May 30, 1991: A Visit From Colin Powell

Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay


Thu 30 May

We went to vehicle wash in the morning. COL Miller had worked out a deal with the water works to use their hoses. This was a highly secret arrangement; everybody else was washing vehicles in the river. I was assigned to a 5-ton truck, which was no problem in itself. We got to the intersection in Zakho where we were to turn (actually a U-turn through the median, typical Arab traffic control) and I turned. It was too tight to make the turn in a single maneuver, so I started to back up. I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw a trailer right behind me. My first thought was "Who's the idiot crowding me with that trailer?" My next thought was "How did he get a trailer up so close behind my truck?". Then I realized I was the idiot. I'd driven all the way down without realizing I had a trailer in tow; it was completely hidden by the rear of the truck! Backing trailers is not my strong suit. I had the trailer on one wheel at one point, but I got enough room to finish the turn.

Workin' in the Car Wash Blues

Gulf War Image Not exactly "blues" - this is one step closer to going home.

The Old Bridge at Zakho

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Trash Run, May 30, 1991

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Only one of the pumps at the water works was running, and the big hose was in constant use filling water trucks, but the managers ran a garden hose out for us. I left about 1130 to get back for a noon meeting of drivers for General Powell's visit, only to find the meeting was postponed until 1300. I went to headquarters to get a much-needed haircut. The Iraqi barber used hand clippers; it was like going to the barber in 1910. The barber chair was a pile of cement slabs. I got back, and the meeting was postponed until 1400. When we finally met, we got a small fact folder and a five-minute briefing. I showered and reported to Camp 2 at 1430. Powell and his entourage arrived an hour hater in 4 choppers. LTC Christopherson, aided by Jeff Poh, gave the briefing, then the group piled into buses and Blazers for a short tour. I drove a Blazer with two majors and a captain, pretty small fry by the standards of the tour group. We drove over to Captain subcommunity, looped through the area and back to the city center. The tour took only 15 minutes, but my group seemed very pleased by what they saw. Then Powell and his crew departed. The whole affair went like clockwork, and our brass seem very happy indeed.

A Visit From Colin Powell

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Gulf War Image This guy deserves a lot better from history than the hand he got dealt in 2003.
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Created January 10, 2000; Last Update 11 June 2020

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