Visiting the IZ

Today, I got to venture beyond the confines of Camp Victory to conduct business and explore the International Zone (IZ) in downtown Baghdad. They used to call it the "Green Zone" and it is the secured area of U.S. and Government of Iraq (GoI) operations in Baghdad. We turn it over to the Iraqis on the 1st of January, so I wanted to make it down there before more of it becomes off limits. The U.S. will continue to operate in the IZ, but we are consolidating into some smaller compounds (a.k.a. Forward Operating Bases - FOBs) while we turn over things like the Republican Palace which we used as the U.S. Embassy. From Camp Victory, you get there by helicopter or an armored bus called the "Rhino". I took the Rhino convoy and was downtown in no time.

The first thing you notice about the IZ is that there is more green in the form of trees. Granted, these are usually sticking up over the tops of giant T-Walls, so mostly you see concrete everywhere, but it is still greener. When looking at the fancy sidewalks and some of the buildings you also notice that this area used to be (and can be again) very nice. It is also bigger than most people realize, some distances are walkable, but you really want a vehicle or shuttle bus to get where you are going. Despite all the security, there is an immediate sense of being "out in the open" in the middle of a city full of Iraqis. This is a big mental change from being in the middle of enormous U.S. dominated FOB like the Victory Base Complex. I realize it is nothing like really being out in the open in the "red zone", but it is still an adjustment.

I spent some time visiting with our LNO (liaison officer) at the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq (MNSTC-I) and getting familiar with the operation there. MNSTC-I is charged with the mission of training the Iraqi Army and Police and getting them ready to stand on their own. This is a much more involved job than just teaching them how to be a soldier or police officer, we also have to teach them how to run an Army/Police Force from administration to medical support to logistics and maintenance. That is actually the hard part.

I also popped over to the Joint Contracting Command - Iraq/Afghanistan (JCC-I/A) which runs the contingency contracting for anything and everything we need to support the mission that is not provided by our national supply chains. I met up with my friend Shane from my Athens days and we took the opportunity to walk down to the Republican Palace/Old Embassy for lunch so I could see it before it is turned over to the Iraqis in a few days. It is a very "nice" and fancy building in the typical Saddam gaudy style. After lunch, I paid a courtesy call on the commander of JCC-I/A, who is a Navy Supply Corps Rear Admiral. She also has a DLA background, so we chatted for a while about DLA and people we both know. My buddy, Shane, then took me on a quick tour of the IZ, hitting most of the FOBs, the Hands of Victory War Memorial (crossed swords) and Unknown Soldier Monument. These last two were Saddam's monuments to victory in the Iran-Iraq War. The current GoI has indicated they intend to remove at least the Hands of Victory to put up some "less belligerent" monuments. We'll see how that goes.

After a full day downtown, I took the Rhino back to Camp Victory in the dark. Dark buses are always great places to take a little nap. I am glad I was able to visit the IZ before we start turning it over to the Iraqis. We are about to turn another corner in our mission in Iraq and keep getting a little closer to Iraq standing on its own.