Camp Taqaddum

Camp Taqaddum or TQ for short is located in Central Iraq, 74 kilometers west of Baghdad.

It is on the outskirts of Ramadi. This means it is inside of the dangerous al Anbar Province.

This camp used to be known as Camp Ridgeway by the United States Army. The Marines decided the names of all of the camps should have an Iraqi sound so Camp Ridgeway is now known as Camp Taqaddum or TQ.

In the midst of danger and desert, cool breezes blow throughout TQ. Where are they coming from?

Yes, a lake! A big, beautiful, blue lake sits behind the camp. No, the military cannot use the lake for recreational purposes, but along with the refreshing breezes it gives off, the personnel stationed at TQ can forget they are in a war zone when they gaze at peaceful Lake Habbaniya.

This lake is not a fresh water lake as there is some saline in the water. It is a shallow, natural lake that holds overflow floodwater from the Euphrates River which is about 10 kilometers away from it.

The water is used for irrigation by the people living in the fishing villages all around Lake Habbaniya. These villages are friendly to the United States personnel.

The water from Lake Habbaniya has been used to hold overflow water from the Euphrates for irrigation for about 6,000 years now, starting back in ancient Mesopotamia.

Camp TQ has an airfield with two runways. The airfield is named Greene Field.

Lt. Col. David S. Greene was a reserve Marine AH-1W Super Cobra pilot with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 775, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

Sadly, he was killed by small arms fire while flying a mission on July 28, 2004. So on August 22, 2004, the Marines at Camp Taqaddum dedicated this field to him.

Camp Taqaddum is home to a beautiful new medical facility that houses the Surgical Shock Trauma Platoon. This unit saves the lives of military and civilian personnel alike who are injured in the line of duty.

TQ has one of the finest defac's that I have ever eaten in. The food is excellent, certainly the best I have had in Iraq. They use real plates and silverware. No plastic here! This is unusual in Iraq. Normally, disposables are used. I guess they can do this because water is not in short supply with the lake being on the border of the base.

The PX here is better and nicer than the one at Al Asad.

There are internet cafes where you can pay $4 an hour to hook up to the internet, whether you bring in your own laptop or you use one of their computers. That $4 hooks you up to the internet to e-mail your loved ones, send and receive photos, do your banking and internet shopping, etc.

There is also a great MWR (recreational facility) where you can hook up to the internet for free. The difference is here if you are not military, you are bumped to the back of the line. Military personnel have preference. If you are a civilian waiting to use a computer and a soldier comes in, guess what? The soldier gets the next available computer and you continue to wait, hoping and praying that no more soldiers come in until you get on a computer.

The MWR has a gym and intramural sports are played there.

Camp Taqaddum also features cookouts and movie nights for the soldiers when they are not on duty.

There is a Jim Bean coffeehouse if you are a coffee lover like I am.

The only thing that Camp Taqaddum does not have is fast food. Not one fast food joint on the whole base. But the defac food is so good that you really don't miss it.

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