. Copper's kennel was turned into a shrine. Cooper’s collar and Wien’s backpack, sit on top of the empty kennel, a reminder of the dangers the unit faces

Arlington West on Father’s Day

"I thought the war in Iraq was over," I overheard someone say as I approached Arlington West on Father’s Day. With close to 140,000 troops still in Iraq and violence on the rise, the war is hardly over. Things are getting more unstable daily as the June 30th deadline for American troops to stop patrolling the cities and remain on their bases approaches.

It has been close to a year since I last visited Arlington West.  The memorial makes me feel an intense sense of loss every time I visit. The sea of crosses makes the number of dead palpable. My visits to the memorial gave me the inspiration to go to Iraq and learn about the war firsthand. Returning, little has changed except for the memorial's scale. It takes all morning to fully set the memorial up. I recognize most of the volunteers, a core group that shows up every Sunday. Long tape measures are laid out, the crosses staked into the sand, and personal mementos and name cards are added before the symbolic coffins are carried out.

The death toll in Iraq for the week was three. In Afghanistan, it was seven. The last death totals  posted at the memorial: 4315 in Iraq and 711 in Afghanistan, as of last weekend.

I met CLP (combat logistics patrol) Stephen Johnson who found his friend's name on the list of the fallen. He didn’t know about Arlington West and stumbled upon the memorial by chance while visiting Santa Monica. I spotted him as he fondled his dog tags  while looking for a friend’s name on a panel with names of the dead. He was moved to tears as he made a card identifying his friend for one of the crosses. Their Humvee was hit with an IED while they were on a patrol in Sadr City in 2006. Stephen is permanently disabled, both his arm and brain damaged. In California, Stephen told me, vets can get medical marijuana for pain, much better than the pharmaceuticals that he was first offered by doctors. He moved to Long Beach from New Orleans. The war isn’t over for him.

In recent headlines, the governor of South Carolina confessed his extra-marital affair. Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died and there is still unrest on the streets of Iran. The new totals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan is hardly considered breaking news, but they will be posted at Arlington West this Sunday. 

Memorial Day in my hometown

Englewood NJ, my hometown, has an annual Memorial Day Parade. My father used to participate in the parade, riding up Palisade Avenue in his candy red Lincoln Continental convertible. The parade still features convertibles. This year there was a hearse too,

 from Eternity Funeral Home, advertising their services while honoring the troops at the same time.

I met World War Two veteran Joseph Austin and his wife Claire who were locating the names of his friends etched on the Liberty Plaza Memorial

 across from the Palisade Avenue Memorial. Both felt the speeches before the parade should have mentioned the Memorial so people who came out for the parade would take notice and honor the dead. The Memorial has the names of all local soldiers who lost their lives in all the wars America has participated in.

It is easy to forget what Memorial Day is about, with barbecues, shopping and parades with marching bands, dancing girls and beauty queens, unless you are unlucky enough to lose someone in a war. President Obama went to Arlington Cemetery today where he honored the dead and thanked those serving in the military. He laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There were many visitors in Section 60, the area for those who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is know as the “saddest acre in America." I fear Section 60 will continue to grow despite Obama’s dream of world peace.

Iraqi police will be taking over the security of Iraq though many fear they are not ready

Hillary Clinton told the press during her visit to Iraq at the end of April: that the recent upsurge in sectarian violence is a major concern. It is a few terrorists making their last hurrah, as America gets ready to turn the baton of security over to the Iraqis. She is confident, she said, that all will be well. The MPs I have been talking to aren’t as confident and neither am I.

The last five days I have been at FOB (forward operating base) Shield, embedded with the 39th Louisiana National Guard MPs, checking on the progress of their mission. They were tasked as a PTT, police training transition team. While accompanying them to an Iraqi police station in Sadr City, two bombs went off in the sector. Time will tell if the Iraqis are ready to handle their own security or not.

I'm headed back to America. The first leg of my journey back starts the morning of the 9th- with a book and a film in the works on my time in Iraq. Check back for more images and a link to the final story on fox 8 in New Orleans.

Images top: Iraqi police bike with fake flowers / Sgt. Prince putting on her kevlar/MP's stop at check point in Sadr City
Bottom: CL. Jamal at his desk / Preachrd at check point/Car that had car bomb in it which only partially detonated/Al Jazaeer Police Station/Iraqi tank painted with flowers at check point/NaquinNaquin in police commander's office / MP checks for snipers as Phin Percy films on roof of police station /Fake flowers - landscaping at Iraqi police station/Smith takes down numbers of supplies in weapons room at Iraqi police station via flashlight since the station has no power/Craft cleans his nails with knife in commander's office at Iraqi police station

Not even the birds twitter in Maysan Province

While Embed with the 1st Calvary Division at Hunter in Maysan Province I got a taste of what it is like for those in the military who are roughing it. No “surf and turf” on Friday night (lobster tails and overcooked steak provided by KBR are served on the larger bases every Friday). An American presence was introduced to the Maysan Province to stop the flow of 

weapons and insurgent across the Iranian border through the marshland in 2008. The 1st Calvary out of Forthood TX. was tasked with building two bases from scratch, Hunter and Gary Owen and to train the Iraqi border police.




When they arrived in August they slept outside with sand flies and camel spiders. They have been battling the elements ever since. While consuming a less than nutritious diet
and coping with frustration caused by teaching lacksidasisical students instead of fighting an enemy in a combat situation as they were trained to do. The most dangerous bullets they have had to duck were those from an Iraqi officer who didn’t put his safety on. The IP sprayed the company commander’s legs with bullets when greeting him with a handshake. PAO/Medic Schenk referred to going to breakfast as getting "plate of disappointment,” illustrating that many have kept a sense of humor.

All at Hunter have found their own way to cope while accomplishing their mission. Everyone has a stash of rations tucked away. Including the medic who is a good source for hand sanitizer. Their deployment is almost up and their mission in many ways a success, home is on all of their minds. Numerous caches of weapons have been confiscated since they beefed up security in the area. While many bases are being turned over to the Iraqis early summer, Hunter and Owen are still growing.




Maysan Province is home of the Marshland Arabs, a nomadic people who live off the land. Their environment was practically destroyed by Saddam Hussein, when he drained the marshes after the uprising in 1991. The marshes began recovering in 2003 when many of the dams were broken, re-flooding the area; however there has been a drought the last two years and the area is becoming barren again. The troops patrol the villages and take note of the peoples needs. The PRT (provincial reconstruction team) working in the area is trying to provide people with basic needs, which are numerous here.

At the border forts built during British colonial rule, the troops give lessons ranging from how to search cars to how to give an IV. The daily visits include a lot of tea drinking and hanging around. Lacking is enthusiasm from the IPs to learn and fuel for the generators so the forts are often with out electricity. Water buffalo, donkey, dogs and cats add to the mix. The marshland and encroaching desert make for a picturesque background to document the action. (or lack there of).

The drought over the last two years and water control issues stemming from Iran and Turkey have once again made life for the Marshland Arabs difficult. Through a translator a family told us their children were sick and requested water. In larger villages, there was an outbreak of cholera that killed at least four children. Boats line the side of a dried up stream. It is hard to image this land was once thought of to be the Garden of Eden.





Returning to The rirbase at Tallil I read about a new initiative introducing Twitter to Iraq. The U.S. State Department is sponsoring a "New Media Technology" delegation to "explore new opportunities to support Iraqi government and non-government stakeholders in Iraq's emerging new media industry." Since the Provincial reconstruction teams have their hands full with projects dealing with clean water and electricity I don't see the implementation of Twitter before the 2011 pull out.

"Breakfast time ... Lots of helicopters ... Met the president of Iraq ... Amazing palace," wrote Jack Dorsey, Twitters cofounder. Even he had trouble finding a place to go online during his mission to introduce Twitter to Iraqi officials The people of Maysan Province are lucky if they will get to hear birds “tweeting” since the water is all drying up. Jack Dorsey and the others in his group wont be leaving the Green Zone, I bet. He won’t get a chance to see Iraqi’s pressing needs as he “ tweets” away at the presidential palace.

Easter In Iraq at Ur

Ur is the biblical birthplace of the Prophet Abraham. The remains of what is thought to be his home and the largest ziggurat in Iraq are there. Iraq in ancient times was known as Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization. It has many archeological sites that have biblical references.

A group of Army chaplains decided to hold a sunrise Easter mass at the site of Abraham’s home. It is probably the last time such a mass will take place, since the site is being returned to the Iraqis on May 13th. The service began with a sing- along of Christian music lead by four chaplains playing acoustic instruments. Chaplain Lockett from North Dakota led the mass from on top of one of the remaining walls of Abraham’s home. He gave a brief history of the site and told the story of Abraham before talking about Jesus Christ and Easter. Soldiers listened intently and prayed with their M16s slung over their shoulders.

After the service a group of soldiers went over to the ziggurat where Dave, an Iraqi, whose family has looked after the site for generations, gave them a tour. He is not looking forward to the turn over of authority, as he fears the Iraqis wont respect the site as much as the Americans do.

At the defact (mess hall), there was an Easter meal of Cornish hens and prime rib. I ate jellybeans and chocolate kisses that were wrapped in pastel colored tinfoil. No peeps, but there was a cake shaped like a cross with buttercream frosting and big pink roses.

British Forces Say Goodbye, Leaving Americans Authority in All of Iraq

British Major General Andy Salmon turned over his command to US Major General Michael Oates at a transition ceremony. They shook hands and then shared an unscripted embrace. 

The ceremony marked the end of the Multi-National Division South East as well as the handover of power. Now the entire southern region is under one division headed by General Oates of the 10 Mountain. General Odierno, General Austin and General Allen attended the ceremony along with Iraqi Major General Hawedi Mohamed and 250 guests. The ceremony took place at Basra's airport where the Americans landed for the event, and the Brits took off right after. 

The Brit’s flew in a marching band of the highest caliber. They played American and British traditional marches under the warm Basra sun. All of the speakers stressed what the British had accomplished by bringing stability to Basra, even though it is still far from safe. Compared to 2003, Basra is much safer; however, while  General Salmon was having  meeting his last meeting with his entire unit when an air raid siren went off and everyone had to hit the deck.  Although it was a false alarm the base was hit twice in the last couple weeks with  one fatality. Those involved in the ceremony spoke about Basra’s newfound peace but also acknowledged there is more work to be done. General Oates made light of the differences and some animosity that has been in the air pre-transition by saying “Although we not do agree when it comes to football, we agree on most of the rest” and General Austin talked of the bond that comes from spilling blood together for a common good. Chief Air Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup spoke about the British sacrifice, the number of British dead (179) and money spent- figures that pale in comparison to the cost in American and Iraqi lives. General Austin thanked General Salmon by saying the fact that the British are leaving is a sure sign of their success.” Thanks for being part of the core team”.

The Americans have no qualms about taking over and they are changing most everything overnight. Signs on the base are being replaced, as well as the menus in the mess halls--less curry and more fried food. Some British troops will remain on the base until the end of July but the power is now in American hands.Talk of the British commitment in building Iraq’s confidence and security were over shadowed by the fact American forces are bringing in troops to fill the void on the base. The American troops are yet to say, “Mission accomplished,” as Andy Salmon said in regard to his troops' role. The British did complete their stated objectives. The Americans are hunkering down in Basra for the long haul.

A Day Out With the 39th MP Company in Sadr City

I’m back on Camp Shield with the 39th Louisiana National Guard MP Company. There are new T-walls (concrete barriers) and bunkers made of sandbags. The threat has increased here since our last visit. There were a few rocket attacks nearby and one since we have been back. Other than that, it is business as usual, MP’s going to mentor the IPs (Iraqi Police) and PSD teams (personal security detachment) conducting investigative missions with Iraqi judges. There are slews of private contractors too, doing all manner of jobs, from teaching Iraqis the art of public relations to picking up garbage around the base. KBR mans the fire department and most everything else, except the security, which is contracted to EODT. EODT employs Ugandans and KBR subcontracts menial labor to a variety of third world countries creating a multicultural envirornment on the base.
The base is small. Everyone has gotten used to seeing a couple of reporters (Phin and myself) walking around and most are happy to talk to us, including the head of the cafeteria (a KBR employee) who let us know he could be fired if seen talking to us. This morning we just wanted breakfast, no interviews, but let him speak his mind all the same. Having a press badge must be similar to what it is like to be a priest sitting in a confessional.

On our first mission out, we returned to an Iraqi police station made up of three stations in one, know as the Tri Station. On the way there we stopped at a police checkpoint and checked out the sheep in the meat market across the street that get slaughtered on site when purchased. After the station visit we went on a foot patrol along what is know as the Golden Wall- a barrier made up T-walls encircling the southern part of Sadr City. It was put up a year ago to stop the flow of insurgents and weapons. The walled off part of Sadr City is home to some members of JAM (Jaysh al-Mahdi Militia) and Al Qaeda. The MP’s and most IP’s don’t venture inside, keeping their patrols to the perimeter only.

In the station, we went to check on three new prisoners from Iran who were drawing a lot of interest from different parties including internal affairs officers and fashionably dressed humanitarian representatives. Some of the prisoners put on a show for our cameras, making animal noises and laughing with the National Guard while the Iranian prisons biometric information was taken. The situation was bordering mayhem as prisoners were taken out one by one to visit a doctor in a tight corridor. The IP’s opened one cell door long enough for me to take a few pictures after warning me the prisoners were dangerous. The cells are overcrowed. Many of the prisons have yet to be charged despite being incarcerated for lengthy periods of time. The Iraqi justice system like the police system is in early stages of being revamped by Americans hired to mentor and advise them, helping the Iraqis to transform their justice system to emanate a western one. Lt. Owsley told me the MPs have advised the Iraqis to address the overcrowding situation before the Red Cross comes and closes the place down. Prisons all over the country are overcrowded. Bucca, an American-run prison in southern Iraq, is in the process of being closed despite fact many inmates are still thought to be insurgents. The Iraqi courts lack evidence to prosecute them so many are being set free.

From the station we went to a checkpoint at the Golden Wall. The MP’s met up with a group of IP’s, to train them to conduct community oriented policing practices. This entails walking around the neighborhood showing their presence while at the same time being friendly, letting the citizens get used to having IPs on the job since policing has been done by the IA (Iraqi Army) up until now. The police are not trusted and it is part of the MP s mission to help the IP build trust with the people. The IPs were a little awkward at first, but became more gregarious as we walked along the wall, saying hello and shaking hands with all the shop owners along the way.

The wall’s security value seems to have paid off. JAM stopped shelling the Green Zone shortly after the wall went up and more businesses have reopened. The wall also is a giant canvas. It is covered with murals as far as the eye can see that were financed with $100,000 from MNFI (Multi National Forces Iraq) — the US lead coalition.

Baghdad's Flintstone Village

The Al Faw Palace Complex in Baghdad is located within the boundaries of Victory Base. It is a sprawling compound Saddam began building during the Iran Iraq War. Building went on until 2003 when American bombs began to fall. Man-made lakes surround all the palaces and villas, adding a tranquil, surreal feeling to the artificial landscape. The Al Faw Palace is used as division headquarters. It is across from the JVB (Joint Visitors Bureau Hotel) where I am staying once again. Visitors hit golf balls from the veranda out toward the palace, occasionally hitting the bulletproof windows. I have yet to go on a tour of the Al Faw Palace but did make an unscheduled visit and got to see the massive chandelier in the foyer. I went on the weekly Sunday of the Victory Over America Palace (left unfinished) and the Batthe Party house and got a welcome history lesson on the palace complex.
My favorite part of the complex is Flintstone Village, which is across the lake from the Victory Over America Palace. Saddam Hussein was a big fan of the Flintstones and had the complex modeled after the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, for his grandchildren to play in equipped with miniature golf coarse and elevators. Saddam commissioned the life-sized playground was after having his daughter’s husbands killed.. The sons in law, made the mistake of criticizing his regime and then returning to Baghdad after being in exile, accepting an invite from Saddam who asurred them all was forgiven. Flintstone Village was meant to be a gift meant to take thier minds off thier murdered fathers
Today, the Village's remains are another spot where the military leaves their mark in the way of graffiti. There are still patches of astro turf and a great view of the ruins of the Victoy Over America Palace, that I will post pictures of in my next entry.

Suicide Bombings And A Fishing Tournament In Baghdad

Things are heating up in Iraq. When the first of two recent bombing incidents took place, I was covering a quirky lifestyle story. “Operation Catch Fish,” the second annual fishing competition in Iraq. That afternoon, in eastern Baghdad a suicide bomber killed 26 at the Police Academy practically in the backyard of FOB Shield, the base I was staying on a couple weeks back. Then today (Tuesday 3/10/09) another attacker struck a Peace a Reconciliation Conference in the western part of the city killing 33. I got the news via Yahoo. The odds of being on the scene of an incident aren’t very high and getting to the scene of a bombing isn’t easy to orchestrate. Covering a story like that would be the luck of the draw - being at the right/ wrong place depending on your viewpoint.

Decorations for the fishing competition were provided by KBR, a few pink flamingos staked into the ground across from Flintstone Village. Saddam Hussein built Flinstone Village, a playground for his grandkids modeled after Bedrock, straight from the cartoon-more on that in my next entry about the Al Faw palace complex. There were non-alcoholic beers on hand and Operation Catch fish T-shirts. Joe Mercurion and Eric Mannino came up with the concept and made it a reality by getting a handful of sponsors including one who donated the poles.
Corporal Jason Spakman caught the winning fish, a 13-pound carp in front of the unfinished "Victory Over America Palace." A Palace Sadam Hussein was not able to finish. It was bombed in 2003 along with many other sites that make up the Al Faw Palace Complex, which was used by the Bathe Party big shots. Now it is headquarters to American military. The man made lakes around the complex are stocked with bass and carp. Soldiers fish at various spots along the banks. Jason recieved a 26 inch flat screen TV as his prize. This year 450 troops participated in the event, up from 250 the first year. The organizers plan to bring another 250 poles next year despite talk of a draw down of troops.

images all shot during competition. Top bottom right is an image of the winner with winning fish in from of the Victory Over America Palace

Bone Yard in Balad Iraq

The airbase in Balad is enormous and drab. It is a landscape of T-walls and motor resistant protected buildings. Grey is the predominate color highlighted only by Iraq’s spectacular sunrises and sunsets. I asked Sargent Hoke, the Public Affairs office that was assigned to escort Phin and I during out stay there, if there was something quirky on the base. The Bone Yard, an aircraft graveyard is what she came up with. Off we went in a jumbo SUV to find the site. Hoke led the way into an area marked, "Do not enter". The Bone Yard has dozens of broken Russian made Iraqi Migs and a few destroyed tanks and armored vehicles covered in graffiti.
Graffiti can only be found in this isolated spot on the base. There is plenty of it to make some good photos and infuse the war with some color.

What was once the pride and joy of Saddam's military might is now nothing more than a backdrop for soldiers (and journalists) to take a souvenir portrait.

Iraq by Blackhawk

In Balad I’m staying in the transient housing comprised of dusty two story buildings with broken down heaters and dilapidated appliances down the road from the MWR (moral welfare and recreation building), walking distance to the mess hall all run by KBR. There is hot water and it is quiet at night. Factors that make up for anything the rooms lack. For a war zone, I’m still staying pretty well.

We are now embedded with the Task Force 34 - a mixture of different units that include members of the Louisiana National Guard. The brigade is broken down into battalions and the battalions into companies. We are working with, Task Force Voodoo, the 244th battalion code name. The companies within it have picked superheroes to identify themselves. Patches on their uniforms and painted logos on the flight line add character to the drab surroundings.


The Battalions tasks include supporting other battalions from the skies in Blackhawks, moving troops, civilian and contractors around (air taxi service) and conducting air assault missions which involves moving troops into sensitive areas to carry out offensive maneuvers. The battalion also does humanitarian missions when need arises. Assault missions are top secret, so we have only been able to accompany the Guard on Baghdad taxi runs. The Blackhawks aren’t like the taxis I’m used to, so it has been exhilerating to see and photograph Baghdad from the skies while making a ring run around the bases.

Most of the 244th have served in Iraq before. Many were deployed in New Orleans during Katrina. The Guard speak of the improvements they have seen since the early part of the war and the missions they were on after Katrina. Colonel Bosetta reminds his troops to stay vigilant as their deployment is almost over but it is still dangerous territory to fly over. He pointed out that the Louisiana Army National Guard air crews were unsung heroes during the rescue operations after Katrina. They rescued over 10,000 people off rooftops using blackhawks that were able to hold up to thirty people at a time.

Movement by helicopter is the most efficient and safest way to get around Iraq. It costs $6000 an hour to operate the Blackhawk so it's safe to say, it isn’t the cheapest. There are hundreds of blackhawks in the air, weather permitting. For them to fly by day the standard is 2 miles visibility, at night less so. Captain T. Slayton of the Minnesota National Guard is a financial advisor by trade, and a weatherman for the 34th Brigade. He chuckled when asked about the difficulty of his job predicating weather here. From the time he makes a call until the time a pilot looks out across the runway, the dust conditions can change.

Seeing Baghdad from above reveals how large and full of life the city is. Like most capital cities, it is sprawling. Moving around in armored vehicles limits ones visibility, as do the protective T-walls along main streets. From the sky one can see much movement, active markets and lots of traffic. The scars of the city are also visible; whole swatches of land are still devastated from the war. The pilots made sure to point out some of Baghdad’s landmarks and get us in close so we could shoot. SGT. Derusk stressed how much better the city looks to him now then did during his first tour. To me, it looks pretty bleak, though full of life.

General McKinley (chief of the National Guard bureau) visited the base to check in with the troops and make a first hand assessment of where things stand in Iraq. During an unscheduled interview he granted us, he gave us a brief history of the guard and talked about their importance to America. Since 9/11 almost every member of the Guard has been called up to serve on foreign ground and in the next years he doesn’t see their role abroad lessening. He gave us both a coin (a momentum with his name and signature on it), a military tradition to show appreciation. These coins come in handy at any bars near military bases. Especially one from a four star general as the person with a coin from the highest ranking soldier never pays for drinks. I am not one to hold on to souvenirs, but I’ll keep this one.

When I asked here if there was anything quirky on the base, Sgt. Hoke, a public affairs representative, took us to a graveyard of broken planes and tanks . Graffiti covered broken Migs and totaled armored vehicles added literary context to Iraq. It is all about who you are, who your family is, who love and where you are from.

to read more about the the Louisiana Army National
Guard air crews click this link- http://www.TaskForce34.org/

Mardi Gras Parade in Baghdad -None Wounded vs. Seven shot in New Orleans

           

Seven were wounded by gunshot fire in New Orleans on Mardi Gras Day during a parade in the Garden District.

There was no violence on Camp Shield in Baghdad, where Phin and I documented the first Mardi Gras Parade in Iraq, put on by the LA National Guard. For some residents of the camp, it was their first taste of Mardi Gras, including all the private security guards from Uganda. For a moment one could forget they were in Iraq. 

Reading headlines on Yahoo last night brought the state of New Orleans back to mind.

 Task Force Gator is winding up their mission in a couple of days. Will New Orleans be able to  hold it toghether without the National Guard?