Adventure In Balad Iraq

Balad Iraq could be and was a very dangerous place.

Our adventure in Balad Iraq started when we had taken a trip up to Camp Danger in Tikrit. On the way home to Baqubah, our adventure began.....

We had loaded ammo on one of our trucks and were ready to leave with a military convoy by 14:00. We thought that if there were no problems, we could get back to base just before nightfall.

But, Murphy's law came into play and there were problems. First of all, one of the Humvees escorting us broke down. It took some time to get a tow bar hooked on it so we could continue moving.

Then, we came to the outskirts of Balad Iraq. Several helicopters were flying over so we stopped. There was an IED in the road. Good reason to stop.

The EOD team had been called in and would be there in a few hours. Swell. So a decision was made that our convoy would detour through Balad's back roads.

These back roads were very narrow so we had a great view into the backyards of each house. In almost every yard were camels, sheep, and cows. The yards themselves were small--about the size of yards in suburban America. They were much too small for that kind of livestock.

And the children in Balad,Iraq, there were hundreds of them, came out of every house in the town. They were waving at us and cheering. They were hoping we would stop and give them chocolate as some soldiers do.

In all of this confusion, we slowly made our way through the narrow child and livestock packed community of Balad Iraq. It was nerve wracking because we were worried that someone would show up around the next corner with an RPG.

As we drove through the community of Balad Iraq, our trucks exhaust stacks were so tall that they were breaking electrical lines. We could see where the lines had been patched many times before.

We came to the mosque. This was a much harder line but we were able to pass under it. The truck behind mine was not. So instead of breaking the line, the truck stopped. We could not believe it. They called us over the radio that they could not get under the wire. They hoped the Iraqis would move the wire so they would not have to break it. The Iraqis would move it for a price. They actually wanted us to pay them not to break their electrical lines!

So we had a standoff for about thirty minutes. During this time, our military escort went back to check on the truck. We were alone, surrounded by hundreds of excited Iraqis. It was scary.

Finally, when they realized we would not pay for the privilege of not snapping their wires, the Iraqis moved them so our truck could get through.

We made it back to base right after dark with no other incidents.Our two day trip turned into three days, but we arrived safe and sound with much-needed materials and only one broken window. God is good.

Go to Home Page from Balad Iraq.

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