We finally made the round trip to the south of our battle space and up along the Tigris. Major Brott had to give Jaba (55th BDE Cmdr) a push in the right direction. It is true that the 55th brigade has just stood up, and in its infancy has a lot of ground to cover before becoming efficient. But for the commander to never have visited one of his four battalions is ridiculous. Major Brott guided Jaba into visiting his own battalion, much to our chagrin, because one of Jaba's battalions was getting little or no support. The fact that the man didn't know how to get to one of his own battalions was evidence enough of his neglect. We drove for quite a long time at a snails pace, stopping several times for Jaba's convoy to ask directions. See one of the pictures above, the soldiers at a check point are sleeping out in the elements.
While we didn't get very close to the Tigris, thankfully since we were in an 18 ton truck and have to tread lightly, the view was spectacular. It is obvious why the place is "the birthplace of man," even now the Tigris is lush and thriving with life. The trip was long, traveling at a slow pace due to the rough terrain and poor road conditions, and of course Col Maraud, aka Jaba seeing for the first time his IA and SOI (Sons of Iraq) checkpoints. Hopefully in a few years, or in my retirement I will be able to come back under different circumstances and see Iraq not from a turret or the seat of an armored truck.
Towards the end of our trip we once again got to see one of the ancient fortifications left by Alexander. I'm still trying to find the time to do some research on the subject.
Tomorrow is a busy day. If there are any questions about the photos, please ask. Hold down the home front for us.
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2 comments:
I have to say, Iraq does not look like what I thought it would. It would be interesting to go see what it looks like in a different setting, hopefully when things settle down. I didn't think you were being literal when you said they are sleeping in the elements! That is crazy. Hope they fix that. Well the kids say hi. Love you.
I thought when we were in Germany that we were in some old places. I didn't know OLD. It sounds like you're truly at the world's birthplace. I can't imagine the feeling it must give you to walk where Alexander's armies did. This is fabulous Greg, and I thank you for this glimpse of something we here have never dreamed of. Keep the blog and photos coming. I love and miss you. Be safe.
Mom
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