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DEL.ICIO.USEnduring a blinding sandstorm
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Camp Striker, Iraq — As though searing temperatures, lack of electricity and a violent insurgency were not enough to make the lives of Baghdadis miserable.
Khalid Mohammed/AP
Iraqi police frisk a man as they secure checkpoints during a massive sandstorm Monday.
A blinding sandstorm moved through the Iraqi capital at full force overnight and by Monday morning, an eerie, burnt umber haze had choked the city.
Some described it as a sandstorm of biblical proportions that emptied the city’s busy streets and sent hundreds of gasping Iraqis to local hospitals to seek relief.
The dust also forced the cancellation of a crucial meeting intended to break a deadlock in negotiations over Iraq’s draft constitution.
Meteorologists said a rare air pressure system that settled over Iraq’s western desert was the culprit that dumped sand and talcum-powder fine dust over the entire city.
At Camp Striker, where a majority of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Brigade Combat Team is based, soldiers found it difficult to see more than 50 feet.
Some had to rethink planned missions because of poor visibility.
Most people covered their eyes and noses and tightly shut entrances to tents, though the efforts in many instances proved futile. Layers of sand and dust forced in by the winds put a coating of the powdery stuff over everything. Brooms and mops were a much-sought commodity Monday. One soldier was spotted beating clouds of dust from a floor rug.
Inches-thick fine sand blanketed the concrete barriers all around the camp.
Dust flared up from the basketball courts every time the ball hit the ground as a few soldiers decided to brave the unkind weather conditions and shoot a few hoops.
The saving grace: Temperatures plummeted into the 80s, a virtual cold wave for Baghdad in August.
It was quieter, too, at Camp Striker, which sits near one end of the Baghdad International Airport. The constant noise of planes and choppers was silenced as the storm stopped flights in and out of the area.
By evening, the winds had died down and the air cleared enough for the brigade to go ahead with its third memorial service for fallen soldiers in the past two weeks.
Monday’s sandstorm was one of the worst in memory. A similar sandstorm slowed the American military advance into southern Iraq during the 2003 invasion.
Comments
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By A Soldier
August 8, 2005 07:03 PM | Link to this
Moni, Have you even left Camp Striker yet? are there not other camps to visit, like Joe and Michael, ect. Probably not too many swimming pools to cover in thoes camps. It is sad that only today that I found out that the most recent three soldiers killed were from the 648th, And I thought that I was really staying on top of this, I probably just didnt see it right. Are you trying to keep information from the general public. Dont forget your K-Pot and Flak jacket when you go out on patrol. maybe one of the guys will loan you a set of 14’s so you can see what is really going on.
Annnnnnnd Roger
By Mother of a Guardsmen
August 8, 2005 08:48 PM | Link to this
God Bless our troops and all they go thru.
By Steve
August 9, 2005 06:00 PM | Link to this
Come home alive, guys. Stay safe….
By Proud Mom
August 9, 2005 06:25 PM | Link to this
I looked with horror at the 10 photos of the most recent suicide bombing which killed six Iraqis and one American soldier. My son is in Baghdad, and I wonder if he could have been in that convoy. The wait is indescribable—until internet connections are restored and my son is able to send me an email. I read many major online newspapers everyday, and it seems that many do not mention the War in Iraq even as a link. Some require the reader to complete a search only to find a 3-day old article. Does the country not realize we are at war? Or does the public just not care? My son left school to defend the innocent victims in Iraq because “not enough people were volunteering to serve in the Guard.” My son could have deferred until he graduated, but he felt the Iraqis’ needs were greater than his. Wake Up America!! This war is real, and it does affect every one of us. I am extremely proud of our men and women in the military—especially those in the 48th! You have my admiration and support! God be with each of you to protect you and bring you home safely! Moni and Bita—thank you!
By Sgt Allen F Gaskill Jr.
August 10, 2005 05:50 AM | Link to this
Well Hello Back Home,,, Know they we are bareing the worst and thinking of the best “YA’LL BACK HOME” ,, Hang tough for us and we will return soon…..