Wade in Iraq: Week 29 - My Week In Iraq

Greetings from Umm Qasr! (Umm Qasr, which I believe is Arabic for – “no place to spend money, no entertainment, no place to go, and really lousy food…..did I volunteer – or get sentenced?!?”)

So, what exciting things have I been up to this week? Well, the biggest thing is that word has come down from “on high” that the ITAM Navy (Iraqi Training and Assistance Mission – whom I work for) mission is ending and we need to rotate out of the country as soon as we can.

Since the mission is ending, there are a lot of “goodbyes” taking place – several of the “activities” have ended… including my “office mate” Capt. Myles Esmele’s Akido class. Myles is a certified Akido instructor and has taught classes all over the world. He handed out certificates to his class – and to those who helped support the class (me and a few others).

Capt. Esmele’s Akido class (Capt. Esmele is in his robe….

hint – don’t make a joke about bathrobes to a

certified Akido instructor – as they tend to take it personally –

and use you for a “class demonstration”

….note that the Akido guys train on where to hit you

and not leave visible bruises….)

Unfortunately, I am one of the few – who have an “extended mission for ITAM Navy” – so I will be in country a little longer – maximum until the end of the year. But I have asked to be “re-missioned” – several different possibilities – but there is a “call” for a lot of positions in Afghanistan – and I am hoping to be picked up in one of those jobs to finish out my year (March 2012) – but nothing is firm yet (as I told you last letter, you get used to that in government work).

….but for now, a lot of my “planned work” has been tabled. I had to let one of my local engineers go due to lack of work. I continue to do what I can for the Iraqi Navy – but my opportunities are limited and I look forward to either heading home or moving on to a new mission.

Another “limited opportunity” is the DFAC. OH…MY….GOSH… the food has been EXCEPTIONALLY bad the last week or so. We will be getting a new contractor in about a month to do the cooking – so I think the current cooks are trying to make us REALLY look forward to the new contractor. It was so bad, that a couple of nights, I had cereal for dinner (something pre-packaged) – or I will have a sandwich (they usually have one type of pre-packaged lunch meat and cheese) – so I am not starving. Again, I am a lucky one because I have the locals that bring me food. A lot of the guys here don’t have that option (or even more hilarious – is that they are AFRAID to eat the Iraqi food…… I but ask them, do you see what the DFAC is serving??? If you want to be afraid – eat the DFAC food – be very afraid…)

Okay, speaking of DFAC Food…I have been working on the Iraqi Navy Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). This stretches back to April – when I connected up our camp sewer system to the Naval Base WWTP. I went over there to ensure the plant could handle the (relatively small) amount of waste that we generate. What I found was a plant that was totally non-functional. This was due to several items – bad design of the original plant, bad construction, and lack of maintenance by the Iraqis.

This was our initial design to renovate the WWTP – this is not

anything like the final design – so this is not any type of

security violation - but it gives you an idea of what the WWTP does –

also, I had one of the local engineers translate the drawings into Arabic. That makes it easier for the locals to bid on this.

After I warned “up the chain” that the WWTP was in terrible shape – a few months later – the pumphouse caught fire. Eventually, the renovation of the plant was funded – and it falls to me to redesign, correct bad construction, and train the Iraqi Navy Operators on how to maintain the plant.

Right after the fire in the WWTP….

Okay, now what “magic” happens with the WWTP (and I promise not to be gross – and it is really not a tremendously complicated process) ….it happens in pretty much 3 steps – and for those of you who are just dying to know – you can reference the drawing above to see what action happens where…..

1. Add “de-foaming” agent to the water (you do this at the “lift station” in the above drawing – and you add the de-foaming agent because of the next step….)

2. Bubble oxygen (air) into the water (if you don’t add the defoaming agent, you have 3 foot high yucky “bubble foam”)….this bubbling also helps separate the “sludge” (yes, that is the polite word for poop….) from the water. The bubbling takes place in the “aeration chamber” and the sludge flows into the “settlement chamber”

3. Add a small amount of chlorine to the water to disinfect it. (This is done in the “product tank” in the drawing above)

Now, I wouldn’t drink this water – but it gets put into a lagoon and it eventually evaporates, etc. and becomes part of the “useful” cycle of nature… (for some reason I want to sing “The Circle of Life” from the Lion King right here…). But overall, it is a very economical and efficient process (and works well over here where there is not a lot of water.)

The real funny thing (funny - strange) – is that for the WWTP to be REALLY effective – is it has to be cleaned (over and over) and that is part of the “training” that I am giving the Iraqi Operators – how to clean all the tanks, the aeration jets, the lines, etc. If you don’t keep the operation clean – pumps fail, jets get clogged, valves don’t work, etc. and the whole operation comes to a halt (that is what happened last time). So as part of the project, we fixed the design deficiencies, we are constructing to better standards and I am giving the WWTP operators a lot of training on how to clean, add chemicals and wash down the plant.

The pumphouse with the roof removed (pretty much looking at it as the same view from the fire picture above. )

Note the pumps on the right hand side are air pumps – and pump oxygen into the aeration tanks.

BTW, the Iraqis painted the building this lovely color

(not sure what to call it….but I think they got it for a good price…..)

Well, this is a relatively short update. As I said, a lot of changes are happening here – especially with all of the planned draw-downs. But as with any change, you enjoy the good ones and you deal with the bad as best as you can. I will try and keep you up-to-date if my status here changes. Other than that, thank you for sharing my adventures and keep in touch as you can.

God Bless America

Mr. Wide

مهندس واد بروير

Bonus PHOTOS…..