US Embassy Baghdad and the Green Zone

[jmpmstr]

A few items that came into my possession while in the Green Zone and supporting the Embassy through the United States Mission-Iraq (USMI). There are a few embassy related items I picked up during the close out of the diplomatic mission and embassy housed in the presidential palace and beginning transition to the newly constructed facility. The cufflinks are unique IMO, I have not used them....mostly sit on the mantle with some other related items. The cobalt blue mugs I was told were not going to be manufactured after these were gone, so I grabbed a few. Can't tell you if that turned out to be true, but I found them to be unique enough and specifically from the Embassy in Baghdad was special enough for me.

 

 

 

[jmpmstr]

The coins were from various supporting missions to the governmental organizations dealing with aid and reconstruction. I was able to participate in the initial trials held in the Green Zone on the logistics coordination side of it. Retrofitting housing areas in conjunction with the Justice Department and other federal law enforcement agencies there. It was quite a unique experience to say the least. Initially I had a small team that supported the airfield bringing in all the new parliament members during the elections. Then transitioned to the arrival of witnesses for Saddam's trial. The taskings finished with the housing set up and establishing lines of communication for logistics and life support at the secret housing location. Sounds more cloak and dagger than it was, but there was a large amount of secrecy and clearance requirements....very interesting to watch the trial and know I had a very small part in the overall workings.

 

[Brig]

Sal,

 

Interesting coins. I received several when I was there, none of these ones however. When were you in the IZ? I was at the embassy from late August 2006-April 2007

[jmpmstr]

I was there 2006 and 2007

[Brig]

Then I probably waved you into the gate at least a few times. Worked both of them regularly. They hid us in the basement

[jmpmstr]

I was there when the gate lit up a Blackwater convoy for failing to stop. It was classic and poetic.

[Brig]

Those a-holes always thought they were special...argued at the gate, wanted access without placards, hot dogging their helos under power lines...and then would flip their weapons on fire as you crossed in front of their compound enroute to the PX.

[jmpmstr]

Yeah, I had them nearly T-boning me all the time at intersections, I'm glad you guys sent the message.

[jmpmstr]

A couple sections of fluted marble column I grabbed from the complex while poking around paces I shouldn't have been Im sure...

Now they at a stand for my beret

[Allan H.]

Sal,

 

This is some great stuff that you are showing. It is a shame you didn't get the chair back to the states.

 

Allan

[Brig]

And indeed fortunate to be able to witness the trial. I was able to attend one day of it, Halloween 2006, it was a very interesting and once-in-a-lifetime event. How many people can say they were at the trial of a dictator, after all?

[Ronnie]

Very cool indeed!

Ronnie

[Brian Keith]

Great stuff, it is awesome to take a part in History being made.

Thanks for showing your treasures and sharing the stories. Interesting side bar on Blackwater.

[jmpmstr]

Sal,

 

This is some great stuff that you are showing. It is a shame you didn't get the chair back to the states.

 

Allan

Yeah the irony is that the chair was too large to mail so had to be deconstructed. So I have the back of the chair from top to rear legs, but couldn't get the seat and front legs shipped before I was transferred from the IZ. Therefore I have the pleasure of owning 1/2 a chair liberated from the presidential palace.

[evets]

cool stuff! I have some stationery and business cards and etc. from the US Embassy in Somalia when it was evacuated. It's those kind of seemingly unimportant things that are invaluable now

[frank2far]

Some of us worked for BW, lets not paint with a broad brush.

[bryang]

Some of us worked for BW, lets not paint with a broad brush.

 

No, however BW did hire too many guys with itchy trigger fingers and eagerness to light up suspected/anticipated targets. This tended to make life harder for those uniformed ground troops who had to later operate in some of the areas in which BW guys either shot up or had forcefully ran Iraqi vehicles off the road.

 

This made it particularly difficult to try to recruit and run HUMINT operations in some of these specific areas.

 

 

No, not all Black Water guys were bad, but enough of them were - to the point where the Iraqi government told BW to leave. Black Water wasn't the only security contract company to sour things. A family member (former Army Ranger) worked for a time for Triple Canopy, and later told me that there were too many inexperienced - and immature - guys hired on. Many of these 'operators' had attended Ranger school and served briefly in combat units, however lacked the maturity to know when to shoot and when not to. He told me that he had to work among guys who were spoiling for a gun fight.

 

 

I did a couple tours over there as a member of the Special Operations Task Force - Central (2d battalion, 5th Special Forces Group).

 

 

Bryan

 

[frank2far]

Bryan, I do not disagree with anything you said. I was there in 2005, 2006, 2007, & 2008. I say it is not the 'Organization that makes the man, it is the MAN that makes the organization."

 

Same can be said, "It is not the Scroll, the Beret, or the Trident that makes the man, it is the Man that makes the difference to the organization".

[jmpmstr]

An interesting political poster from the first election; I liberated it from a wall in the Green Zone while driving my inspection routes.

[doyler]

Sal

 

Great items.Thanks for posting

[jmpmstr]

Not from the Green Zone but Camp Taji. I rummaged through a bombed out building that was some sort of training or military administrative building, lots of documents and these 2 large documents on the wall. One looks like a roster of sorts. Just thought they were interesting regardless.

[jmpmstr]

Just found this one cleaning out the collection closet. Youll find them without damage but I like that this has the top portion torn away...seems poetic. I liberated this from a blown up building in Taji along with boxes of training manuals and documents.

[TheMariner]

Great thread with some interesting stuff! My biggest curiosity is how you convinced them to let you mail a complete marble column back? Thats a seriously massive thing to bring back!

[manayunkman]

Many respects Sal.

 

Peter

[jmpmstr]

Guys thank you for the comments and keeping the dialogue going. The good thing was the column was only about 24 high in the 2 sections I got. I mailed each in a black plastic trunk with other personal items. 80lb limit per trunk so I got lucky. My mail cattier was not but I suppose he got a workout from them.