Adventure In Iraq

by David Schulze
(Baqubah, Iraq)

I have been having an adventure in Iraq, actually many adventures in Iraq for most of the past five years!

Two years ago, I started a website, Iraq-up-close-and-personal.com to talk about my adventures and to let other civilian contractors and military personnel know what it is like so they will be a little more prepared when they go to Iraq.

For instance, I move all over through the warzone, from base to base. Convoys are one way, and insurgents and Iraqi civilians have tried to harm us on some of these. A better way to travel that is in itself an adventure, is by helicopter.

I have had to ride choppers many times in Iraq. We go straight up, fast. The noise is deafening, the view is spectacular, and my adrenalin really gets to pumping each and every time I leave solid ground in a chopper. We could get shot down at any second and knowing that makes me appreciate life more than ever.

Then there are the explosions on the bases where I have been and the alarms that go off, signalling us to run to the bunkers for safety...

Iraq is definitely a place for adventure.