Last mission
Today was my last mission outside the wire before I leave Iraq. We traveled a short distance off the FOB to a little village where a local big-wig, Dr. Muhammad, lives. There, we all had some Iraqi lunch. Yes, this is the middle of Ramadan and Muslims are supposed to be fasting during the day, but hey, business is business.
The real purpose of the visit was for the local villagers to meet some of our replacements, who officially take over tomorrow at the Transfer of Authority ceremony. My job was convoy commander and Personal Security Detail commander for my commander and the incoming commander, so I really didn’t get to sit in on the festivities too much. We security guys had our lunches brought out to us.
The lunch that I got consisted of chicken (which wasn’t bad tasting), flat-bread, a kind of pastry with meat in it, rice, stuffed peppers, mutton, fruit, and some pastry sweets. People who have eaten at Dr. Muhammad’s have gotten sick before, and I was told to stick to the chicken - which I mostly did. Hopefully, I won’t be barfing it back up again tomorrow.
As I was mostly outside with the security detail, I was inundated with the local kids and their persistent “Mister-Mister,” wanting anything they could get their hands on. The kids over here will stick their dirty little hands (and I do mean dirty) down inside your pockets if you don’t watch them. The love just about anything you give them, but of course, candy is the favorite. We didn’t have any candy, but they seemed satisfied with the pens guys were giving up.
The village itself was dirty, stank, and had a garbage dump right in the middle of it. Meanwhile, the kids are nearly all running around barefoot on dirt and gravel. My feet would last about five minutes before they would be torn up and bleeding - and getting infected.
Overall, it was a good trip. The villagers got to make their pitch for jobs on the base, we got to see some more of the Iraqi countryside (and appreciate the U.S. all the more), and the new guys got to see Iraq for the first time.
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