Letter From Iraq #04

As I sit down to write this week’s article I realize that another week has passed by and that makes a total of four weeks.  To the average person this wouldn’t seem like a big deal, but to a person who is counting down the months, weeks, days and hours until they get out of such a wonderful place, four weeks means that you are one month closer to going home.  Going home to see the friends and family that have supported you while you were away by sending you letters to tell you how much they miss you and packages to make sure that you aren’t getting too thin from the military food, which, by the way, is pretty good.  A month closer also means getting home to see the girlfriend/boyfriend/wife /husband that you left behind.

We have hit a milestone around here that may interest few people other than the people that are residing here.  Yesterday was the first time that the low temperature here got below 70°F.  This means that the average high temperature is starting t cool down.  During the day we hit a mean, or average, max temperature is around 100°F.  It has been a welcome relief from the high heat.  The nice thing is that it’s going to continue to keep cooling down.

When I was trying to come up with something to write about for this week I was walking through the food serving line and it came to me.  I figured that I would talk to you about some of the other people that work around.  You are probably thinking to yourself, “Who else would work on the bases in Iraq?”  We have a large population of local nationals and third country nationals that work on the base here.

When I refer to a local national I am talking about the local residents of Iraq.  A Third Country National is some one who is from a country other than Iraq or the U.S.  There are people from many different places but most of them are from Asian countries to include Japan, Korea, The Philippines, and many other countries.  They perform a great service to those of us that are deployed here while at the same time providing for their families back home.  It is almost like they are deployed with the US Military.

During their time here on FOB Diamondback they do several different types of work.  These local and third country nationals work on the base to serve the men and women of the military that are stationed here.  There jobs range from cooking and serving food in the dining facilities to doing our laundry, to cleaning and many other jobs.  They are an integral part of this operation.  Without them we would end up eating a lot of Meals-Ready-to Eat or MREs.

When I tell people that there are locals that work on the bases here their big concern is about safety.  How can we allow people, from a country that we see endless attacks from, onto the same base as our military people?  It comes down to security.  When these people are allowed onto the base the military does a background check on each person that applies for a job.  Once they have been accepted for the job they are allowed on base with an escort until the check has been completed.  After the background check was completed then the workers are permitted to go more places.

After they have been given permission to be on base  and they no longer are required to have an escort they are allowed to start using some of the different facilities that are available.  This doesn’t mean that they can come and go as they want though.  They are required to stay on the base at all times.  Often this means that they are cut off from their family and friends.  It is also required that when they enter any of the facilities on the post that they show their identification which says whether they have access to that facility or not.  After they have shown that they have the ability to use the facility then they are subject to inspection with a metal detecting wand and any other inspection that the facility guards may see fit.

So as you can see we are kept quite safe here.  The one problem that does arise is that it is sometimes difficult for the local and third country nationals to get into places like the PX (Post Exchange, our version of Wal-mart) to get the things that they need.  Some of the workers aren’t allowed to use the PX and therefore are unable to easily purchase the things that they need.  To help alleviate this problem the chapel on base here has started collecting donations for the workers.  I encourage each and every one of you to consider these people.  They are helping America’s soldiers, sailors, marines, and airman and they need some help themselves.  I am asking that each one of you consider sending these people a care package.  They need hygiene products and would also appreciate other goodies like candy and other snacks too.

If you would like to send a package you can address it to me.  Just so that I know that it is for the workers I ask that you please put a not in there to let me know that the package is for the workers.  The packages can be addressed and sent to:

SSgt Ferderer, John B

F. Co. 5-159. AF Weather

FOB Diamondback

APO AE 09334

As I depart for another week I hope that you all have a great week.  If you have any  questions that you would like me to answer please email me at john.iraq@hotmail.com.

Until we meet again, Have a Great Air Force Day!