Safety is Our #1 Concern

Everyone on Camp Ramadi is feeling a lot more safe today. A number of initiatives have been established recently that have noticeably improved base security. The base management unit has been setting up checkpoints around Camp Ramadi to make sure people are wearing their seat belts and not speeding--and also making sure people are wearing their flak vest and Kevlar helmets while driving in humvees from their barracks to the Post Exchange or laundry point on the camp. A lot of Soldiers and Marines hadn't been doing that, but this initiative will truly ensure that those accidents that never happened previously won't occur in the future either. One unit was stopped for speeding while taking a casualty to the medical clinic; they hopefully learned the error of their ways. Their carelessness could have easily made a bad situation much worse.

Family and friends back home can rest assured knowing their loved ones are safer than ever thanks to the scrupulous tax dollar investments toward force protection upgrades made in the past month. Hundreds of thick concrete barriers now line the roads around post to keep the humvees from veering off into the thick dust. Dust clouds can reduce visibility in an instant and make you cough. A few of these countless barriers also protect a couple vital structures from vehicle borne improvised explosive devices. Although impossible, it can be conceived that one of these vehicles and drivers could pass completely undetected through the triple tiered base entrance security checks and gates.

Lastly, I feel palpably more at ease in our camp dining facility after yesterday. All non-Department of Defense personnel (Arabs and Indians) now have their own entrance line at the dining facility where they are individually searched by the ubiquitous Ugandans. Even though our unit interpreters endanger their lives daily alongside the troops, have been shot by snipers, been blown up by IEDs, had their families threatened and harassed, provided first aid for wounded Soldiers, and so on, when they get on post, you simply can't trust them--even after having undergone extensive background checks, routine security screening interviews, and receiving color-coded access badges. When I saw how many pocket knives the guards had confiscated in the first day alone I was flabbergasted. Fifty of these Sri Lankan laundry workers and Jordanian interpreters were carrying concealed weapons right under our noses! That many men could have easily overpowered me and my 9mm Beretta should I have been the lone Soldier dining with dozens of suddenly fanatical contractors armed with whittling knives. Even some of the Iraqi interpreters I know had the umbrage to complain to me about the safety measures, so I set them straight. They had no gratitude for the vast improvement to their own personal safety. I personally think we could improve our situation even more by requiring all Muslims on base to sew green crescents onto their shirt sleeves. Then I could sleep just a bit sweeter at night.

Safety is our number one concern here on Camp Ramadi. Rest assured your tax money is put to good use; your family members are secure.