full depth concrete repair on the taxiway -- in a dust storm
No dry wall here! All walls are bricks...they'll get covered with plaster and paint later
B02 - Housing for the Iraqi Airforce -- There are 2 buildings of just rooms and a 3rd smaller building in between that will be the latrines/showers
Conquering my fear of heights, one step at a time...
Harry and I, my new bff
On my 3rd day in Iraq, I was finally put to work, and will continue to work 7 days a week, 10-12 hr days for the next six months.
My day began with an introduction to my new BFF – Harry. I’ll be shadowing Harry for the first few weeks and then look after his projects when he goes on R&R. Harry is a 50 some typical “biker” – long pony-tail that reaches to his waist (though it’s always neatly tucked under his shirt so you wouldn’t know it), goatee/beard that hasn’t been trimmed in at least 3 or 4 months, slightly overweight – but working on fixing that – and always sporting a Harley Davidson t-shirt and hat when the hardhat isn’t on his head.
But what is most prominent about Harry is not his stereotypical “Harley look” but his personality. He can strike up a conversation with just about anyone, but he doesn’t bullshit. He tells it like it is. He gives respect to those who deserve it, but he’s not going to kiss up to you because of your title, and he’s not going to treat you like dirt because you’re lacking a title or social class.
This is important because Harry’s (and now my) job is “Quality Assurance” – aka construction rep. The great part of this job is that we’re on site and out of the office most of the day. The not so great part (aside from the heat) is that, well… we’re in Iraq. This is a developing country with a different mindset, education, work ethic. This often results in “babysitting” the contractor instead of just spot checking his work, as it would be in the US.
Each contractor has a quality control manager (QC), site engineer, and Safety manager on site. As a QA, my job is supposed to be to just make sure the contractor’s people are doing their job.
Supposed to be, being the operative phrase.
As I said before, since it’s not safe for the Americans to QA the projects outside the wire, my projects are within Victory Base Compound – sort of.
It’s actually located on the Iraqi Air Force Base (which is inside of Victory). The projects include building housing for their air force, adding an extension to their hanger, repairing the taxiway, fixing their generators (since they can’t rely on the grid because power is not dependable from it), and building radio and communication facilities to help them function a little better.
These projects are not in any way, glamorous, but I like them because they’re for the Iraqis. When I first got here and found out that the Local Nationals (LNs) do most of the work outside the wire, I was disappointed. Yes, Mama and Papa Hall prefer me inside, and I respect the reasons for this security, but it would be nice to have a project that’s for the people of Iraq. So my housing and hanger extension projects, as basic as they are, make me happy. The Iraqi soldiers will be able to get out of the temporary housing they are currently in—with 10-15/room and find a new “home” in these facilities.
I also like to work on the Iraqi Air Force base because I pretend that the base is considered outside Victory Base Compound—just to keep Island fever at bay. And technically it is, even if Victory is all around it. Once I enter through the air force base security I’m technically on Iraqi soil.
You know what this means? …
Absolutely nothing.
But a girl can pretend, right?
My day began with an introduction to my new BFF – Harry. I’ll be shadowing Harry for the first few weeks and then look after his projects when he goes on R&R. Harry is a 50 some typical “biker” – long pony-tail that reaches to his waist (though it’s always neatly tucked under his shirt so you wouldn’t know it), goatee/beard that hasn’t been trimmed in at least 3 or 4 months, slightly overweight – but working on fixing that – and always sporting a Harley Davidson t-shirt and hat when the hardhat isn’t on his head.
But what is most prominent about Harry is not his stereotypical “Harley look” but his personality. He can strike up a conversation with just about anyone, but he doesn’t bullshit. He tells it like it is. He gives respect to those who deserve it, but he’s not going to kiss up to you because of your title, and he’s not going to treat you like dirt because you’re lacking a title or social class.
This is important because Harry’s (and now my) job is “Quality Assurance” – aka construction rep. The great part of this job is that we’re on site and out of the office most of the day. The not so great part (aside from the heat) is that, well… we’re in Iraq. This is a developing country with a different mindset, education, work ethic. This often results in “babysitting” the contractor instead of just spot checking his work, as it would be in the US.
Each contractor has a quality control manager (QC), site engineer, and Safety manager on site. As a QA, my job is supposed to be to just make sure the contractor’s people are doing their job.
Supposed to be, being the operative phrase.
As I said before, since it’s not safe for the Americans to QA the projects outside the wire, my projects are within Victory Base Compound – sort of.
It’s actually located on the Iraqi Air Force Base (which is inside of Victory). The projects include building housing for their air force, adding an extension to their hanger, repairing the taxiway, fixing their generators (since they can’t rely on the grid because power is not dependable from it), and building radio and communication facilities to help them function a little better.
These projects are not in any way, glamorous, but I like them because they’re for the Iraqis. When I first got here and found out that the Local Nationals (LNs) do most of the work outside the wire, I was disappointed. Yes, Mama and Papa Hall prefer me inside, and I respect the reasons for this security, but it would be nice to have a project that’s for the people of Iraq. So my housing and hanger extension projects, as basic as they are, make me happy. The Iraqi soldiers will be able to get out of the temporary housing they are currently in—with 10-15/room and find a new “home” in these facilities.
I also like to work on the Iraqi Air Force base because I pretend that the base is considered outside Victory Base Compound—just to keep Island fever at bay. And technically it is, even if Victory is all around it. Once I enter through the air force base security I’m technically on Iraqi soil.
You know what this means? …
Absolutely nothing.
But a girl can pretend, right?
