Friday, December 10, 2004
Changing Lodgings
We moved back into the main compound. The change came as part of a personnel rotation. We were told that we were moving because incoming leadership wanted the building for their own personnel. This was rather annoying because we (my old team leader, Reed, in particular) had worked hard to make building inhabitable. Missing windows were boarded up, rooms were wired with electricity, air conditioning units were put in. Reed even led a project to put in a sump pump so we could shower and wash our clothes in the building. Certainly, we were well motivated to do the work; we had the tightest accommodations in the company: 180 sq ft for five of us. Being in the Guard means you don’t get the nicest quarters, especially if you move around a lot. “Hey, we’ve been saving this building just for you part timers!” At Camp Falluja, we were the only ones living in the black out area.
Getting the needed supplies to make the building livable would normally be very difficult, but one day we provided security for a mission led by a quartermaster officer. He appreciated what we were doing, so he got us everything we needed: refrigerators, a freezer, wiring supplies, plywood, and hardware.
A while after to we got settled, we decided to spread out even more, cleaning junk of rooms, boarding up more windows, stringing more wire, etc. My roommate, Kip, and I had one of the biggest rooms in the company: 240 sq ft. Of course, once the building started looking good and we had more room than people had back at the main building, people starting complaining that we had too much room. One of the platoon leaders who thought his guys were getting screwed, took the First Sergeant (1SG) through our barracks to show him the injustice. Thankfully, nothing came of it.
Once we were told that we were moving, we held off on further improvements. But, then we were told we weren’t moving after all, so I took some time to insulate a boarded up window. I pulled down the sheet of plywood covering a window opening and Kip help me replace it with two sheets of wood with insulation (Styrofoam, reams of paper, books) sandwiched between them. As I worked, some guys from the new unit came by taking a bed inventory. I just figured they were looking for extra bunks, but a few hours later, we found out we were moving again. So, we moved back into the 180 sq ft rooms, fortunately only three of us this time. For five months, almost half the deployment, we had it good. We have to be thankful for that.
As soon as a barracks or even a room is empty, the scrounging starts. This is somewhat orderly: US personnel in the building first, then US personnel in the compound, and then Iraqi nationals. Items sought are better lockers, shelves, extension cords, and anything that might be of use, but had to be left behind because of limited space either in transport or in the new quarters.
A few weeks before a move, the “For Sale” sign start going up and as the move gets closer, the prices start going down. Refrigerators, TVs, cell phones, stereos, and video games are the big ticket items. The day some of the guys moved out, I saw a sign for a Play Station 2 for $20.
We moved back into the main compound. The change came as part of a personnel rotation. We were told that we were moving because incoming leadership wanted the building for their own personnel. This was rather annoying because we (my old team leader, Reed, in particular) had worked hard to make building inhabitable. Missing windows were boarded up, rooms were wired with electricity, air conditioning units were put in. Reed even led a project to put in a sump pump so we could shower and wash our clothes in the building. Certainly, we were well motivated to do the work; we had the tightest accommodations in the company: 180 sq ft for five of us. Being in the Guard means you don’t get the nicest quarters, especially if you move around a lot. “Hey, we’ve been saving this building just for you part timers!” At Camp Falluja, we were the only ones living in the black out area.
Getting the needed supplies to make the building livable would normally be very difficult, but one day we provided security for a mission led by a quartermaster officer. He appreciated what we were doing, so he got us everything we needed: refrigerators, a freezer, wiring supplies, plywood, and hardware.
A while after to we got settled, we decided to spread out even more, cleaning junk of rooms, boarding up more windows, stringing more wire, etc. My roommate, Kip, and I had one of the biggest rooms in the company: 240 sq ft. Of course, once the building started looking good and we had more room than people had back at the main building, people starting complaining that we had too much room. One of the platoon leaders who thought his guys were getting screwed, took the First Sergeant (1SG) through our barracks to show him the injustice. Thankfully, nothing came of it.
Once we were told that we were moving, we held off on further improvements. But, then we were told we weren’t moving after all, so I took some time to insulate a boarded up window. I pulled down the sheet of plywood covering a window opening and Kip help me replace it with two sheets of wood with insulation (Styrofoam, reams of paper, books) sandwiched between them. As I worked, some guys from the new unit came by taking a bed inventory. I just figured they were looking for extra bunks, but a few hours later, we found out we were moving again. So, we moved back into the 180 sq ft rooms, fortunately only three of us this time. For five months, almost half the deployment, we had it good. We have to be thankful for that.
As soon as a barracks or even a room is empty, the scrounging starts. This is somewhat orderly: US personnel in the building first, then US personnel in the compound, and then Iraqi nationals. Items sought are better lockers, shelves, extension cords, and anything that might be of use, but had to be left behind because of limited space either in transport or in the new quarters.
A few weeks before a move, the “For Sale” sign start going up and as the move gets closer, the prices start going down. Refrigerators, TVs, cell phones, stereos, and video games are the big ticket items. The day some of the guys moved out, I saw a sign for a Play Station 2 for $20.
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