Saturday, May 01, 2010
Army tent base in Iraq
For the American soldiers manning Joint Security Station Wahab, Iraq, near the border with Iran, life has been a mix of espionage and being forgotten. The soldiers guarding the remote outpost, all from the 4th Brigade of the Army’s 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas, endured the annoyance of not having any portable toilets for a while because the Department of Defense cancelled the contract for Wahab station. Apparently, some official forgot the troops were still out there, forcing the men to use disposable waste bags until new toilets arrived.
Soldiers also have had to live with no running water and intermittent mail service—but plenty of “spy vs. spy” action. Because of the checkpoint’s close proximity to Iran, Americans regularly spot their counterparts on the other side of the border, exchanging glares and “one-finger salutes.”
U.S. troops at this outpost are likely to be some of the last to leave Iraq. They are training Iraqi soldiers to properly watch the area once a new civilian border crossing opens nearby, which will allow thousands of Iranian religious tourists to enter the country. Washington fears Iran will use the crossing to infiltrate Iraq with agents.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Iraq-Iran Border Post: From 'Checkpoint Charlie' to Tourist Gate? (by Hannah Allam, McClatchy Newspapers)
It’s Austere Here! Part One: JSS Al Wahab Offers Tents, Cots, No Running Water (by J. Princeville Lawrence, Red Bull Report) (pdf)
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