May 20, 1991: Kani Masi and Begova
Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
Mon 20 May
Haney's foot hurts badly. He decided to go into Silopi to have it checked, and found out it was broken. I went out with British Navy LT John Howells to Baloka, Kani Masi, A and C Companies, Begova, then in to Zakho for the NGO (Non-governmental organization) meeting. I stayed through it just to see what was going on, but it was mostly a talk fest and there was little information of real interest for our team.
This is a good point to talk about the NGO's. They live in Camp Red Eye, their tents are adjacent to ours, they use our mess hall, and they get along very well with us. They include professional relief workers and volunteers who signed on for a few weeks to come down and help out. Many of them had never worked with the military before, and they were apprehensive about dealing with us, but their comments are invariably favorable. Most of them have no romantic illusions about human nature. I mentioned the problems we sometimes had maintaining order and one of them said "It's amazing how nasty you sometimes have to be to help people".
Spanish MP's are guarding the road by the camps now. We got home about 2000. The British Marines strike me as a very likable, relaxed lot, articulate, competent, and confident. Since they are well-disciplined themselves, they have little need for external discipline.
Kani Masi
Kani Masi was a destroyed Kurdish village. There was a British detachment there and a UN refugee center.
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This Chinook is transporting water bladders.
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Crash!
As I was going through my slides, I found that some had a black band along the bottom where part of the shutter was not retracting properly. Backtracking through the slides, I found the exact frame where the malfunction occurred.
Begova
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How Not to Build a Road
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There's a low pass here on the road from Zakho to Begova and Kani Masi because soft red shale has been eroded. Unfortunately, it also crumbles easily, so the road up the pass is in a constant state of near-collapse. |
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Looking down, the red shale contrasts conspicuously with the resistant white sandstone. |
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The view from the pass is spectacular. |
Back to Camp I
We went back to Camp I briefly to attend a UN and NGO meeting
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One of Life's Little Mysteries
How this Kurdish kid at Camp I happened to get a T-shirt with a molecular diagram of the mineral beryl, in Spanish, no less, and then happen to wear it in front of maybe the only person in theater who would recognize it, is indeed one of life's little mysteries.
- August 2, 1990 - January 5, 1991: From the invasion of Kuwait to mobilization.
- January 6, 1991: Departure
- January 7-14, 1991: Settling in at Fort Bragg
- January 15-23, 1991: Fort Bragg Drags On
- January 24 - February 3, 1991: Preparing to Deploy to the Gulf
- February 4 - 5, 1991: Arrival in Country
- February 6-12, 1991: Khobar and Recon to Jubail
- February 13-20, 1991: Al-Jubail
- February 21-25, 1991: Al Jubail
- February 26, 1991: Tapline Road
- February 27, 1991: Return From KKMC
- February 28 - March 3, 1991: We Move Into Kuwait
- March 4 - 8, 1991: On Patrol in Kuwait
- March 9, 1991: The Choke Point
- March 10 - 11, 1991: A Chopper Ride
- March 11, 1991: Chopper Flight - The Oil Fires
- March 12-14, 1991: Oil Fires and Weapons
- March 15-16, 1991: A Congressman and a Private Museum
- March 17-21, 1991: Oil Fires and Routine Patrols
- March 22-24, 1991:Weapons Fire and Day Turns Into Night
- March 25, 1991: Visit to Iraq
- March 27-28, 1991: On the Coast and More Weapons
- March 31, 1991: Easter and Gergian
- April 1-5, 1991: Farewell Dinner and the Sand-Table House
- April 6-7, 1991: Farewell to Kuwait
- April 10-14, 1991: Khobar and Dhahran:
- April 15-16, 1991: Khobar and Bahrain
- April 17 - 23, 1991: Waiting for Kurdistan
- April 24-25, 1991: From Khobar to Incirlik
- April 26, 1991: From Incirlik to Zakho
- April 27-30, 1991: First Days in Kurdistan
- May 1-2, 1991: Camp I Rises
- May 1-2, 1991: Camp I Rises
- May 3-9, 1991: Camp I in Operation
- May 10-13, 1991: The Eventful Birth of Camp II
- May 14-17, 1991: Camp II in Operation
- May 18-19, 1991: Into the Mountains
- May 20, 1991: Kani Masi and Begova
- May 21, 1991: Nazdour and Begova
- May 22, 1991: Uzumlu
- May 23, 1991: Visit to Camp 1 and Nazdour
- May 24-25, 1991: Sirsenk and Silopi
- May 26, 1991: I'll Teach them to Nickname Me "Indy"
- May 27, 1991: Dohuk (Almost) and Kani Masi
- May 28-29, 1991: Return From the Mountains
- May 30, 1991: A Visit From Colin Powell
- May 31 - June 2, 1991: Chopper Flight over Dohuk; Zakho and Silopi
- June 3-7, 1991: Last Days in Kurdistan
- June 6-8, 1991: Incirlik and an Outing Down the Coast
- June 8 - 18, 1991: Out of Turkey and Back to Fort Bragg
- June 19 - October 11, 1991: Picking Up Where We Left Off
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Created January 10, 2000; Last Update 11 June 2020