INDCJournal: Embed Update: Getting There

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November 20, 2006

Embed Update: Getting There

Posted by Bill

Travel dates are finalized: I'll be flying to Kuwait City on December 26th, arriving the evening of the 27th. Once in Kuwait, it will take between one to five days to get my passport stamped and manifest on an Air Force flight to Baghdad (hopefully only a day or two). After registering with the Combined Press Information Center (CPIC) in Baghdad, it will be a Blackhawk to Ramadi. It's my goal to be filing reports from Anbar by January 1. Michael Fumento has had both very good and very bad experiences with this process. Thus far, my dealings with the personnel arranging travel have been pretty smooth and helpful, so I'm optimistic.

Embeds are encouraged by CPIC to take this route, and after weighing the alternatives, it's the best option. Another path is to fly commercially to Jordan and also hop an Air Force flight to Baghdad. The military flies less frequently out of Jordan (two days per week vs. five), so this very well might take longer. And the third way in (practiced by mainstream journalists not embedded with the military) is to fly into Jordan, then take a short commercial flight into Baghdad International Airport. This has two drawbacks:

1. The military does not arrange secure travel from the airport to CPIC for commercial travelers, necessitating the assistance of a private security firm. I'd rather rely on the military: helicopter, Rhino or nada:

Rhino Runner is a type of armoured bus used extensively in Iraq, especially on the infamous Route Irish between Baghdad International Airport and The Green Zone. It is a customized vehicle created by Labock Technologies, with configurations for various purposes. Duties include normal transport of civilian contractors and military personnel, and usage by VIPs, including transport of prisoners involved in the Iraqi Special Tribunal.

It also looks like it'd be great for tailgating.

2. I was informed by a PAO that the Iraqi government now requires all commercial visitors to receive an HIV test at an Iraqi hospital before departure. My instinctive respect for foreign health care and (potentially) Sadrist facilities aside, I'll pass.

The trip will extend through the entire month of January, with a return date subject to the whims of fate and the ability to score expedient transport while in Iraq. Stay tuned.

Posted by Bill at November 20, 2006 10:57 AM | TrackBack (3)

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Comments

When I deployed to Kuwait, the military gave us a hiv test before and after.

Posted by: aaron at November 20, 2006 02:42 PM

Must be a requirement with the Kuwaiti gov fulfilled through the US military. I don't care if the military administers it, but I'm not going to sweat going to an Iraqi facility:

"the government of Iraq has recently re-instituted a provision stating that anybody traveling to Iraq who plans on being there for 10 days or longer needs to have an HIV test done and documented prior to leaving the country. If you fly MILAIR in or out, this will not be a problem. If you fly commercial, this will be an issue you need to resolve prior to leaving.

Currently, the HIV test needs to be done at an Iraqi hospital or health clinic and the cost is about $150."

Posted by: Bill from INDC at November 20, 2006 02:54 PM

Are they making you go through CRC? That's where both of my tests were done.

Just because it says it must be an Iraqi hospital in one place doesn't make it true. The mil will probably take are of this for you. (contractors flying commercial went through the same CRC process).

Anyway, shouldn't be a problem to get out of it.

Posted by: aaron at November 21, 2006 09:53 AM

Well, I'm doing Kuwait, so it's not an issue either way unless you go commercial all the way in.

Posted by: Bill from INDC at November 21, 2006 10:32 AM