Living in Iraq

I got pretty lucky…I only had to live in tent city for a day before getting my CHU (Containerized Housing Unit…basically a CONEX box divided up into living quarters). The tents definitely left something to be desired…and I can’t believe that I’m going to admit that I preferred the tent in Kuwait. The a/c in my tent was kaput and there were about 12 smelly dudes sharing the place. The only bit of humor was that KBR’s temporary billeting saw fit to issue me leopard print sheets. I wish I’d taken a picture.

My original CHU was supposed to be right near the office in the “Omaha Beach” section of Camp Victory. Not too bad, I suppose. The units are all brand new. Each CHU, for those of us that have no rank, sleeps two people. Bathrooms and showers are down the road a piece. There are also many “POJ” around…took me a bit to figure out that POJ stand for “Port O John.” Not to belabor the point but the interior of those plastic hell-holes can top 140 degrees…

Due to circumstances beyond my control there person that was supposed to vacate the CHU so I could move in was still in the room…with no ETD. My options were: stay in the tent for a minimum of another seven days or move to a CHU in the “Dodge City South” section of Victory Base. My CHU at DCS is about as far from the office as it is possible to get on the base…which I guess isn’t really a bad thing. Outside of the long walk some physical and mental separation from the office is probably good for the ol’ mental health. The plus side, however, is my hooch is right near all the “stuff” on the VBC. I’m right near the small PX, Green Beans, the gym, close to one of the MRW sites etc. Far from work, close to the things that make you feel human over here. Good times.

Not really much more to say on that point due to the fact that last night was the first night in about two weeks that I was not living out of a duffel bag. Even though I’m not the tidiest person in the world it did feel normal to fold clothes and take the dirty stuff to KBR. I suppose it is a sign of the times that I was told to come back tomorrow for my clothes instead of the normal three-day wait…sort of weird that things are winding down here just as I’m winding up.