The Real FOB Falcon

Falcon, in southeastern Baghdad, is a Forward Operating Base (FOB) which means it's not quite big enough to be named camp, but should have enough firing power and defenses to hold its ground.  Razor sharp barbed-wire and huge slabs of concrete delineate the borders in a place where boundaries save lives.  Above helicopters ferrying soldiers and personnel touchdown on the landing puds.  Inside, soldiers running steadily-timed round-the-clock patrols in Baghdad muhallahs emerge from dusty entry control points and onto distinctively American named routes like "Senator" and "Jackson." 

It's a hot day, but the softball matches are popular here on FOB Falcon. 

The chapel, laundry room, Morale Welfare and Recreation center or the PX are standard for any American base, but there are few places soldiers actually look forward to visiting.  With the exception of where the food is served.  The dinning facilities or DFAC is surrounded by thick T-walls and even has a bomb shelter just out side the entrance.  Of the many places a soldier can go on Falcon, this is the only place a soldier can't avoid.  If the way to a soldier's heart is through his stomach then the chow hall is located somewhere near FOB Falcon's soul.   

Soldiers take turns standing guard at the entrance and carefully screen all who intend to enter.  No bags are allowed in the DFAC and everyone must wash their hands before grabbing a tray and placing a three-section white plate on it.  Watching soldiers prepare for chow is like seeing kids getting ready to watch their favorite television show.  Signs posted on the walls remind everyone that they are required to wash their hands before eating and like many of the signs on base, soldiers lather their hands and consistently comply.

I was on this street a month earlier, when there were barely 10 store open.  There are currently over 50.

The atmosphere is amicable, and despite the big-screen television sets rotating the news from all the major outlets, most soldiers barely look up to watch the smaller than life images of an Iraq they know more intimately.  With all the conversations and activities, it's impossible to listen to what television correspondents are saying, unless you sit really close to the hanging television sets, and most of the disinterested visitors to the FOB Falcon DFAC are more interested in the catered food, or the sports programs.   Breakfast, lunch and dinner are punctually served according to schedule and if you miss a meal, you may have to settle for an Meal Ready to Eat packaged in a thick feisty brown bag that can be difficult to open with bare hands.

I talked with soldiers checking IDs to allow access to the building.  I asked if they had ever seen a woman with "melted skin, missing limbs, plastic nose[s]" the description Private Thomas Scott Beauchamp, the Baghdad Diarist, had given to the now famous "melting woman" he wrote about for the pages of The New Republic.  The mystery woman is  Famous outside of FOB Falcon, because no one here has ever seen her.

Despite the media coverage back home, most of the fifty or so soldiers I spoke with had never heard of Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp, and shrugged their shoulders when I mentioned the "Baghdad Diarist".   Not following the news too closely is normal on bases throughout Iraq and FOB Falcon is no exception.  The day begins long before the sun floats on the horizon and sears the unpaved roads causing the dust to drift in the air by noon and settle long after dusk.  Soldiers will only rest when the mission is complete and that means little time for leisure and less time for the latest literary scandals.  This is a demographic far much more likely to read anonymous Myspace.com profiles of far-away pretty girls than the pages of a 90 year old progressive bi-weekly magazine. 

A Christian family sells Christmas trees from their store on 35th Street. Despite threats, the owner says he will stay.

On patrol with the 1st Squadron 4 Cavalry Regiment, from Fort Riley, Kansas,  some of the soldiers made comments about how the media will go out of its way to report "bad things" and overlook "all the good."  The driver of our Humvee talked about the half dozen journalist embeds they let ride along, and how many of the subsequent articles have had nothing but negative comments. 

This disconnect from the "outside" civilian world makes the men and women of the military more protective, tribal, cohesive.  When the word came down of a "blogger" telling outlandish stories and embarrassing those stationed at FOB Falcon, a lot of soldiers shrugged their shoulders fatalistically and chalked it up to "them, over there" not understanding what's going on with "us over here."

That night, like many nights before, the 1-4 Cavalry patrolled the streets of their area of operations, the tempestuous Dora neighborhood in southern Baghdad.  This shifting up-scale Sunni neighborhood was under-siege, residents found bullet shells on their rooftops when they didn't find actual holes in their walls.  Improvised Explosive Devices left craters in streets within earshot of elementary schools.  Just months before, the Baghdad version of sidewalks were empty and most business had fled the neighborhood.

This former Iraqi Colonel has two stores and wants to open up a third.  He sympathized with Lieutenant Colonel Crider because he knew that soldiers are away from their families. 

With Operation Law and Order, Lt. Colonel James Crider and his soldiers of the Quarter horse employed clear, control and retain tactics to make the protection of the Dora occupants their personal priority.  It's fair to say the men and women of the 1-4 Cav, like so many of their sister units, know their bit of Baghdad real estate just as well or even better than they know FOB Falcon.  For these men and women, the success of their mission is never reduced to a talking point on a tele-prompter, real soldiers have died defending this ground.  Which may be why the "Baghdad Diarist" saga is taken so personally.

A decreasing percentage of Americans will serve in the military and it's fair to say that most Iraqis have had more interaction with the United States Military than the average American citizen.  The harm of the "Baghdad Diarist" was no shot in the dark from a far-away news channel, but a serious account from a soldier wearing a green digital camouflage battle dress uniform with the same badge as the men in his infantry unit.

Driver Ferguson and driver Meier are the real troops of Baghdad.  They run long patrols and probably know the streets of Dora better than FOB Falcon.

Media scandals are as frequent as they are fleeting, which puts them in direct conflict with the institutional nature of mechanized fighting units that can trace their roots back to the horse-power days of the Civil War.  The military is almost a refuge from the American public, because the dangers of a war zone have not changed with the luxuries afforded to a free society.   Mottoes that sound straight out of 1950 Westerns, "Having been Led by Love of Country" and "Prepared and Loyal" set hard standards of guidance for all troops in the Army, in contrast to the personalized lifestyles that afforded to most American civilians.

Sergeant Major Jones asked where I was on a dimly lit Dora side-street.  Jones may have been able to see me with his Night Vision Goggles but insisted he preferred to rely on his senses, the same senses that told  him a large abandoned bus just didn't belong on that Baghdad street.   An Explosive Ordnance Disposal detachment responded, set off a water discharge before an M 88 Alpha Medium Track hauled the behemoth's metal carcass to an area where it could not be used by an enemy eager to stuff the most amount of explosives into the least amount of space. 

Contrary to popular belief, blogging is not illegal or frowned upon.  There are many milbloggers who send real life reports to both major media outlets and their own circle of friends.

With pride, the Sergeant Major told me his soldiers knew this neighborhood so well, they could identify the vehicles that belonged and, more importantly, the ones that did not.  This was a type of Army sniff test that relied almost as much on the brain as it did on honed instinct.  Back home in the States, it may have seemed plausible that the "Baghdad Diarist" drivers "took out curbs, concrete barriers, corners of buildings, stands in the market, and his favorite target: dogs." but those editors had probably never been in Iraq, much less the streets of Baghdad where military men and women are held accountable for any damage they cause.

Major Paul Callahan told me of an Iraqi who had been accidentally shot when he failed to yield near a military convoy--a common tactic for VBIED suicide-bombers. Lieutenant Colonel Crider authorized the disbursement of funds to compensate for the resulting stitches the wounded driver received from an American bullet.  Tall yielding Humvee antennas will sometimes rip down the makeshift electrical wiring on Baghdad streets, and in Afghanistan I heard that the rate for accidentally killing a sheep was $1000 American dollars. Because of the available bounty of cash no one else would ever offer, residents are quick to file claims for damages done to property.  A thirty tons Fighting Bradley the Baghdad Diarist spoke of in "Shock Troops" is easy to spot and have only one deep-pockets registered owner--the United States military.

Wash your hands, 5 mph, and wearing their reflective belts. Soldiers really do tend to obey most of the rules.

I spoke to several drivers on patrol that evening, none of whom thought the details of the "Baghdad Diarist" were even remotely true. At the risk of offending some pet lovers, it's not beyond a deployed member of the armed forces to kill a dog.  Especially, in a culture that does not keep canines as pets and rarely names anything that walks on four-legs.  I saw a Marine shoot several strays with sniper accuracy in the Anbar province, after a bitting incident had sent one of his buddies back to Baghdad for a series of long painful rabies injections in the abdomen. 

The sounds of shots, massive shells sent to an unseen and distant target, is common on FOB Falcon, but the shock of the media coverage around the "Baghdad Diarist" took the public affairs office by storm. Pending the investigation no one was allowed to comment, not even on the simple questions like Private Beauchamp's whereabouts, but it is notable that a soldier who enlisted two years before and has some college credit would still hold the rank of private.

FOB Falcon looks like so many other military base on American soil, except for some slight differences. 

Imperial Grunts author, Robert Kaplan, noted that soldiers often speak in clichees and catch-all phrases, "Watch your back," "That's too easy," "Sh*t rolls down-hill" and although there really is nothing stereotypical about Private Beauchamp as a soldier, Kaplan could have based his remarks on the "Baghdad Diarist's writing.  In one of his entries later published in The New Republic, Scott Thomas, the writer's pseudonym, blithely tells a young Iraqi to "go to college instead of joining the military." 

During a house to house census taking, an activity the 1-4 Cav likes to call "Close Encounters", a college student told Staff Sergeant Highsmith of Charlie troops that before the surge of troops, he had missed a year of classes because he was afraid of leaving his majority Sunni neighborhood.  The student intended to return to college that Fall, but in a city where the threat of death to the average citizen is far greater than any American could fathom, soldiers are just as vital to Iraq's future as an educated working class.

On FOB Falcon, at the end of the day, soldiers in PT uniforms, grey shirt, black shorts divided by a yellow reflective belt,  play softball, shoot hoops from the three point line or flood the Internet cafes where signs warning of online Operation Security or OPSEC violations are taped to the plain white walls.  Captain Jennifer Krueger of the 610, Delta Company supervised the setting of 11 foot T-barriers that kept bullets fired from the neighboring muhalla from hitting pedestrians frequenting the newly re-opened businesses on Dora's 35th Street.

The 55 ton M88 Medium Track Recovery Vehicle pulled this bus as if it were made of paper mache.

Commerce in Dora is bursting with over 60 shops opened where last month there were only 11.  Our interpreter stopped by a street vendor to buy lamb meat stuffed into Iraqi bread, a late-night delicacy.  In the DFAC, late chow begins at midnight when the roar of generators, hum of air-conditioners or the faint squealing of the brakes of heavily armored vehicles give way to the fatigue that allows the men and women of FOB Falcon to enter deep sleep, despite the distractions. 

The Motto of Private Beauchamp's unit is "Prepared for All Things." The legs of the Baghdad Diarist" story will eventually run themselves into the ground, but the soldier's duties, mission, success and accomplishments will remain whether the media recognizes them or not.

Comments

[kat-missouri]

Thanks Matt! Excellent job!

[amusing]

"it is notable that a soldier who enlisted two years before and has some college credit would still hold the rank of private."

At least this man stayed with the service and went over to Iraq. I can't say the same for you. Medical issue, what?

[SFC MAC]

Great job, Matt! It's important for civilians especially the "journalists" at TNR to get a good look at the rest of the base camp and the great job the Soldiers are doing. As for Beauchamp, he's a pathological liar and a problem child with a wild imagination. Let us know when he gets Chaptered.
SFC Cheryl McElroy
US ARMY (RET)

[Peg C.]

Great post. Thanks to PajamasMedia for pointing to you!

[tskier]

Amusing said,
"At least this man stayed with the service and went over to Iraq. I can't say the same for you. Medical issue, what?"

Talk about insane remarks. What planet do you live on?

[David M]

Trackbacked by The Thunder Run - Web Reconnaissance for 08/03/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.

[Brian H]

I wouldn't think leather hands would be especially clean. They should lather them with soap.

Blowchimp will gradually be dissected and displayed for the snake in rat's clothing he is.

[jaime]

Explain how the soldiers never heard of/don't care about Scott Beauchamp AND take his diaries so personally? Which one is it?

Heck, I thought he didn't exist. Where would you like me to put this goalpost?

[Ned R.]

Does Matt Sanchez even exist, really?

[Ralph Dosser]

Why yes, jaime, Matt Sanchez most certainly does exist. He even has a Wikipedia entry, which includes details about his career in gey pron, details which are missing from the "about" section on his site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Sanchez

[Dirty sanchez]

Spend much time with Jeff Gannon, Sanchez?

[Doreen]

Wow - notice how when the moonbats attack they resort to homophopic insults?

Pitiful.

[Ned R.]

Homophobic, maybe.

[Megan]

I'm an army wife and as far as I'm concerned I'm just glad someone can go over there and report the truth instead of the tragedy that most americans love to hear. It's nice to know that our husbands, sons, wives, daughters, parents can go over there and have somewhat of a normal life for the insane amount of time they have to be separated from their loved ones. Instead of argueing about stupid things try to concentrate on the soldiers not the mistakes made by the bloggers!

[skip lee & kelli harrell]

hey matt, do you know first lt.travis lee? if so how is he doing my science teacher mr.skip lee is travis's dad and he has not heard from travis in weeks and is worried. i'm only 15 years old but understand what all of the soldiers are doing for us in the base. if you know 1LT. Travis Lee please givehm my email address:jason_mosely2000@yahoo.com and tell him to email me or you can email me and keep me posted on everything that is happing over there!!!!!!! thanks Matt Sanchez
P.S. please if one of yall email me back list it message back ok

love yall lots
kelli and skip

[jesse akers]

jesseakers2005@hotmail.com

remeber them hetts that were in town just before august- yea i was there moving bradleys and abrams... loving the memories but glad that they are memories!

[spc chauffe]

I WAS THERE DURING 05-07 PLACE KINDA ROCKED NOW IM AT COP CARVER MAN I MISS THAT PLACE