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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2004-05-29
'I am back in Baghdad.' A Photographer's Diary, Part 4
By Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
U.S. Army Private Harry Jump from Alpha Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, stands guard as his company searches for weapons caches May 25, 2004 in Ramadi, Iraq.
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(Editors note: Justin Sullivan is a staff photographer for Getty Images based in San Francisco. He is currently on assignment in Iraq.)
May 28, 2004
After 17 days of bouncing around the country with the military, I am back in Baghdad. I'm back to the glitz and glamour of the big city, the fantastic nightlife and 5 star dining. Well, ok, let's not get too excited, that translates into a hot shower, a cold beer, a meal that doesn't come out of a bag and bed that isn't a cot. Back to keeping a low profile, trying to blend in with the Iraqis and waiting for the next car bomb to go off. Life in the big city, ain't it grand?
My time with the military was quite a bit of fun. It was a rough start, but things ended up being really good in the end. Over the two and a half weeks, I spent time with the Marines, the Iraqi Civil Defense Corp and rounded out the trip with the Army. I met some really great people along the way, both Iraqis and Americans who are passionate about making things work in this country. I have been witness to American soldiers re-enlisting and requesting to stay in Iraq and Iraqis training to become the future security force of the country. Despite what you hear every single day on the morning news about soldiers getting killed, there are good things happening here. People on both sides are working together to make changes but it is difficult when a few bad apples make the progress difficult.
One of the days that I spent with the Marines in Al Asad, I went along with members of the civil affairs unit to meet with local sheikhs to discuss building schools and improve roads. The military has gone out of their way to build relationships with the community leaders and has pumped millions of dollars into the local economy and infrastructure since late last year. Soldiers make a
Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
U.S. Army Staff Sargent Jose Salazar from Alpha Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, pets a cow while on patrol May 26, 2004 in Ramadi, Iraq. The 1st Engineer Battalion continues to search for weapon caches in and around Ramadi.
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point to wave to locals as they convoy through town, most respond by waving back or giving the thumbs-up, the kids love it and go nuts, some run along side the convoy. Others are not so friendly. Some will just give back a blank stare, no wave, nothing. I saw one little boy that gestured with his finger as if he were slitting his throat. That was disturbing.
I moved up to Hiditha for a few days to stay at the Hiditha Dam with the Marines and the Azerbaijani Army. The soldiers are based at the dam to provide security as contractors repair the electrical turbines inside the dam. When fixed, the dam will be capable of generating nearly 660 megawatts of much needed power, another good thing that is happening here. I had a good time staying in Hiditha, I actually was living inside the dam. I had a nice view of the Euphrates River from my balcony and the weather was nice and mild.
On my last day at the dam, I was baptized in the Euphrates, pretty much against my will. I went along with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines light craft unit as they did a "rehearsal" for an upcoming mission in which they will use Zodiacs to cross the river. This was basically a dry run to get all the kinks out. We deploy across the approximately 100-yard width of the Euphrates and soldiers would perform a mock raid. Sounds easy enough, right?
Since I was technically part of the boat crew, I needed to help launch the raft-like craft into the river. I dawned my life puffy preserver over my flack, I looked like a green Michelin Man. I must have looked like a complete dork. I used a plastic garbage bag to put cameras in because I was told that the ride could often get a little wet. This would prove to be a total understatement.
I put the flimsy plastic bag into the boat and we started to walk the Zodiac out into the river. It wasn't before we were all up to our thighs in the water that we hopped into the boat. Once in the boat, we found that the motor wouldn't start. So, we had the other two Zodiacs pull up along side of
Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
An Iraqi woman points her finger at U.S. Army First Lieutenant Rich Bendelewski (L) and Staff Sargent Jose Salazr from Alpha Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, as they prepare to search her property May 26, 2004 in Ramadi, Iraq.
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us and we grabbed on to them. As soon as they powered up, the front of our boat dipped into the river causing a flood of water to rush into the boat. Now, we are all lying down in about 6 inches of water and the boat is starting to bend in the middle. I just kept thinking to myself as I was holding my cameras in that tattered plastic bag of cameras, I am so fired, these company cameras are gonna get swallowed by the Euphrates and I am gonna be floating down river in my Michelin Man costume. Thankfully, that was not the case. We made it to shore safely but not before crashing into a bush on the way in. What a ride.
The final leg of my military tour would be with the Army in Ramadi. I was embedded with the US Army Alpha Company, 1st Engineer Battalion and would spend the next few days searching for hidden weapon caches. Alpha Company had an amazing track record for finding buried caches. Earlier in the year, they had a 21-day streak of finding some sort of weapon buried in the dirt. That's one up on the Oakland A's 20 game win streak in 2002, not too bad. They held up their reputation on the first day that I patrolled with them.
Using metal detectors, Alpha Company swept through a village in Ramadi. An hour into the search, Private Richard Wood, a quiet kid from the Bronx, was getting signals on his detector inside what looked like an animal pen made of mud walls. In 100-degree heat, two soldiers began to dig in the area. The digging went on for about 30 minutes before the first box of 14.5mm rounds was found. Rotations of two soldiers at a time continued to dig for almost two hours. It was blazing hot and these guys, still wearing their flacks and Kevlars, were drenched and covered with dirt. It was painful to watch them.
Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
U.S. Army Private Richard Wood from Alpha Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, kicks a soccer ball while on patrol May 26, 2004 in Ramadi, Iraq.
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In the end, the hole that they dug in 100 plus degree heat was about 4 feet across, 6 feet in length and about 5 feet deep. It contained a good-sized cache, forty-four 60mm mortars, six 82mm mortars, six thousand 14.5mm rounds, three 14.5mm gun barrels, twenty chemical kits and two RPGs. They all seemed really happy with the find and I thought it was pretty cool too. It was so nice to take off the flack at the end of the 6-hour mission, I think I sweated off a few pounds that day.
I went on a few more patrols over the next day and then started the process to get myself back to Baghdad.
As I was leaving Ramadi, I thought to myself that I had felt safe during my time with the military despite the inherent dangers of being with them. I haven't been able to figure out why I felt that way especially since soldiers and convoys are huge targets and improvised explosive devices (IED) and bullets do not discriminate against whom they hit. Maybe it was just feeling that if I were with them I wouldn't be kidnapped and end up like Nicholas Berg or maybe it was just the comfort in being with people that remind you of home. I really can't figure it out.
Ten more days and a wake-up, and I am out of here.
Related Links:
Justin Sullivan's member page
Flying into Hell: A Photographer's Diary, Part 1
'Weird things happen here.' A Photographer's Diary, Part 2
'Here comes the fork in the road.' A Photographer's Diary, Part 3
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