TQ Iraq

by George
(Kuwait)

I was at TQ Iraq, also known as Taqaddum, for the months of June and July 2007. It was a very hot place. My company put the security fence around the base. I was sent there since they were almost finished and needed me to clean up so to speak.

My job was to get the equipment and leftover materials sent out to various places. The Army flew materials to Al Asad and trucked the heavy equipment back to Kuwait.

One of the major accomplishments was the moving of our company crane. It had sat there broken down for eight months. Three people before went up there to try to move it and all of them failed.

I asked around and in three days the Army hauled the crane to Al Asad for us. It was an inspiring site to see a T-Rex picking it up and putting it on a low boy.

So I got a lot accomplished for our company in two months. However, the company was Kuwaiti and they did not bother to give me as much as a thank you.

The room I stayed in was a wooden building thrown together. It was made to sleep eight. There was barely enough room for all of my stuff so I was glad that there was no one else in the room with me.

The bathroom was about a hundred yards away. And my A/C unit was on the fritz. Everytime it turned on it sounded like a freight train going off.

But I did enjoy the lake at TQ Iraq. We could not go down to it but from a distance it was beautiful. I would also sit in my truck and listen to the waves beat against the shore.

I was glad when my work ended there and I got to return to Kuwait.