A postcard from Iraq

Editor's note: Six months ago John Powers, son of John and Judy Powers of Polson, took a temporary civilian assignment in Iraq. The Leader asked John, via email, to share some of his experiences with us. This is what he wrote:

Oct. 19, 2004

Greetings from Iraq

As of today I have less than two weeks remaining on a temporary assignment auditing government contracts in Iraq. I started the tour with a week at Fort Bliss, Texas, for indoctrination. While at Fort Bliss, members of the military, Dept. of Defense (DOD) civilians, and contractors received immunizations including smallpox, typhoid and anthrax among others. Some of us also received two large duffel bags filled with protective equipment and clothing for us to wear while overseas.

From Texas I flew in a commercial aircraft to Kuwait where we have a sub office just south of Kuwait City on the Arabian Sea. The office was a hotel room at the Hilton where nine auditors worked side by side. I worked there for about a week on an assignment with Kellogg Brown and Root Service (KBR), a subsidiary of Halliburton.

The assignment had a short turn-around time and as soon as it was completed, I was off to Baghdad in a C-130 flight flown by the military. The flight was composed mostly of military personnel with a few DOD civilians. Before we got into the plane, it was suggested we sit on top of our flak jacket (bulletproof vest) in case of an attack by insurgents as an attack would most likely come from below the aircraft. I then left the comforts of a cramped Hilton hotel room for Iraq, where the flak jacket and I would become very familiar with one another over the following months.

The C-130 landed at an airfield in Baghdad and from there we were driven on a bus that is now armored; however, when I first arrived, the bus was not armored. The shades were closed so nobody would see in or out while driving from the airfield into the International Zone (IZ), formerly known as the Green Zone. In the IZ, we have the Iraq Branch Office with another 10 auditors or so auditing KBR as well as numerous other governmental contractors and subcontractors in Iraq. While in Baghdad, I worked on the fieldwork of an assignment assigned to another auditor and after about a week flew to Logistic Site Area Anaconda, near Balad, Iraq, on a Blackhawk helicopter.

In Anaconda I live better than the average soldier or even KBR employee. When I first arrived, billeting was arranged in a trailer where I shared the bathroom and had a sink in my room. Most people in Anaconda had to live in tents for the first couple of months during their deployment until something opened up for them. KBR provides food to personnel on the post as well as laundry service, power generators, waste abatement, toilets, and many other mission essential functions for the military.

I am fortunate that I stay within the post for all of my assignments and when I travel to other locations in Iraq it is by helicopter. Convoy missions consist of truckers from American contractors, military and third country nationals, mostly from Turkey. Every convoy has force protection provided by the military but even with the force protection, every convoy department post takes fire of some sort or another.

Fuel taker missions are hit 70 percent more than the flatbed missions, but I count my blessings that I am able to fly from one location to another. Because of how dangerous the missions are, contractors have begun to install armor on the trucks; however, the convoy missions remain dangerous.

Although I am sure I have caused my parents and friends a lot of grief by deciding to take this temporary assignment in Iraq, the experience I have had over the past six months has been rewarding in that I've felt as though I've been able to support a worthy cause. Would I do it again if I had the choice? Most definitely, but getting the concurrence from Mom and Dad may be another issue.

John Powers

Defense Contract Audit Agency Auditor