Hi guys:
My Loving (and very strong) wife, Miranda wanted some pictures of me out here in the Baghdad, Iraq combat zone, so here's some pretty cool ones I thought I'd send to alot of people. Feel free to forward them to people you think would be interested on what's going on over here. I'm in the International Zone for the rest of the tour until late May. The IZ or "Green Zone" as we call it is where Saddam's Presidential Palace used to be located in Downtown Baghdad. We secured all of the palace structures, pools, and other multiple small mansions and turned them into mega workspaces for higher ranking military and contractors to do their work out of. Also several thousands line units, Military Police, and infantry soldiers are serviced in pockets here as well. My 3 person team services the psychosocial needs of soldiers and contractors in the International Zone via two mental health clinics and our prevention team that provides educational briefings provided to hundreds of soldiers every months on topics such as stress management, relaxation skills, sleep hygiene, positive thinking (cognitive behavioral strategies), goal setting, COMBAT STRESS MANAGEMENT, and many other exciting topics. All briefings are experiential, and participants walk away with new perspectives and a refreshed perspective.
The pictures are of some of my adventures thus far:
My Loving (and very strong) wife, Miranda wanted some pictures of me out here in the Baghdad, Iraq combat zone, so here's some pretty cool ones I thought I'd send to alot of people. Feel free to forward them to people you think would be interested on what's going on over here. I'm in the International Zone for the rest of the tour until late May. The IZ or "Green Zone" as we call it is where Saddam's Presidential Palace used to be located in Downtown Baghdad. We secured all of the palace structures, pools, and other multiple small mansions and turned them into mega workspaces for higher ranking military and contractors to do their work out of. Also several thousands line units, Military Police, and infantry soldiers are serviced in pockets here as well. My 3 person team services the psychosocial needs of soldiers and contractors in the International Zone via two mental health clinics and our prevention team that provides educational briefings provided to hundreds of soldiers every months on topics such as stress management, relaxation skills, sleep hygiene, positive thinking (cognitive behavioral strategies), goal setting, COMBAT STRESS MANAGEMENT, and many other exciting topics. All briefings are experiential, and participants walk away with new perspectives and a refreshed perspective.
The pictures are of some of my adventures thus far:
Before the Rocket attacks began on Easter day on this area things were fairly peaceful, with palm trees, paved streets, and my very own Mitsubishi Pajero SUV to drive around. Things changed quickly after the first few weeks of March as described below.
We're doing good things here too. In the first picture is me with my Army Medical Corp friends, Troy (being kissed) is an occupational therapist who found this 13 year old native Iraqi girl who is about 3 feet tall with congenital deformities. When we found her she was lying in a concrete home on the concrete floor with a bare rug over it, and could not walk nor prop up or feet herself. We gathered funds to purchase a wheelchair for her with a tray for her to sit at and be able to eat, read and even color while seated upright. The family was very grateful and we all had chai tea in the living room with this loving Iraqi family. Their father used to be an Iraqi soldier who became disabled when fighting against American forces during desert storm. The Iraqi children are very adorable.
I rolled out with civil affairs and assessed the status of mental health referrals from medical clinics in East Baghdad. Being with them I had to go locked and loaded with multiple weapons. The Iraqi children didn't mind though. This little 5 year old guy has seen a soldier in his neighborhood every day of his life since infancy. They ran up to me and high fived me, asking for candy or toys. I gave them candy and we had fun playing with the dog.
Then the rockets hit. On Easter Day I was in church service and the ground shook with the rockets impact. I was huddled in a bunker with about half a dozen full bird colonels. 10 hit that day and 10 averaged a day for the next 10-12 days. Over 186 rockets have hit in our 5 mile zone in the past two weeks, and we're safe as long as we were in hard structures or in bunkers. It's been very very quiet for the past several days. Probably because the third infantry division killed over 180 people in Basra and Sadr City where the rockets were being launced from. We know from within one city block EXACTLY where they're launched from into our zone via satellite infared tracking. Not too smart, but they launch all 10-12 of the day from the same building. At night Special Operations goes in and makes sure they never do it again. God has protected us. Even though I walked through the Valley of the Shadow of death, guess what? You got it, I feared no evil. God controls the winds that determine the trajectory of the rocket fired from a mile away. Enough said. None have come even close to where we've been, and we've been serving people with acute stress reactions all over the International Zone.
The pictures show my team over one rocket hole that hit in a parking lot across from the Presidential Palace (where the bad guys are ALL trying to hit but miss every time because they can't aim). We go there now to provide combat stress services to literal "refugees" living in the Palace (embassy) in homeless style fashion, a large palace looking like the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in parts with cots all up and down the hallways and domed perimeters. The architecture is beautiful with ornate carved Arbaic designs in pastel colors all over the ceilings. I'll take pictures if I can get the 48 hour picture pass.
The last is of a mural etched into marble by Saddam's party on one of the hundreds of smaller Palaces I found interesting. You'll see a large bomb falling from the sky and one has already detonated on the bottom with severed apendages and bodies flying and a woman attempting to pull her child away from the blast.
The Bomb has written on it, "USA". A foreign country's perception of us, etched during desert storm 15 years ago. Shortly after the picture was taken I heard a detonation as another mortar (flying bomb) impacted somewhere out there.
I'm looking forward to coming home, as things are peaceful leading up until are redeployment home.
It's been an unforgettable experience, but it's time to get back to the states. I've become submerged in relationships with poor infantry soldiers, war-torn and with soul, discipline, and commitment of solid gold. Multi-millionaire contractors who are just as war-torn. Relationships with colleagues who have come from all walks of American life to this place, as Psychological healers in a place of unexpected turns around every corner. I've helped the people of Iraq, and seen goodness and Love in their hearts. I guess Iraq is alot like the United States.. you've god some REALLY good people, and some REALLY bad people, and somehow living all together.
See you soon.
Your friend,
Chris
