It's not fancy, but it's home

AQUR QUF, Iraq – The joint security station has almost no outside lighting, no pavement, nowhere to buy supplies and not a lot in the way of entertainment.

It’s not much of a place to spend Christmas, unless you like a simplicity reminiscent of that first Christmas in Bethelehem.

But for 200 Fort Lewis soldiers, this is home for a year.

As the American military closes smaller outposts across Iraq, places like Joint Security Station Aqur Quf stand out as an anomaly. The small plot of gravel, tents and trailers – home to a single Stryker company from the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division – is one of the few remaining company-size bases in the country.

The soldiers of Able Company, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment do joint patrols with the Iraqis and meet with local leaders in this area of northern Baghdad province.

It’s a crucial location: Aqur Quf has been relatively quiet lately, but American military officials say smugglers use the area to funnel bomb-making materials and weapons from Fallujah to Baghdad.

The days of the joint security station, however, appear numbered. Once trumpeted as a new way to engage the Iraqi population, only 37 such bases remain as the security agreement between Washington and Baghdad push American troops outside cities and towns.

The majority of the 110,000 U.S. service members in Iraq live on larger bases just outside major cities. Massive installations – such as Victory Base Complex in Baghdad and Joint Base Balad – with tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers have earned the nickname “super-FOBs,” using the military acronym for forward operating base.

Though they’d rather be home for Christmas, Fort Lewis troops appreciate life at Aqur Quf, called AQ for short.

“It’d be tough to go back to the big-base living,” said Spc. Miguel Franchini, a Stryker mechanic from San Diego. “We have a staff sergeant in charge of us. It’s laid-back. It’s a nice place to be.”

FANCY, POPULAR POWDERED EGGS

Spc. Shawn Smallwood’s famous scrambled eggs are the last item he prepares for brunch. He starts by emptying packages of prescrambled, dehydrated egg powder into a deep pot and mixing in water.

The Puyallup native then fires up a burner and melts a pound of butter.

The eggs go into the pan once the butter’s melted. And then Smallwood, a 26-year-old on his third combat deployment, adds salt, garlic and red-pepper flakes. About 45 minutes later, they’re ready to eat. But not quite ready to serve.

“I’ll add about 21/2 pounds of cheese on top of each pan,” he said. “People love it. Guys from all around the area know that when they come to AQ, they get to eat these eggs.”

The military is in an age of outsourcing; contractors in Iraq book flights, repair generators and prepare food in chow halls. But not so at AQ; four soldiers from the 702nd Brigade Support Battalion prepare and serve two meals for about 150 people daily.

“To be able to do your job, it’s just so much better than sitting on the base in Baghdad,” said Spc. Robert McKenzie, a 38-year-old Tennessee native on his third deployment to Iraq.

At the large bases across Iraq and Kuwait, contractors from South Asia wearing crisp maroon aprons and neat white hats serve the troops. Main courses can be selected from a short-order grill, a stir-fry bar, a salad bar, a sandwich bar, a dessert table, a dozen soft drinks and Baskin-Robbins ice cream. Fast-food counters like Burger King, Cinnabon and Popeyes chicken are also available.

But at Aqur Quf, the meals are prepared in a canvas-walled kitchen that can be collapsed and hauled behind a trailer. Smallwood plays music from his laptop and blasts the AC in an attempt to counter the heat coming from his gas burners and ovens. The cooks’ day begins at 7 a.m. and ends about 12 hours later.

A supply truck arrives from Baghdad every four days. A nearby tent serves as the dining area, with wooden benches, cafeteria tables and a big-screen TV constantly tuned to Armed Forces Network Sports. Unlike most chow halls, it stays open 24 hours and provides drinks and snacks.

The tables fill the minute after the hot food arrives. And Smallwood’s scrambled eggs seem to be a winner.

“(Smallwood) had to go to Baghdad a while ago,” Sgt. John Kronberg said. “He was gone six days. I’ve never seen people so happy to see one guy get back.”

QUICK RESPONSE

Three rows of Stryker vehicles idled atop the gravel as troops from three platoons huddled behind each rig, reviewing details for their missions.

Steel Platoon was in the midst of its 24-hour shift as the company’s quick reaction force. Soldiers were expected to be ready to respond to an incident within 10 minutes of the first radio call.

Spc. Jacob Hofmann sat on the ramp of his Stryker and listened to the radio chatter. If the call came, he and the other folks pulling a shift in front of the vehicles were in charge of scrambling everyone.

“It can be a lot of waiting around,” said the 21-year-old Tacoma resident on his second deployment. “But even if the call to respond to something doesn’t come, they’re keeping us busy.”

His platoon had three other missions planned that day: patrol to attend an area council meeting, a reconnaissance ride and a transportation mission to drop people off at the battalion headquarters at Joint Security Station Nasir wa Salam, a 45-minute drive away.

The company’s 1st Platoon also prepared to roll outside the wire. The soldiers were driving to Victory Base Complex, the giant American base in Baghdad, to pick up supplies from 4th Brigade headquarters.

For many, a visit to Baghdad meant one thing: a rare chance to buy extras.

“We’ll be there for 3 or 4 hours,” Sgt. 1st Class Douglas Dodge said in the pre-mission brief. “So bring your ID cards, because we’ll be shopping.”

In the front row, another platoon prepared to drive to a nearby outpost in Anbar province where a company of the 82nd Airborne Division was stationed with members of the Iraqi army.

The Fort Lewis soldiers were making the trip to coordinate activities and to make contact in case the paratroopers come under attack. If that ever happens, Capt. Keith Roberts told his soldiers, they would be the closest unit that could help.

“I know we’re an outpost out here,” said Roberts, the commander of Able Company, “but let’s see what we have that they might need. There aren’t a lot of others around here.”

The three sets of vehicles rolled out by midmorning, leaving Aqur Quf with the feel of a ghost town.

MECHANICS GO FOR A DRIVE

The Stryker sat on jacks as a crane ripped the engine from its frame. The 20-ton vehicle was due for routine maintenance: mechanics drained the fluids, changed filters, and checked for cracks and leaks.

The five soldiers and two General Dynamics contractors at the joint security station’s motor pool keep busy, working on up to 20 Strykers per week. They also are in charge of towing a vehicle if a roadside bomb disables it.

“There’s always something breaking, but they’re also constantly going out on missions,” said Spc. Andrew Hardin, an Oregon native who lives on post. “It’s like a civilian vehicle: The more you drive it, the more it breaks.”

And when the mechanics need a break, they tee off.

Soldiers found a shipping container with about 50,000 golf balls when they arrived last fall and they put a hitting mat on the roof of their two-story building.

They only have two clubs, but they’ll take turns taking hacks. Most balls land harmlessly in the vacant field beyond the fences, but a few draw attention.

“Sometimes the guys in the guard tower will radio the (tactical operations center),” Spc. Clois Seely said. “They’ll tell them, ‘The mechanics are throwing things at us again.’ ”

BOOTLEG DVDS AND JOHNNY CASH

Other than rooftop golf, Aqur Quf doesn’t provide much in the way of entertainment. Pitch blackness descends on the base shortly after sundown, cutting short most outdoor activities.

A trailer holds an Internet cafe and phones, and a morale trailer offers a pingpong table and stacks of dusty paperbacks.

A shop run by an Iraqi who goes by the name of Johnny Cash sells movies, often of low recording quality and accompanied with subtitles in foreign languages.

Soldiers also pass time playing video games or reading in their tents, which hold about 25-35 people and are protected behind blast-proof concrete walls.

Another trailer holds the base’s workout center – basically a few weight machines. Nearby is a sand volleyball pit, though few soldiers know anyone who uses it.

“I pretty much pass the time watching lots of DVDs, pirated movies,” said Spc. Jay Hebert, a Louisiana native serving as a gunner on his second deployment. “I read ‘New Moon’ the other day, and then I watched the movie a day or two later.”

AROUND THE FIRE PIT

Roberts, the company commander, started the cigar session by arranging the plastic chairs around the fire pit. Three other soldiers soon arrived with smokes in hand. The captain broke apart several pallets and grabbed a stack of papers in a burn barrel for kindling.

“Nothing starts a fire quite like old classified documents,” the 40-year-old DuPont resident said.

The four spent about an hour around a roaring fire – one of the few sources of exterior light at AQ – chatting about the Iraqi military, Army bureaucracy, workout equipment and life back home.

The cigar session was a way to unwind after work. Johnny Cash’s shop sells Cubans, but the soldiers order their stogies online.

“With the way the mail works, they can take six days to get out here or they can sit around for two months,” said Lt. Tyson Brown, puffing a Dark Angel.

They watched as a mortar platoon from another nearby joint security station shot illumination rounds a mile above the desert. The four soldiers would wake again in about six hours, ready for another day on 4th Brigade’s smallest outpost.

“We work pretty much around the clock here,” Staff Sgt. Henry McCormick said. “But a nice cigar at the end of the day – that’s my time.”

scott.fontaine@thenewstribune.com

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