Balad AB info

[Guest pilotwannab]

I recently got tasked to go to Balad for 120 days. I've never been to The Sandbox before, although I have wanted to for some time. I leave some time in March. I just wondered if any of you guys/gals who have had the experience could tell me anything about their trips.

[Guest Robes]

Here is some of the best information you can find on the NIPR side... https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/iraq.htm

IMHO the best place in Iraq to be is Kirkuk... at least the 6 months I spent there... Tallil AB sucked the two times i was there and Balad was not the best place to be (due in part to leadership and other things you will find out there). I thought the time I spent in Iraq was much better than Kuwait (spent the prior 3 months there). Your Intel folks will be able to give you the best information. If you are woundering if there is anything you really need to bring or what to leave at home PM me and I can give you my opinion.

[ 31. January 2005, 20:26: Message edited by: Robes ]

[tac airlifter]

You'll enjoy Balad, as much as you can enjoy being anywhere over there. It's a huge base now and has lots of stuff to do in your free time. The new gym is nice (I assume you're regular AF and therefore living in H-6) although they have several others in the army part of town. There's a pretty cool turkish resturaunt by the Saddam movie theater and a nice pool. Unfortunatly, it's usually filled with hundreds of sweaty army dudes, but theres a downside to everything.

I've been deployed there 3 times and stopped in a few more times on various short missions. We started going there in late 05, before that we were in OKAS. I think being in Iraq is easier than being outside (wih the exception of Turkey, that place would be awesome to stage from). It's gotten pretty nice in the last few years, it went from being a mud hole to having sidewalks, hard facilities for showers and living. There is a bus system if you want to go around the base to the west side or wherever. The summer is obviously pretty hot, but October through May it's not a bad place to be. The threat has gone down significantly, you won't even notice nowdays. I've been overnight just about everywhere in OIF and Balad is fine. It has all the gay rules and dudes trying to make rank by shitting on you that other places have; get used to that. I think it's way better than Kirkuk since that place has oil fires buring all the time and smells like shit. Balad does have a burn pit that will put all types of nasty things in your lungs and make it hard to run outside, but you really only smell it in the spring and summer when the winds are from the north. Unfortunatly, winds are almost always from the north.

Overall its a good place to go for your first deployment. Pretty much every base is built up there now, and OIF only has a few wild places left, like Al Kut, where you don't have to wear a shirt or shave. If you ge tthe chance to go there, take it!

[Guest CAVEMAN]

Overall its a good place to go for your first deployment. Pretty much every base is built up there now, and OIF only has a few wild places left, like Al Kut, where you don't have to wear a shirt or shave. If you ge tthe chance to go there, take it!

Trust me, there are other wild places. People just do not talk about it. DFAC is at the back of an MTVR. You walk the line and some E-3 gives you 3 scoops of K-Rat. MRE's for launch. You might get lucky for dinner. They usually have the word COP ( Combat Out Post) in front of their location. Some of them do not even have names.

Stopped in Balad a few times. I was jealous myself.

[pittsdriver]

For those of you who are there right now or just left, what are the living arrangements there? Wireless available?

[Guest bob_the_hooker]

Let me put it his way: you'll have Pizza hut, Burger King, Green Beans, a huge PX, and countless other amenities. Going to Balad for 120 days is like a trip to Club Med.

"If you're not a hooker, you're doing it for free"

Edited February 24, 2009 by bob_the_hooker

[pittsdriver]

Well, just curios about the living arrangements there. I really don't want to be in a place where I have to take a shovel, dig a hole in it and crap in it, and punch holes in a water bottle for my shower lol. I am used to some real tough deployment locations, Diego and Guam. I got a 179 to Balad this summer/fall, so trying to see what is available there, etc.

Edited February 26, 2009 by Pittsdriver

[Guest C17Wes]

When I was at Balad. There were about to open a Popeyes chicken. And I believe there was a Seattles Best coffee already open right next door. These were on the Army side.

[Guest Form 8]

Well, just curios about the living arrangements there. I really don't want to be in a place where I have to take a shovel, dig a hole in it and crap in it, and punch holes in a water bottle for my shower lol. I am used to some real tough deployment locations, Diego and Guam. I got a 179 to Balad this summer/fall, so trying to see what is available there, etc.

You'll have a trailer and bathroom/cadillac's within shorter walking distance than if you were at the Deid. And that was back in late 2005.

[HuggyU2]

For mailing via US Postal Service from the US, how long is it taking to get to Balad?

Any different for anything larger than a letter?

[Vertigo]

For mailing via US Postal Service from the US, how long is it taking to get to Balad?

Any different for anything larger than a letter?

I'm not in Balad but just north of there. It's taking about 7-10 days for letters and packages for my location, I would speculate and say it's probably close to that for ORBD as well.

[Jughead]

For mailing via US Postal Service from the US, how long is it taking to get to Balad?

Any different for anything larger than a letter?

Huggy, my Balad info is nearly a year old at this point, but I was getting mail in under a week. I only had one or two packages delivered, and they didn't seem to take any longer. All in all, quite acceptable.

Where I'll caution you re USPS is using the free outgoing mail service. Apparently that mail is sub-sub-sub priority to everything else--and I still haven't seen at least two things I sent out. Having learned that lesson the hard way, I'll spring for a stamp from now on....

You doing a rotation in the MC-12?

[HuggyU2]

For those of y'all at Balad,...

there's a lot of rumors floating around. I figured I'd get it right from the horse's mouth.

- Still on track to shutdown at end of year, as per press reports? Or just parts of it?

- Chow hall: down to 2 hots per day? Going to 1 hot per day + MRE's?

- Pool: shutting down soon or already?

- What else is happening WRT supposed drawdown, that my cause a decrease in QOL?

[Dupe]

...Sounds like somebody's deploying to Balad.

[HuggyU2]

Brilliant...

There are a lot of us that are looking at 179+'s to numerous places.

It's nice to know some of the truths vs. rumors in the off-shot that someone has a choice.

It's been a topic of discussion more than once... would just like to get some facts.

[HU&W]

I heard something about mandatory 5 minute combat showers with an E-7 specifically deployed to monitor each stall for compliance (and an EPR bullet).

[Vertigo]

For those of y'all at Balad,...

there's a lot of rumors floating around. I figured I'd get it right from the horse's mouth.

- Still on track to shutdown at end of year, as per press reports? Or just parts of it?

- Chow hall: down to 2 hots per day? Going to 1 hot per day + MRE's?

- Pool: shutting down soon or already?

- What else is happening WRT supposed drawdown, that my cause a decrease in QOL?

Most of these cannot be answered in a non SIPR format.

[HuggyU2]

Most of these cannot be answered in a non SIPR format.

I'll take your word for it, but I find that pretty hard to believe.

TCN's work the chow hall, and know how many meals they serve.

The pool being open or not doesn't seem SIPR-relevant.

Other "QOL issues" generally aren't of a Secret nature.

If you're concerned, then don't post it.

But if you've got any info that's relevant and unclass, please do.

Edited May 5, 2011 by Huggyu2

[Snuggie]

- Chow hall: down to 2 hots per day? Going to 1 hot per day + MRE's?

- Pool: shutting down soon or already?

- What else is happening WRT supposed drawdown, that my cause a decrease in QOL?

These I feel pretty safe to answer these questions non sipr.

-Chow hall is still open 4 meals a day.

-Pool is open, and will be for a while.

-The subway and BK have already gone away. Other things will be shutting down so QOL will be going down through the next year.

[Vertigo]

I'll take your word for it, but I find that pretty hard to believe.

TCN's work the chow hall, and know how many meals they serve.

The pool being open or not doesn't seem SIPR-relevant.

Other "QOL issues" generally aren't of a Secret nature.

If you're concerned, then don't post it.

But if you've got any info that's relevant and unclass, please do.

Sorry was doing multiple things and just perused the question and didn't read the actual content- saw the first question about if the drawdown was on track and assumed the rest were drawdown, not QOL, questions. My bad. Drawdown timelines and where we are in that process are secret... but that's not what you asked. So... I'm an ass.

Edited May 6, 2011 by Vertigo

[HuggyU2]