Baghdad al-Jadida

In the summers of 2007 and 2008, I spent two months in Iraq embedded with the 2/69 Combined Arms Battalion. This is a group of approximately 500 soldiers whom I'd photographed and interviewed for over two years (See <em>Gray Land: Soldiers on War</em>). When I arrived at Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah on the eastern edge of Baghdad, the battalion had been deployed for three months. This was the second deployment for over half of these soldiers, and the third deployment for many. <em>(continued)</em> The soldiers of the 2/69 are were responsible for a large urban area, covering Baghdad al-Jadida ("New Baghdad"). They ran both mounted and dismounted patrols, advised Iraqi army and police units, and worked closely with the District Action Councils -- local organizations overseeing neighborhood security and welfare. They had to be warriors, politicians, civil engineers, social workers, economists, and whatever else was called for in their area of operations. The issue as to what we were doing in Iraq, or whether we were being at all successful, was moot. They went where they were sent, did what they were told, and tried to make the best possible job of it. <em>(continued)</em> The battalion lost three men the day before I got there. I photographed and spoke with their company commander a week later, and realized something I hadn't before, despite all of my interviews. He knew these men intimately -- knew them more closely than family. When the rest of us suffer this kind of loss, we take time for ourselves. Soldiers don't have the luxury of a day off. They go back out the next day -- usually performing two 4-6 hour patrols, under constant stress. The weather is extreme -- between 110-120 deg F, and these men and woman carry over 70 lbs of gear and weaponry. I near about died wearing just a helmet, body armor and carrying a camera. I still don't entirely know how they do it.