Iraq Quick Memory List #1.
ON 1 September I sat in my room and thinking of how I may forget a lot of the things from my time in Iraq. I made a list of one and two word items that would, hopefully, spark my memory over the years to come. I will chop up the list and place a brief explanation next to the more esoteric ones.
BUNKERS - our bunkers were a "U" shaped piece of concrete turned upside down while south in Baghdad they had very elaborate ones with concrete floors and even sandbags sleeving the whole thing.
MUJDAT'S - he was a Turk who owned a shop at Incerlik A.B. Turkey and opened one on FOB Marez. He made kebops and this meat pizza with goat cheese that gave everyone but me the runs. The kebops were the size of a man's forearm and came in beef, lamb, and chicken.
HAJJI SHOPS - they were on every post and FOB in Iraq. Short of toiletries you could get what you wanted there. Booze if you were so inclined. They sold Coke, Pepsi, and a myriad of foreign chocolate that kept me on my dopamine high for the whole tour.
Pop Kek - foreign chocolate cup cake made with just enough crack to keep me hooked the entire tour.
Dust and Duststorms - 0 to midnight in 5 seconds. It gets into everything. Some of my gear is still covered in it even after washing.
No Rain
My Blog
MWR
Protracted Conversations - I have never had so many 12 hour conversations in my life. Maybe that's one reason war is so life changing.
Old Town
Ninevah
Wall of Girls - my conex wall was covered with about 100 different Maxim, Stuff, and FHM pics.
Of course the family pics were next to my head so I could see them before bed.
Queen for a Year - the fattest, ugliest, most obnoxious girls had the pick of the litter for one year. The line was "remember that you are only one plane ride from being ugly again." May be wrong but it happens.
Garbage Everywhere
The Sounds
Down Time
"Mista Mista" - standard Iraq child line said with hands extended out when American's present.
QRF - Quick Reaction Force.
Hajji Movies/Bootleg DVDs
Bad European Music Videos on MTV Europe
VW Passat and Opels - these 2 were 70% of the cars in Iraq, and in white and orange.
IP and ICDC - names for the Iraqi police and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, also known as Ick Dick. Maybe that's why they changed it to ING, Iraqi National Guard.
More to follow...
BUNKERS - our bunkers were a "U" shaped piece of concrete turned upside down while south in Baghdad they had very elaborate ones with concrete floors and even sandbags sleeving the whole thing.
MUJDAT'S - he was a Turk who owned a shop at Incerlik A.B. Turkey and opened one on FOB Marez. He made kebops and this meat pizza with goat cheese that gave everyone but me the runs. The kebops were the size of a man's forearm and came in beef, lamb, and chicken.
HAJJI SHOPS - they were on every post and FOB in Iraq. Short of toiletries you could get what you wanted there. Booze if you were so inclined. They sold Coke, Pepsi, and a myriad of foreign chocolate that kept me on my dopamine high for the whole tour.
Pop Kek - foreign chocolate cup cake made with just enough crack to keep me hooked the entire tour.
Dust and Duststorms - 0 to midnight in 5 seconds. It gets into everything. Some of my gear is still covered in it even after washing.
No Rain
My Blog
MWR
Protracted Conversations - I have never had so many 12 hour conversations in my life. Maybe that's one reason war is so life changing.
Old Town
Ninevah
Wall of Girls - my conex wall was covered with about 100 different Maxim, Stuff, and FHM pics.
Of course the family pics were next to my head so I could see them before bed.
Queen for a Year - the fattest, ugliest, most obnoxious girls had the pick of the litter for one year. The line was "remember that you are only one plane ride from being ugly again." May be wrong but it happens.
Garbage Everywhere
The Sounds
Down Time
"Mista Mista" - standard Iraq child line said with hands extended out when American's present.
QRF - Quick Reaction Force.
Hajji Movies/Bootleg DVDs
Bad European Music Videos on MTV Europe
VW Passat and Opels - these 2 were 70% of the cars in Iraq, and in white and orange.
IP and ICDC - names for the Iraqi police and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, also known as Ick Dick. Maybe that's why they changed it to ING, Iraqi National Guard.
More to follow...
posted by Combat Doc at 10:30 AM
4 Comments:
Oh that ugly fat chick thing is terrible...lol
It's good writing this stuff down, I have forgotton so much...
I starte wrting it all down in a journal and everytime I think of something I go put it in...
It's comming along quite nicely.
Pebble
Just blogging around and found your site. Quite like your description under the title and your memory list entry.
You know you could write a pretty cool memoir by just compiling simple lists like this - - facts like the ones you listed tell an outsider (like me) a story which is pretty interesting. Your tale isn't plot driven but instead it's like a detailed picture - by examining the facts you choose to include, the reader lives the tale.
Maybe try to publish it.
Hello Sir, you commented on my blog (apexregium) and i came back to yours. i'd really like to tell you thank you for everything you do out there. it's guys like you and your team make me want to join the army. i know you don't believe in God, but I do, and i'll be praying for you and your buddies when you go back to the 'Raq.
I'm guessing that the orange VW's were just caked with sand. Also, it's heartening to know that it'll take me a year to start having the flashbacks.
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