Night Convoy Northwards
Tallil Iraq 275 miles south of Baghdad October 30, 2005 with the 56th Brigade Combat Team, TX National Guard
It is past midnight when about twenty huge tractor trailer trucks roll out of the front gates of the base here in Tallil. We are going north, toward Baghdad. Elaborate precautions have been taken. Patrols sweep this road constantly, keeping it clear of improvised explosive devices. The civilian trucks are all in top condition to minimize breakdowns. Things are organized as tightly as possible. This convoy will finish up in Baghdad; it is on the airport run. America�s biggest base in theater sprawls around the airport. This convoy will be making the run of almost 300 miles as quickly as possible, but it will likely arrive in daylight. This area down here at Tallil is actually one of the quietest parts of the country. There are only a few ied's here, planted generally when insurgents come through and put them on the road. The population in this area is not sympathetic - the soldiers say the locals prefer making money and getting on with their lives than acting against the government. It helps that they are Shiite, and the bulk of the insurgency is made up of Sunnis. This area is far enough south to be away form the Sunni insurgency, but not so far south as to be caught up in the Iranian-inspired ruckus being kicked up by Shiites in the British zone around Basra. The convoy grinds north. A lot of the soldiers have downed Cokes or Pepsis or more highly caffeinated drinks before hitting the road. The loud whir of the humvee, the occasional thump of the road, the darkness outside relieved by a wan moon. For myself I find it difficult to stay awake on these after-midnight humvee drives. I have seen soldiers stay awake all night in their turrets, and then slump once inside the wire on the other end. Heading north things are quiet tonight. The convoy stops at Scania, a logistical base about halfway to Baghdad. Then it heads out the gate again. The going gets steadily more tense after Scania, 110 miles south of Baghdad. It�s all right for the first 30 or 40 miles, but then the convoy enters the Triangle of Death, so-called by the insurgents, a subset of the Sunni triangle that extends south of the city. Hilla south of Baghdad is roughly the turnover point. One starts to tense a bit more north of Hilla. But this convoy arrives as scheduled, and a journey that takes an hour by air has taken more than 6 by road. This convoy is an unremarkable episode on an unremarkable day. As the soldiers here say, the best days are the ones where nothing happens.
It is past midnight when about twenty huge tractor trailer trucks roll out of the front gates of the base here in Tallil. We are going north, toward Baghdad. Elaborate precautions have been taken. Patrols sweep this road constantly, keeping it clear of improvised explosive devices. The civilian trucks are all in top condition to minimize breakdowns. Things are organized as tightly as possible. This convoy will finish up in Baghdad; it is on the airport run. America�s biggest base in theater sprawls around the airport. This convoy will be making the run of almost 300 miles as quickly as possible, but it will likely arrive in daylight. This area down here at Tallil is actually one of the quietest parts of the country. There are only a few ied's here, planted generally when insurgents come through and put them on the road. The population in this area is not sympathetic - the soldiers say the locals prefer making money and getting on with their lives than acting against the government. It helps that they are Shiite, and the bulk of the insurgency is made up of Sunnis. This area is far enough south to be away form the Sunni insurgency, but not so far south as to be caught up in the Iranian-inspired ruckus being kicked up by Shiites in the British zone around Basra. The convoy grinds north. A lot of the soldiers have downed Cokes or Pepsis or more highly caffeinated drinks before hitting the road. The loud whir of the humvee, the occasional thump of the road, the darkness outside relieved by a wan moon. For myself I find it difficult to stay awake on these after-midnight humvee drives. I have seen soldiers stay awake all night in their turrets, and then slump once inside the wire on the other end. Heading north things are quiet tonight. The convoy stops at Scania, a logistical base about halfway to Baghdad. Then it heads out the gate again. The going gets steadily more tense after Scania, 110 miles south of Baghdad. It�s all right for the first 30 or 40 miles, but then the convoy enters the Triangle of Death, so-called by the insurgents, a subset of the Sunni triangle that extends south of the city. Hilla south of Baghdad is roughly the turnover point. One starts to tense a bit more north of Hilla. But this convoy arrives as scheduled, and a journey that takes an hour by air has taken more than 6 by road. This convoy is an unremarkable episode on an unremarkable day. As the soldiers here say, the best days are the ones where nothing happens.
posted by Doug at 8:13 AM
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