Cancer Alley

The Mississippi River's record-breaking levels prompted the opening of the Spillways north of Baton Rouge and New Orleans this spring. As a result, the cities' populations are out of danger and the petrochemical and oil industries based there have been protected. There was no disruption in production to further damage the national economy. With more extreme weather the vulnerability of such facilities throughout out the country is something to pay attention to .

The stretch along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans has been called "The Petrochemical Corridor." But in some quarters it's also known as "Cancer Alley," a reference to the many cases of cancer reported by communities on both sides of the Mississippi. There are disputes about the cancer statistics. Cases of certain rare cancers in children are above the national average, but according to The Louisiana Tumor Registry, the overall rate of cancer is not higher.

Louisiana gives generous tax breaks to industry and has a close relationship to oil companies brought to light during the BP oil spill crisis. Some say the Department of Environmental Quality has been acting in the interests of industry,too, instead of serving as a watchdog for the people it is meant to protect. . Along the same stretch of river is one of the National Oil Reserve locations as well as Waterford 3, a nuclear power plant serving the New Orleans area ,just yards from a levee. The tsunami in Japan that triggered a melt down at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant raises questions that reverberate in Louisiana. Are safety measures in place to protect plants from natural disasters as the 2011 hurricane season kicks off?
To see more images from this series click here to see a set on Flickr

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.

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/

39th Louisiana National Guard MP Company in Baghdad

I’m at camp Shield, in Baghdad next to Sadr City, embedded with the 39th MP Louisiana National Guard. Many of the Guard here were members of Task Force Gator, including CPL Djernette, SGT. Cromwell, SGT. Lytel, SGT.Morel and CPL. Garner. I got to know then while riding along with them last year in New Orleans. Working with them is great. They are at ease with our cameras and let us do or thing.This unit, like the 2228 serves as PTTs (police transition team) for the IPs (Iraqi Police). They help secure checkpoints and police stations, monitor paperwork, and escort IPAs (international police advisers). Many of the Guard have a background in law enforcement and all were trained to teach the IP’s before deploying, however IPAs give the lessons. The IPAs work for Dynacorp, a company based in TX and Dubai. They are paid more than the guard with salaries upwards of $130K. Many of them have more expertise then Guard. Though many of the guard are qualified to give the classes IPA have been hired for the job. One Guard pointed out, if they had to teach, there would be less people to secure the police station while the IPA teach. The lessons usually last about ½ an hour. The lessons are geared to the attention span of the IPs. Most lessons are in the morning. Not much gets done after lunch. There is a warm exchange between the IPs and the MP’s. Countless rounds of chai (Iraqi tea) are served. The MP’s are updated on what the IP’s do, but do not accompany them on calls to monitor them in action which limits there ability to advise, but leaves crime fighting to the IPs. Their main role is to mentor and advise. Both of which are needed, as the IPs crime fighting techniques are very primitive.

I have visited four different stations and sat in on a few of the training classes. At the special investigations station, we stumbled upon some real bad guys who were handcuffed at the top of the stairs. They had videotaped brutal murders they committed and were more then likely members of JAM. Sgt. Cromwell and Sgt. Duncan watched the tape and were visibly shaken by it.

At another station I visited the jail located past a urine soaked hallway. Four prisoners were taken out of their cells briefly to have biometric images taken. The MP unit stationed here before the 39th, gave up on such pictures as they had many false positive matches. The room the prisoners are kept in had over one hundred people in it. There is not enough room for all of them to sleep at once. The MPs take notes on stuff like that and advise the IPs on improving conditions.

Untill after the holiday all classes are at a stand still. The last few days there have been suicide bombings against the Shia Pilgrims who are marching to Karbala. The Guard are now stationed at checkpoints beefing up a military presence around Baghdad to help quell the violence.

Missions into Basra

Basra sits on the largest reserve of untapped oil in Iraq, yet most of the city is in a state of abject poverty. Sadam Hussein was particularly harsh on Basra- a region of the country he never liked much. During the Gulf War the Shiite majority, supported the Americans and were punished after the war.

The British were deployed to this area first. That is changing now as the Brits pull out and the Americans take over. The 2228th MP Company is helping set up PTT stations (police transition teams)s to train the local Iraqi police. The British were working with the Iraqi army. The Iraqi police (IP) and the Iraqi army (IA) coincide with each other but not peacefully. There are violent acts perpetuated against each group by the other, as well as the threat of insurgents and Hezbollah, who cross the boarder from neighboring Iran. Adding to the problem are citizens living in the projects created by Sadam Hussein, on land he destroyed by draining the areas marshland destroying the eco-system and hindering the economy in the region before the war. These housing units are slums and are a hotbed of criminal activity.

Both missions I went on served doubled as reconnaissance missions. There are no street signs, so the troops plot their course from maps and hi-tech navigation systems. Those tools don’t address medians that cant be crossed and places where the roads are impassible due to the overflow of people at the markets places. The only way to learn the streets seems to be to hit them.

The convoys drew attention since an American presence here is new. Kids come close by to check out the passing vehicles. The forces throw candy at them, a practice meant to prevent them from throwing rocks. Only one kid threw rocks at the convoy that I noted.

The homes, and remnants of the homes are made of concrete block. The cityscape is gray, except for the colorful banners with images of political figures and Mullahs on them,black,red and green Iraqi flags and the occasional fruit stand. Litter is strewn everywhere. The dust and sand blowing around adds to the drabness by blanketing everything.

Basra is pretty calm/safe at the moment. A lot of money has been used for public works and other funds have been spread around to stop the violence - paying for peace and saving lives. The civil military programs have made it clear to the citizens of Basra, that the coalition is trying to do good for the people; this and the fact money is being spread around, have made conditions safer in the region. The squad I was out with was highly alert all the same, at the ready to defend themselves once we left the wire.

We found ourselves taking a route that now has been determined to be not the best way to go. It was like being on the set of “Mad Max”. Once through the junkyard, we got stuck in traffic by the market place. Shoppers weaved in and out of our convoy, for the most part just checking out the soldiers with curiosity. There was one citing of a kid with a toy gun, something we were warned about- kids being given toy guns to taunt the soldiers with. The market area was bustling, a good indicator that signs or life and prosperity are returning to Basra.

The next few weeks I’ll learn more about Basra. Phin and I will be working with Navy Captain Robert Lansden, from Louisiana who is responsible for a lot of the civil military projects in the area.