Desert Sandstorms In Iraq And Afghanistan

Desert sandstorms in the Middle East are common. They can come up suddenly, with little to no warning and catch many Americans by surprise! Yes, I have been surprised by Iraq sandstorms and by Afghanistan sandstorms. I have some photos for you to see as proof!

While I was active in the Army, I was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. During my six year stay in El Paso, not only did I get married and experience fatherhood. I also experienced some desert sandstorms.

Now you haven't lived until you have been through an El Paso sandstorm, especially your first. But these were nothing compared to the storms I have seen in the Middle East.

During the Persian Gulf War, I was working for General Dynamics when we had to make a run to the rear base. The trip was about two hours there and back. We left early in the morning and the weather was clear and perfect. Blue skies all the way.

About 30 minutes into our trip, the skies started to darken but there were no clouds ahead of us. I looked in the rearview mirrow and was stunned by the wall of dust heading for us. It caught up with us and everything turned dark.

Visibility was down to about 100 yards. We were moving along slowly when suddenly a helicopter appeared, heading straight for us. The pilot pulled up just in time and missed us. It was then that we decided to head back to camp.

These pictures are of a sandstorm in Afghanistan. As you can see they look awesome. They generally last only a couple of hours at this strength and then taper down to something much milder, leaving a golden haze in the sky that can last up to a day. Rain seems to be always preceded by dust when a desert sandstorm comes--one would think the rain would keep the dust down but it does not. The dust gets into everything. There is no escaping it especially if you are in a tent.

Sometimes no matter how well the tent is tied down, it will blow away. I have seen our tents tied down so good during these horrible sandstorms that they could not blow away, but then the wind would just tear the tent up, especially in the corners.

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