CC Fred Tucker describes his tour in Babylon
Fred Tucker in front of the reported 4,000-year-old Ziggurat, visible from Contingency Operating Base Adder, Tellil, Iraq.
(Ed. Note: We think it interesting that retired CC Major Fred Tucker simply cannot get enough excitement in his life. We’ve known him since he was a young warrant officer in Vietnam and we’ve followed his many exploits ever since. Following Marine retirement he went on to head the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs. When we held our annual conference in Nashville a number of years ago he and “Fast Eddie” Evans chaired the very successful event. We’ve come to expect that, where action is, also is Fred Tucker. He now is a Public Affairs Officer for the U. S. Corps of Engineers, tasked with a rebuilding operation in Iraq. We will herald his current exploits from time to time. Fred recounts his first attempted trip to historic Babylon …).
Well, the third day was a charm. After sand and wind delayed our trip north for two days, we finally got out of Contingency Operating Base (COB) Adder, Tallil, Iraq this morning for the four-hour trip to COB Kalsu, Babylon, Iraq.
We had an interesting trip with no incidents. The “battle-rattle” (Interceptor Battle Armor) we are required to wear outside the COB’s is heavy and hot, but the vehicles are air-conditioned. The Aegis contract security guys are quite experienced and good at what they do. We were in a four-hardened vehicle convoy, consisting of two Land Cruisers & two Excursions, both well armed and both with excellent communications.
Aegis have detachments in most COB’s and their Operation Center reminds me of a very miniature of the Air Force operations center at Scott AFB, IL. Scott tracks all flights worldwide and can give you the location, crew cargo of all military aircraft in the air, Aegis can provide the same info on each of their “sets”, as they refer to their individual convoys.
We avoided towns and came through the desert with only a few breaks in the pavement. Several civilian convoys and one military convoy were also along the way on mostly divided highway, frequently three lanes on each side. Aegis Security passes just about everything on the road. without breaking into a military convoy.
Coming here is comparable to a walk or ride through biblical history. In addition to being in such locations as Ur, Hillah and Babylon, along the way up today, we saw herds of camels, sheep, some cattle, and a few donkeys.
After arrival here at Kalsu, we had much better Pizza Hut pizza than in Madison, TN. After getting half unpacked, and getting briefed on the next 21 days’ activities, the Area Commander, two others and I donned PT gear and did 4 miles at a fast walk, each with a bottle of water. Had to chuckle to myself as one individual was apparently assigned to keep an eye on the “flippin’ new guy (me) to make sure I didn’t fall out. That requirement has now been lifted!
BTW, we jumped a Jackrabbit on the walk. Didn’t realize they were here. Doves & pigeons abound. Most doves are larger…closer to the size of the White Winged Doves in the Southwest at home. I’m scheduled to visit seven Corps of Engineer construction sites tomorrow as part of my orientation to what is known as the Forat area. Most of these will be finished and turned over to the Iraqis during my tour.
I realize this sounds like a Travel Log, but wanted to share with you another day of my tour in Mesopotamia. (Google it).
–Semper Fidelis, Fred Tucker