The Ditches and the Mud

When I think of Minnesota and of the many lakes it has, I am amazed at what rain can do to this area of the world. COB Basra is a network of ditches which throughout the summer months were dry as could be. Ever since the rain came, the ditches are a cesspool of bad smelling water and God knows what. I’m thinking about my ECO job when I had to inspect the ditch.

With the rain came a couple stories. I don’t have firsthand experience seeing these events but I thought they were too good to pass up:

Soldiers will sometimes do the most interesting things to keep themselves entertained. Case in point, Specialist Shane Gunlock was challenged by another Soldier on Christmas day to jump across one of the ditches. This particular ditch was approximately 2 feet deep and 5-6 feet wide. Specialist Gunlock had to take a running start but he made it across. Now you would think if you were lucky enough to make it the first time, why try again? Not the case with Gunlock, he went for the jump again and hit the edge of the ditch. The ground wasn’t solid and he slipped into the nasty water. Nice Christmas present!

Our platoon leaders witnessed an Iraqi guy squatting down by the water, cupping his hand and drinking the water from the ditch. Now for the best part….another Iraqi guy was just down from him bathing with bottled water. Go figure!

With the rain also comes the mud. Our command was extremely diligent about bringing in gravel before the rain came, but there are still spots where the mud is easily accessible. My roommate got back from an errand and her running shoes were totally covered in mud. I just had to laugh especially since it happened to me about a week prior. I decided to cut though an area I usually don’t walk in at night, it was poorly lit and my boot sunk right into the mud almost to my ankle. Nice.

For me, the worse part of the rain is the mud in the showers. Most of the females wear their flip flops to the shower trailer and wear the same shoes in the shower so all that mud gets deposited inside the shower. It wouldn’t be so bad if they’d rinse the shower when they were done but it’s not uncommon to see muddy shower stalls. This goes along with the hair they don’t clean out of the drain or around the sinks or the used paper towels they leave on the counter. I can’t wait to get back to my own bathroom! Just to shower with as much hot water as I want and no flip flops will be a treat!


One of the many ditches!



My Roommate's shoes!


My Roommate!