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DEL.ICIO.USMy house is your house
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Patrol Base Red, Iraq - Ken Adgie says he wanted to be an air-conditioning repairman but when that didn’t work out, he joined the Army. He rose all the way to commander of a Georgia-based 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment. But this week, the lieutenant colonel may have found a new calling.
Adgie, 41, was more a real-estate agent than infantry commander as he showed a prime piece of property in Arab Jabour to Ehsan Salim Hassan. Large eight-bedroom, three-bathroom house with kitchen, verandahs, and terrazzo floors, winding staircase and off-street parking.
“There’s a pretty big yard for parking,” Adgie says, scanning the compound from the roof.
“That’s our overflow tent - sleeps 20.”
Except this is no regular real-estate transaction.
The house, once owned by a wealthy Iraqi family has suffered in the war. Sandbagged and guarded by concrete barriers, it has been home to 1-30 Infantry’s Dragon Company for 10 months and sits on the U.S. military map as Patrol Base Red. The guys here call it the “frat house.”
Soon, Dragon Company will be moving back to Forward Operating Base Falcon; the frat house will be turned over to Iraqi security forces.
Arab Jabour, a Sunni district southeast of Baghdad, was once an al-Qaida stronghold. Last June, Adgie’s battalion arrived here as part of the U.S. surge in troops. Almost a year later, the area is a changed place, the soldiers say. Now, it’s time to hand the reins to the Iraqis, though Adgie’s battalion will continue a presence here until they return to Fort Stewart this summer.
Neither the Iraqi Army nor the police have any manpower in Arab Jabour. Adgie has been helping them get started.
He takes Hassan, an Iraqi Army major, around the house, showing him rooms just like a realtor would. He points to an open field nearby and tells Hassan that soon, an Iraqi police station will be built there.
“It’s a good building,” Adgie says, making his pitch. He tells Hassan he would need at least two weeks to get it in move-in ready condition. Hassan, who grew up nearby, says he’ll consider the house. It would be a great location for his soldiers.
They pass through the kitchen and a storage area filled with cases of Gatorade, soda pop, near-beer and snacks.
“Look at all this junk food they keep,” Adgie says.
His soldiers joke that it could very well seal the deal.
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