I returned to Baghdad on 28 March to find continued mortar and rocket attacks on the International Zone in full swing. After arriving at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) in the morning, I tried to catch a helicopter over the International Zone, which lies about twelve miles east. All things considered, I didn’t want to risk a ground transit on the Rhino Runner, which wouldn’t have left until late in the night anyway. I found space on a departing helicopter after only an hour’s wait. The brief flight was uneventful until we attempted to land. We were about fifty feet from touchdown near the Embassy when I saw people on the ground running into bunkers. Then I saw the impact of a mortar or rocket off towards the bank of the Tigris River. Before I had time to process the image, I felt the increased G-force as the helicopter pilot applied power and got us the Hell Out Of There. As we banked around, the impact area came into view as a big white cloud of smoke. I couldn’t tell if anything had caught on fire or not; we flew low and fast back out over the Red Zone (the area outside of the International Zone).
We flew back to BIAP where we landed at a landing zone supporting one of the many bases that make up Victory Base Complex (VBC). I chatted with an Army colonel who also was trying to get to the International Zone in order to attend a meeting. He was based out of Diwaniyah, a city to the south of Baghdad. We chose to wait outside despite the heat as we knew the situation was fluid and that flight officials often weren’t able to make announcements in the waiting tent. The wash of the four helicopters waiting, rotors running, on the landing pad actually created a sort of breeze as we sat in the shade of tall concrete T-walls. After about thirty minutes, we received word that the landing zone near the Embassy was now re-opened and that flights were resuming. We hopped on the first helicopter and took off. We landed at another nearby landing zone in VBC where we took on six more soldiers with packs as passengers. We took off and headed towards the International Zone. I sat towards the front as was offered a headset. I listened to the reports as the control tower at the Embassy Landing Zone came back up and advised they had received an “All Clear.”
We landed without incident and I jumped off the helicopter with my backpack and walked briskly towards the Embassy. Along the way, I passed a duck and cover bunker and saw an impact crater from a rocket. I asked the Peruvian Triple Canopy guard standing nearby about it in Spanish who told me the impact occurred early on Easter morning. Thankfully, no on in the bunker was hurt seriously.
I got back to my office, exhausted, but happy to be back despite the sounds of rocket and mortar impacts in the International Zone.
We flew back to BIAP where we landed at a landing zone supporting one of the many bases that make up Victory Base Complex (VBC). I chatted with an Army colonel who also was trying to get to the International Zone in order to attend a meeting. He was based out of Diwaniyah, a city to the south of Baghdad. We chose to wait outside despite the heat as we knew the situation was fluid and that flight officials often weren’t able to make announcements in the waiting tent. The wash of the four helicopters waiting, rotors running, on the landing pad actually created a sort of breeze as we sat in the shade of tall concrete T-walls. After about thirty minutes, we received word that the landing zone near the Embassy was now re-opened and that flights were resuming. We hopped on the first helicopter and took off. We landed at another nearby landing zone in VBC where we took on six more soldiers with packs as passengers. We took off and headed towards the International Zone. I sat towards the front as was offered a headset. I listened to the reports as the control tower at the Embassy Landing Zone came back up and advised they had received an “All Clear.”
We landed without incident and I jumped off the helicopter with my backpack and walked briskly towards the Embassy. Along the way, I passed a duck and cover bunker and saw an impact crater from a rocket. I asked the Peruvian Triple Canopy guard standing nearby about it in Spanish who told me the impact occurred early on Easter morning. Thankfully, no on in the bunker was hurt seriously.
I got back to my office, exhausted, but happy to be back despite the sounds of rocket and mortar impacts in the International Zone.
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