my trip to iraq

[solypsist]

okay look, i don't want to turn into an attention whore with a ton of threads about my experiences there, etc.

i am simply going to post the odd small photo here and there in this thread with some short narrative. if you're looking for wild hyperbole, look elsewhere.

----

my impression is that everyone over there is having a great time *except* the americans. i hung out with euro and asian news teams and their respective coverage and it was party time for all but the most extreme circumstances; when they had it bad, the americans were getting it ten times worse. i have no explanation for this.

i'm starting off with some 'easy' pics of humdrum stuff like food and meals of my time in safe quarters. these pics will be small because i don't want a lot of lag when this thread loads.

-----

lots of waiting around, so i took pics of other media people also waiting.

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mlfrk.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mlhud.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mli0j.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mli6v.jpg

i spent some time hanging out with the japanese photographers, eating their Pocky. none of them ever left the GZ but instead took pics of other Asian troops doing traffic control and such.

[Blodrast]

finally, the long-awaited for stories... who complained about attention-whoring ? on the contrary, check out how many people requested stories/photos in your "I'm back" thread, so don't be shy about it ~D.

Details are welcome, I mean, come on, it's one of the major hot spots in the world; of course everybody and their mother want to know about it :2thumbsup:

edit: thank you in advance, and for what you've posted so far

[Mount Suribachi]

Yeah, don't be shy Soly. When you consider we've had about 8 bazillion threads on Iraq (and counting), thats a lot of hot air, yet we've only had 2 patrons that I know of who've actually been there - you and Spetmla, and unless I've missed it, I've not seen him talk about it a great deal.

[solypsist]

the food and meal time. remember, i'm a vegetarian (i eat fish, though), but many times i had to eat meat. so on those times when everyone else would then go out to drink or wifi their reportage, i would be getting sick.

the food stunk, and so did us guys. this is from a meal outside the GZ.

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mokgm.jpg https://i4.tinypic.com/10mptso.jpg https://i4.tinypic.com/10mpqjb.jpg

[solypsist]

the chopsticks on the table are mine. i was eating local food with a japanese writer and a taiwanese photographer, who also used chopsticks. they spoke good english, btw.

this is a meal from inside the GZ.

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mof9u.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mohgm.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mohn7.jpg

[BHCWarman88]

My God,what is that stuff?? One thing looks like Fish,and that the only thing I can tell/..

[solypsist]

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mppcj.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mpsg7.jpg

if you're wondering why this guy is in so many pics, it's because he spoke excellent english (with a british accent) which is an odd excuse, but i have no other reason, really. but man, did that food smell. sometimes it smelled good, but there were times when it was so ******* foreign i just drank cokes.

however, note the difference in food and quantity between meals taken in the GZ and outside it.

[ShadesPanther]

I remember in a Moscow hotel having Chicken. At least I think it was chicken, we are still split 50-50 whether it was chicken or fish.
EDIT:
But I Digress. That stuff looks really nasty. I can see why you were sick.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Nice pics Soly!



Post more!!!

[solypsist]

stores and shops outside the GZ in a relatively safe area. this was a good day to be outside because during the hours i was away there were strikes actually inside the GZ. And this wasn't just mortars and rockets, these were guys who had gotten inside and started blowing themselves and things up. i didn't see any mention of this on any news wires. it was June 8. i heard some security contractors had been killed, but no info on what nationality.

anyway, the irony was that while we were in this place checkng out the goods, someone kept saying over and over he hoped no one ran in here and blew the place up or tries to kidnap us while we are outside and not with troops. i remember hearing it the first time and suddenly feeling very tired from the stress. it was me, one other photoguy, a guide, and one contracted security guard with an English (maybe it was S. African?) accent. we were just one block and around the corner from a checkpoint.

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mpzt0.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mq9h2.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mq9o4.jpg

i have to go to philadelphia on thurs. so i will post more pics when i get back later this week.

[Vladimir]

Forget how the food smelled, look at how much of it they had! ~:eek: Now I'm so hungry. I'm also the guy that thinks MREs are tasty too!

[discovery1]

Interesting pics. I don't think the food looks bad. What's the white stuff in the fish? Onion? Oh, Soly I've heard about large bombed out sections of Iraqi cities that aren't at all reported, or at least weren't two years ago. Can you confirm or deny this, please?

[Dâriûsh]

Wow Soly, the food looks excellent! But what is up with the guy with only half a head? ~;p


Oh, and can you confirm my stereotype that half of all Iraqis are named Marwan? ~D

[Mouzafphaerre]

.

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mokgm.jpg https://i4.tinypic.com/10mptso.jpg https://i4.tinypic.com/10mpqjb.jpg


https://i4.tinypic.com/10mppcj.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mpsg7.jpg

Oh my! :chef: Makes me feel hungry with a filled up stomach. What's that weirdo with onions in it though? :dizzy2: Looks like fish but that sounds out of place sort of. Btw, who pissed into the teacup? :inquisitive:

Nice pics. :2thumbsup:
.

[Divinus Arma]

Everything looks good except the fish. I love foreign food. In Afghanistan, some of us guys paid an Afghani National at the Embassy to grab us food from outside the wall. Stupid as it was (poison, bacteria, etc), those Afghani Burgers were awesome. Lamb and sauce with grilled onions on pita. (At least we think.)

The world should just stop killing itself and unite in peace over cullinary deliciousness. Those jerks in 3rd world death countries need to get their acts together so I can be a food-tourist. ~D

Imagine if the entire world was as safe as the suburbs of America? That would be awesome. Just for the food.

[Papewaio]

You could just go to a food court in Aus.

[KukriKhan]

Soly, we hear & see reports weekly about the sporadic availability of electricity in Iraq. Your pics seem to indicate that power is available at least some of the time (media cameramen's camera batteries are charged up, eating places can cook food, interior spaces have lights).

What was your experience?

[Divine Wind]

https://i4.tinypic.com/10mq9h2.jpg

I have exactly the same green shisha on my shelf at uni, which was bought for me by a friend in Iran. How odd.

Great pics! The chap who spoke good english looks like hes eating a curry...

Aww.... *goes looking for Indian take away menu*

[AntiochusIII]

Awesome pics! Now I'm deadly hungry, not to mention the fact that the food, albeit Iraqi, looks awfully familiar.

Dang it! Now I have to eat something!

Oh, and from all the reactions it would seem that this entire section of the forum is very interested in your trip, and I see no reason to be "shy" anyway.

DA: Never can I be more agreeable to your most excellent disposition!

[Pannonian]

Everything looks good except the fish. I love foreign food. In Afghanistan, some of us guys paid an Afghani National at the Embassy to grab us food from outside the wall. Stupid as it was (poison, bacteria, etc), those Afghani Burgers were awesome. Lamb and sauce with grilled onions on pita. (At least we think.)

The world should just stop killing itself and unite in peace over cullinary deliciousness. Those jerks in 3rd world death countries need to get their acts together so I can be a food-tourist. ~D

Imagine if the entire world was as safe as the suburbs of America? That would be awesome. Just for the food.
That's one thing I agree with. The British empire should not be measured in territory or headcount, but in the number of culinary traditions it introduced to Britain. The Iraqis should wise up and start exporting fastfood joints to America.

Note to Solypsist: do you have any more pictures of food or drink?

[edyzmedieval]

Wow Soly. Great job. :thumbsup:

This stuff really makes me hungry. :chef:
I want to eat some Indian or some Chinese food. Preferably Indian, because it's hot and spicy.

And yeah, the Libanese/Eastern/Iraqi pita is awesome.

[Major Robert Dump]

I have exactly the same green shisha on my shelf at uni, which was bought for me by a friend in Iran. How odd.

Great pics! The chap who spoke good english looks like hes eating a curry...

Aww.... *goes looking for Indian take away menu*


I thought those were bongs/hookas. You mean Iraq isn't a partner in the war on drugs?

[solypsist]

remember i was only in baghdad, and within the periphery. yeah, there was power, i had no problems in the gz plugging stuff in to charge. i saw a lot of extension cords running from buildings to other buildings with generators outside.


Soly, we hear & see reports weekly about the sporadic availability of electricity in Iraq. Your pics seem to indicate that power is available at least some of the time (media cameramen's camera batteries are charged up, eating places can cook food, interior spaces have lights).

What was your experience?

[solypsist]

random stuff:

https://i4.tinypic.com/10o40pf.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10o3zx4.jpg

tomorrow i will post more images with captions of my travels outside the gz.

[Fragony]

Yummie couscous! Delicious!

[solypsist]

amtrak is dead today, so no trip to philadelphia for me = more iraq photos for you.

https://i4.tinypic.com/10of9g2.jpg

[solypsist]

okay so a lot of time in the gz was spent being herded around being shown examples of progress. most were pretty straightforward: you saw this, that, a pizza place here, an abundance of food there. and then came the visit to a school.

so i was checking out the school (or one of them) and viewing a few classrooms and there were various lessons and such going on. the kids were clean, well behaved, such as one might expect during inspections.

https://i4.tinypic.com/10of9qb.jpg

this classroom was a little different.

https://i4.tinypic.com/10ofcbl.jpg

towards the end of my visit the teacher stepped outside and my escort, thinking i was going too, stepped out with him, leaving me alone with the kids for about five minutes. once these boys figured out i was alone, every kid stood up, gave the allah salute and said, some in arabic* and some in english, "Islam first! You will lose!" and a cold chill came over me when they were staring right at me.
* i dont know what the kids in arabic said, i can only assume it was the same as the english.

something is wrong here; these kids will no doubt be tomorrow's insurgents.

https://i4.tinypic.com/10offc0.jpg

[master of the puppets]

teachers can teach a child to count but parents teach them to think, and unfortunatly some parents teach children degradable things where there should be good ones.

question, how did the other kids react to this outcry?

[solypsist]

more random.

not a good idea to suddenly appear at a window with a large barreled device (my camera) in your hands in the middle of the night. it makes the troops jumpy.

https://i4.tinypic.com/10ofio8.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10ofiqg.jpg

[master of the puppets]

is that an oil truck in front of them?

[Byzantine Mercenary]

https://i4.tinypic.com/10offc0.jpg
is this a picture of them shouting at you or ansering a question?

[Vladimir]

teachers can teach a child to count but parents teach them to think, and unfortunatly some parents teach children degradable things where there should be good ones.

question, how did the other kids react to this outcry?

Some things never change. Sad to hear.

[Tribesman]

Some things never change. Sad to hear.
Yep , while parents might resent a foriegn presence with some understanding of the situation , the children will just resent it.:shrug:

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
More photos please, politics elsewhere OK? ~;) (I could make pretty nasty comments actually but oh well. Pretend what you preach! ~D)
.

[UglyandHasty]

The guy's telling and showing what he saw, he's not going politics.

Anyway, keep them coming please ~:cheers:

[Mount Suribachi]

more random.

not a good idea to suddenly appear at a window with a large barreled device (my camera) in your hands in the middle of the night. it makes the troops jumpy.



Dude, that was a seriously dumb-ass thing to do.

But keep the pics coming :2thumbsup:

[Divinus Arma]

towards the end of my visit the teacher stepped outside and my escort, thinking i was going too, stepped out with him, leaving me alone with the kids for about five minutes. once these boys figured out i was alone, every kid stood up, gave the allah salute and said, some in arabic* and some in english, "Islam first! You will lose!" and a cold chill came over me when they were staring right at me.
* i dont know what the kids in arabic said, i can only assume it was the same as the english.

Truly truly sad. All we want is to better their lives. :shame:

[Mouzafphaerre]

.

.
More photos please, politics elsewhere OK? ~;) (I could make pretty nasty comments actually but oh well. Pretend what you preach! ~D)
.


The guy's telling and showing what he saw, he's not going politics.

Anyway, keep them coming please ~:cheers:
My comment was not directed at soly and in any case it was meant to be lighthearted. (I even attempted a joke.)

OK, I can play hard too. :juggle2:

Edited out. Nothing to see here.
.

[Reenk Roink]

.Truly truly sad. All we want is to better their lives. :shame:

Man, those Iraqis must have the poorest judgement of character skills... :rolleyes:

[Divinus Arma]

It's very glad and hopeful news that Iraqi schoolchildren aren't affected by the brainwashing of the puppet government and their masters. Thanks for the really good news! :yes:
.

Dude. ~:eek:

:shame:

I... I can't believe this. We don't want to be anybody's "masters". We want to empower the people of Iraq to be self determined. We want them to have peace and prosperity and the go home. If Islam and Sharia law is what they want, then so be it. But we want nothing more than to see the people at a peace and independant. Sorry. No more politics out of me. Let's create another thread on this if you want to continue the convo. Or PM me. I respect you Mouz, but this perception worries me.

You know. After reading Reenk's comment, here is what I suggest: Let's pull EVERYTHING out of the Middle East and cease all Visas for people of Middle Eastern Decent. Let's become entirely engery independant and purchase NO oil from middle eastern nations. Let's watch their people starve and their infrastructure crumble. Let's create a new iron curtain between the West and the backwards nations of Islam, in order to protect ourselves from terrorism. jeeze. :no:

I'm done commenting here. I won't respond.

[Reenk Roink]

You know. After reading Reenk's comment, here is what I suggest: Let's pull EVERYTHING out of the Middle East and cease all Visas for people of Middle Eastern Decent. Let's become entirely engery independant and purchase NO oil from middle eastern nations. Let's watch their people starve and their infrastructure crumble. Let's create a new iron curtain between the West and the backwards nations of Islam, in order to protect ourselves from terrorism. jeeze. :no:

More trade, less war would be a better plan... :laugh2:

And if we make war, let's go easy on the civilians...

People tend to like us more when we aren't killing them.

Note: Divinus Arma, listen up, I am not questioning your intentions. From what I have read from your posts, especially on illegal immigration, you are of a much more benevolent character than others that agree with you. Instead of making racist comments and flipping out at the number of signs in Spanish, you make intelligent comments on the economics of it all. Sadly, others do not share your paradigm. You may truly want to help the Iraqi people, but the actions and words of others betray something else.

[Vladimir]

.



My comment was not directed at soly and in any case it was meant to be lighthearted. (I even attempted a joke.)

OK, I can play hard too. :juggle2:

It's very glad and hopeful news that Iraqi schoolchildren aren't affected by the brainwashing of the puppet government and their masters. Thanks for the really good news! :yes:
.


Damn, can't find LEN's "American Mongols" pic. Does anyone know where it is?

Respond to outlandish comments with humor.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
OK, let's ALL cool down a little bit eh? I just wanted to demonstrate how dirty, outlandish and off-topic we can go if we continue this way, instead of enjoying and appreciating soly's gems.

I'm editing my post now. Sorry for raising the temperature for a while but it was already getting hot. ~:eek:
.

[Vladimir]

.
OK, let's ALL cool down a little bit eh? I just wanted to demonstrate how dirty, outlandish and off-topic we can go if we continue this way, instead of enjoying and appreciating soly's gems.

I'm editing my post now. Sorry for raising the temperature for a while but it was already getting hot. ~:eek:
.

That's why it's important to rember that this is "teh internet" (God, I can't believe that I actually typed that).

[Mithrandir]

Quit whining about politics.I want more pictures!

[LeftEyeNine]

Damn, can't find LEN's "American Mongols" pic. Does anyone know where it is?

Respond to outlandish comments with humor.

uh, American mongols pic ? I don't remember such stuff by me. You refer to Hi-Wes maybe, some paint-like charicature I had done sometime when it was all about "We are the world, we are the West" hymns.

[Divinus Arma]

More pics?

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Pics! :smash: :smash: :smash:
.

[LeftEyeNine]

A-ye ! More Asi..Iraq..Yes that's it...Umm..:idea2:

Pics please.. :juggle2:

[solypsist]

https://i4.tinypic.com/10sc6sx.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10sc8aq.jpg

sorry for the pixelation. it was a hazy day and i tried photoshopping to get a more contrast in the images. also, these are cropped in pretty tight; on the actual photo the building and plane are waaaay in the background.

[solypsist]

okay - let's start moving out past the green zone and into some "real" baghdad...

https://i4.tinypic.com/10wnvrd.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10wnz87.jpg

[BHCWarman88]

wow,nice pics

[solypsist]

ok this is going to take longer than i had hoped. the reason is, simply, because going through the pics is a lot harder than i thought it was going to be. i saw too many dead babies. and i know these are the pics everyone's waiting to see. you want blood, you got it

https://i4.tinypic.com/10xuag6.jpg

now multiply this by about a hundred, and then think about what's laying around in the street

https://i4.tinypic.com/10xu8li.jpg

[Louis VI the Fat]

Sorry Solypsist, but would you mind considering posting that picture under 'spoiler tags' with a warning to it's content? :embarassed:

[solypsist]

and what's out in the roads

https://i4.tinypic.com/10xubh0.jpg

suddenly those pics of guys sitting around eating curry and drinking arabic coka cola seem pretty trivial.

oh yeah, my group was hit with an ied; i'm not going into the gory details suffice to say yours truly remembers almost nothing except waking up in a hospital with a pounding headache, ringing in my ears and someone else's blood mixed with sand and grit all over my face and neck. nearly a week of hearing and equilibrium tests and downtown of me taking photos of soldier body bags before i could go out again.

keep in mind i went out there to see things for myself, not to post pics for the morbid satisfaction of l33t gamers.

[solypsist]

hopefulyl by now i have made my point that this wasn't some captain kirk adventure.

https://i4.tinypic.com/10xvihh.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/10xvivk.jpg

[AntiochusIII]

The stuff looks serious. It seems there still is a war over there for sure now. I assume, these are out-of-the-green-zone pics, right?

I guess that's not too surprising. And I have to say we are relieved you did not suffer any serious injuries.

The thing about the children must be very disturbing indeed.

[UglyandHasty]

Soly you saw things i hope i'll never see with my eyes. I have always believe a picture can tell more than words. This is a dirty mess :no: Thanks for sharing.

[Tribesman]

Soly , how long do you think you will wake with the smell of burning flesh ?
Or did the air conditioned cab eliminate it ?

[solypsist]

it looks like the pic host took down my image of the kid. a red X will have to suffice until i return home to replace it.

[Redleg]

Soly , how long do you think you will wake with the smell of burning flesh ?
Or did the air conditioned cab eliminate it ?
Air condtition cabs don't eliminate the smell Tribesman

Now play nice with Soly - he is sharing his actual experience - something that is worth a little respect toward the individual wether if you agree with the politics of the event or not.

[Tribesman]

edit out the insult

[x-dANGEr]

Soly, we hear & see reports weekly about the sporadic availability of electricity in Iraq. Your pics seem to indicate that power is available at least some of the time (media cameramen's camera batteries are charged up, eating places can cook food, interior spaces have lights).


I just want to comment that seemingly, Soly's camera haven't gone everywhere. The death average of Iraqis since the start of the war is 50 men/day. Yes, electricity maybe available some times, but, everywhere? I think the situation in Iraq is bad, and not only for US soldiers.

Oh, and replying to the first page of the thread, that is white beans cooked in meet's soup and tomato, eaten with rice. :)

P.S. I haven't read the whole topic, as you may have noticed.

[econ21]

Soly - can you provide any context for some of your pics and statements? You said you saw "too many dead babies" - how did they die? The picture you posted off a soldier walking past a body in what looked like an alley - what had happened? I'm asking not because of a ghoulish interest or to score a political point, but because I want to try to understand what you saw.

[Fragony]

oh yeah, my group was hit with an ied; i'm not going into the gory details suffice to say yours truly remembers almost nothing except waking up in a hospital with a pounding headache, ringing in my ears and someone else's blood mixed with sand and grit all over my face and neck. nearly a week of hearing and equilibrium tests and downtown of me taking photos of soldier body bags before i could go out again.


Yikes, I declare you mad that you went to that place. Absolutily horrible pictures, I wouldn't want to trade jobs with you.

[x-dANGEr]

Yikes, I declare you mad that you went to that place. Absolutily horrible pictures, I wouldn't want to trade jobs with you.
Welcome to life! :P

(Just go see Palestine..)


Let's pull EVERYTHING out of the Middle East and cease all Visas for people of Middle Eastern Decent. Let's become entirely engery independant and purchase NO oil from middle eastern nations. Let's watch their people starve and their infrastructure crumble.
I doubt that would happen if you do so. Better said, I think a lot of problems will be solved in the Middle-east if US withdraws all it's forces (Including all those bases stationed in some countries)
Following the desire of some people in here to stay out of politics. ;)

Anyway, I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant experience to you soly, but think of those who live that as their usual life, with no agenda telling them that they'll be out in a couple of months. Believe it or not, things are bad. I recall soldiers just entering our neighbor's house and taking 3 of their folks, just like that, and there is nothing you can do about it. (Don't worry, that's Palestine)

[Shadow]

Soly - can you provide any context for some of your pics and statements? You said you saw "too many dead babies" - how did they die? The picture you posted off a soldier walking past a body in what looked like an alley - what had happened? I'm asking not because of a ghoulish interest or to score a political point, but because I want to try to understand what you saw.

Yes, it will give us a much clearer picture. Rather then seeing pictures of dead people we know how they die and what happened.

Btw one question, do you have internet over there?

[Fragony]

You are from palestine yourselve x-dANGER? If so it might be a good idea if you upload some pictures as well, we never really get to see what happens there. Should be interesting material.

[solypsist]

the deal, from experience there, is this:

1.with the exception of "contractors" fresh from the states, the real army is worried they'll be pulled out and either sent back to afghanistan* or iran. the u.s. national guard, on the whole, tend to be treated worse and given worse assignments than everyone else. you don't want to be national guard in iraq. national guard troops just don't seem to have it together - 100% of all the guys i saw with prosthetic limbs and missing features was a gaurdsman and not regular army. this observation is no doubt skewed, but it's what i saw and heard about.
*the taliban are back and apparently kicking ass. i saw/heard reports of taliban groups averaging three times the previous sizes in southern afghanistan, soldiers were complaining that someone they knew who was being rotated out had now suddenly been redirected to there, etc.

2.bodies don't lie in the streets for as long as they used to, i was told. ieds and old fashioned grenade attacks aren't just used against military targets. sunni areas are hit even more than military. i used to think that when fox news blamed setbacks all on 'sectarian violence' over blundering by policy makers, it was a smokescreen, but it's all true. these shiites and sunnis really consider the other less than dogs and no amount of education seems to be changing this. at lower levels, children for example, they dont really know to hate each other (yet) but its already ingrained to see the other in pejorative terms. shiite parts of town around the gz are safe; that's where i took most of my pics and took my meals and where people are smiling.

3. what i haven't seen reported on a lot lately are how many kidnapping rescue missions the u.s. forces perform. i was offered to go, but i turned it down because the ied incident had just happened and i was afraid.

4. unless you're right next to it, you'll most likely survive an ied blast. the bad news is that while your body may be okay, there's a good chance of losing an eye and a side of your face. when i was there, i kept getting warned about double blast system* (where one blast would go off, hurting some guys and drawing medical and support personnel over and help them, at which time a second more powerful explosive would go off at the same point). vbeds are used to take out vehicle, and i saw some aftermath, which i will post later.
*there's a proper term for these but i forgot it.

5. dead babies. i didnt see them "in the field" but rather being brought to gz checkpoints in streaming lines by wailing mothers carrying them in their arms. every day. a lot. if these mothers didnt have dead or dying babies then they had a child walking next to them with blood caked clothes, yellow with pus and stumps in slings or wrappings around their torsos.

6. it always smells like someone is either barbecuing or burning tires. thankfully, the wind changes from time to time.

7. nothing pisses a soldier off more than when they get a mission for the next day and then when tomorrow comes it's been totally changed. everyone told me this happens "a lot a lot." it makes it hard for them to gauge their progress.

8. there are various areas where photographs of soldiers and friends killed or maimed are posted up on a wall. at the time i wasn't allowed to photograph it on threat of pain. it's pretty moving to see. these are huge in scale, too, covering whole walls.

9. i will post more pics soon. right now im sort of limited to computer time - i've been on a sort of "girlfriend tour" since i posted a lot of pics last time. look for more tuesday night. i will also try to add specific narrative as to how i got the photo and what happened.

more questions? just remember i'm not omnicient so my own observations might be contradictory as i am forced to remember and clarify them.

[Mount Suribachi]

Soly, the IED, was it aimed at your vehicle, someone around you, or just random? Also, did you recieve medical treatment from the US military or Iraqi civilian hospital?

[Fragony]

more questions? just remember i'm not omnicient so my own observations might be contradictory as i am forced to remember and clarify them.

How is the general mood of the iraqi population? You seem to have spoken a fair few of them, is there any cautious optimism left?

[Hurin_Rules]

Fascinating stuff Soly. Keep it coming when you can.

Cheers

[x-dANGEr]

You are from palestine yourselve x-dANGER? If so it might be a good idea if you upload some pictures as well, we never really get to see what happens there. Should be interesting material.
No, I was their in the summer. I used to stay in Jenin (Ring any bells? Jenin's camp masscarce?), and things were clam their last time I went in (Which one I had a camera to take some pics).


*the taliban are back and apparently kicking ass. i saw/heard reports of taliban groups averaging three times the previous sizes in southern afghanistan, soldiers were complaining that someone they knew who was being rotated out had now suddenly been redirected to there, etc.
That's simple because US actions keep getting arabs/muslims in general even more hatred considering their account.

[Redleg]

very good information Soly from a first hand prespective.

[edyzmedieval]

Thank you Soly. These pics value more than 1000 words. :bow:

[solypsist]

very good information Soly from a first hand prespective.

let me say that teh comradie there is extremely high. these guys all love each other, and over and over again i was told that when they leave, it's going to be their buddies that they'll miss most. i said it before and i will say it again: these guys are young. i'm convinced that their friendships in the field mask over a lot, and maybe this is why you don't get reports of stress syndrome etc. until after a guy has been home and has to deal with being alone. if you are regular army, there are many more provisions for you in terms of dealing with stress and issues (what happens if i get...?) than there are for national gaurd. it's weird.

when someone gets killed then it's blackout on the email for the day so that friends can be the first to contact the family with the news.

when iraqis die, nobody really blinks, unless it was their favorite pizza place or basement bar that got hit.

oh, and despite the media focus on roadside bombs and mortar/rocket attacks, snipers are still out there. i can't prove it but i'm convinced i heard a bullet whistle past me head and into a field when i stepped around into open space to get a photo of some planes (those two pics i posted of what looks like a cargo plane and then the smoke). i nearly fell backwards to get back into the shadow of alleys.


this is all very hard to describe because one thought naturally leads to another and then yet another tangent comes up during that. i'm headed home and will post more pics in an hour or so before heading off again for teh night.

[solypsist]

okay so..

day 1: i arrive, meet some other photogs, hang out with them and take some of the pics of me eating at the blue table i posted earlier. have some meetings.

day 2: go outside. i was riding with another photog in a taxi, some sort of hatchback, when we passed the scene of the blue truck; i posted the pic of the blue truck. we kept driving. i do not know the backstory. here is another picture of it as i passed by. i am not editing the size so you can see the detail:

https://i4.tinypic.com/111hwl2.jpg

[solypsist]

day 2 cont.: we arrive in a part of town where there are rumored to be restaurants and bars. there are some, and they all have private security (white guys) working the door. i took some pictures of some books they had for sale. note the third reich subject matter of one. again, not sized, just cropped a little to remove redundancies:

https://i4.tinypic.com/111ibz7.jpg

https://i4.tinypic.com/111icf7.jpg

any photos of bars and restaurants are being used for articles, so i can't post them for now.

the day ends with a ride back to the gz and me falling asleep in my clothes on the floor under my bunk.

[solypsist]

after day 2, and that scene with the blue truck, i decided to put away my really expensive and bulky fashion camera (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=398349&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation) and stick with my Nikons.

day 3: tour the schools (pics already posted) and then some show-and-tell by american forces in a "newly liberated" area adjactent to the ever-expanding gz on routine ops.

https://i4.tinypic.com/111ig5s.jpg

[solypsist]

day 4: stayed in gz and walked around the base. i was set to follow an evening patrol into a housing area. the day was spent talking to guys about most of the stuff i've already posted. that night, we went out. i saw dead bodies in some alleys (one pic posted already) and then when night fell we started hitting houses. all were empty. i couldn't use a flash, which made the whole endeavor useless in terms of getting a photo. i have one; the other 70 i took are total blurs.

https://i4.tinypic.com/111jamp.jpg

it would hardly be the first time an entire sequence of events would go uncaptured because of circumstances that were not photo-friendly.

[Husar]

Thanks for sharing your experience Soly and good to hear you came back well.
The whole thing sounds somewhat scary and despite the lack of media coverage the whole regions seems pretty dangerous(well, not that I didn´t know before, but your personal report makes one think more about the whole issue).
I like especially the picture of the arabian guy you photographed so often, he looks rather friendly and the quality and setting of the pictures look very artistic. But, I have to say that last pic of the soldier searching the room with a flashlight is just great, call it blasphemy or insensitive, but I´d use it as a desktop wallpaper, if you provided a high-res version...

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Thank you soly. :bow:
.

[solypsist]

day 5: went out to the city to check out the shops (posted pics already). once again heard the telltale sounds of mortar attacks at the gz around lunchtime. heard gunfire from somewhere in the city, again, too. went to check out some bombed out areas (previously posted pics). here are some more from the same part of town:

https://i2.tinypic.com/112eu7a.jpg

https://i3.tinypic.com/112euj7.jpg

also, this is where i think i was sniped when seeing some action in the distance and taking pics (posted earlier).

[solypsist]

day 6: went out with a patrol towards an area where i was promised some "good stuff." i guess we got a radio call because everyone shifted suddenly and we kept going until i saw this:

https://i3.tinypic.com/112ew7p.jpg

https://i3.tinypic.com/112exbo.jpg

things were checked, and i was standing around sweating, taking pics and wondering whether most of the damage to the vehicle had occured before or after the occupants were in it. after some time, we moved on again, scanning the roadsides and one time we had an approaching car and someone fired a few shots at it to get it to slow down. it slowed, was checked and we all moved on. i took this shot:

https://i3.tinypic.com/112fj4l.jpg

some time after this the ied went off and i was out. no recollection of where or how or anything.

[Ice]

Holy crap man, looks like you had one hell of a trip. Keep posting. You must have had some huge balls to travel to Iraq, especially now.

[Divinus Arma]

I'm Jealous.

[Gealai]

Terrible pics. Amusing pics. A different view on things in Iraq. Thanks for sharing, I know now more than before just how brutal war is. How it changes the lives of the people on all sides, how it transforms themselves.

My Grandfather said that "war is when you shoot on uniforms" and "The men inside them are most of the time nice guys, just with a different piece of robe around them"

It applies well also in Iraq. Sunnit insurgents, American soldiers, European newsteams, Iraqi children all are wearing different uniforms. So that a guy or girl or kid becomes a enemy... :no:

I hope that you will return home safe

[Pannonian]

day 6: went out with a patrol towards an area where i was promised some "good stuff." i guess we got a radio call because everyone shifted suddenly and we kept going until i saw this:

things were checked, and i was standing around sweating, taking pics and wondering whether most of the damage to the vehicle had occured before or after the occupants were in it. after some time, we moved on again, scanning the roadsides and one time we had an approaching car and someone fired a few shots at it to get it to slow down. it slowed, was checked and we all moved on. i took this shot:

some time after this the ied went off and i was out. no recollection of where or how or anything.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5027908.stm

Two British journalists working in Iraq for US news network CBS are among at least 41 people killed in a day of bomb attacks in and around Baghdad.

The CBS team was accompanying soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division. A US army officer and an Iraqi interpreter died in the same attack

The CBS team were outside their armoured Humvee jeep when the bomb went off.

"It wasn't a roadside bomb it was a car bomb," Aliah Git, the executive editor of CBS Radio News, told the BBC.

"All we're being told is that they'd been stopped, the convoy, and gotten out of their vehicle due to something described only as a curious incident.

"They were wearing protective gear and a nearby car exploded."

The trio had been reporting a "routine" story, covering American troops for Memorial Day in the US, the network said.

Iraq is considered the most dangerous country in the world for journalists.

Nearly 100 journalists have been killed in the country since the start of the 2003 US-led invasion. The latest deaths bring to 20 the number who have died in 2006.

[solypsist]

dude, i'm already home - and looking thru my "hospital" pics to see what's suitable for posting on here to illustrate my remaining days there


I hope that you will return home safe

[rotorgun]

Thank you Soly for taking the time to share your experiences in Iraq. I think that some can now understarnd what a serious business is invloved in the "liberation" of this country. I found your comment about the "sectarian" violence particularly revealing. How can such a divided people ever become one nation? Indeed, how could anyone have ever thought of them in such a way to begin with? Perhaps a policy of dividing Iraq into three separate and soveriegn countries is the the only one with a chance of sucess? But this is for discussion in another thread. I appreciate the work you have done, as I will no doubt have to take my turn in the barrel and serve there soon. You have given me imortant insights that will help me serve there safer, and better.

Rotor

PS: Thanks especially for mentioning the treatment of the National Guard soldiers. I have seen first hand how the wonded and injured soldiers from the Guard are really treated by the Active services and the National Guard as well. Neither really wants to claim resonsibility for their care, and it has caused needless suffering to those who responded to their Nation's call without complaint.

[solypsist]

edit: looks like the pic host took these down just like my other hospital pic a few pages earlier.


day 7: spent most of the day in hospital bed; until about 4pm. for some reason that is still unknown to me, i was in a care center that appeared to deal with iraqi civilians - not a military person in sight. i left, drank water, ate a yogurt, and slept.

day 8: returned to the care center to make sure my insurance cleared, and brought my small point-and-shoot a70 to surreptitiously take pics. here's a taste:

https://i3.tinypic.com/11816r21.jpg

https://i2.tinypic.com/1181w4w.jpg

there's a lot more where that came from.
at some point i remember just coming out and asking permission and being told ok. i lied and told them i worked for newsweek.

[solypsist]

day 9: wandered around the interior and westmost area. just a lot of nothing:

https://i2.tinypic.com/1181z5e.jpg

https://i2.tinypic.com/1181zch.jpg

https://i2.tinypic.com/1181zkx.jpg

was close to some shelling. i started thinking i had fleas (i didn't). at this point, two days after hospice stay, i started taking naps because i was perpetually fatigued. zero energy all the time.

day 10: a big mission (lots of coalition, not just americans) was happening that afternoon; more house checks for the evening. i got ready to go, and then didn't. i was all the way up to departure and then quit. if you can guess the vehicle and the nationality of the soldiers from this pic, you win a prize! took this pic and then single headshots of every guy on there with the promise of posting it on the memorial wall if needed. only thing i had all day for food was water and an italian pepsi. for once i was able to use a speelight flash, so the color and expsoure came out fine the first time (as it always should be!) and not washed out like most of my pics look without post-processing.

https://i2.tinypic.com/11824uu.jpg

[scooter_the_shooter]

I have no clue but I will guess british or finnish.( does finland even have troop over there?)

[solypsist]

day 11, 12, 13, 14: decided i needed a change of pace so i went to pakistan with some actual journalists (ie. women!). i returned to Baghdad for 2 more days afterward. Right into the friggin' teeth of some stuff that made my second day there seem like a walk in the park.

more later.

[Justiciar]

I thought I'd seen those pictures at the top of the page before.. but then I guess it's pretty bloody hard to tell the difference between body burns that severe. Both arms. Poor kid.

[solypsist]

if you google image-search iraqi burns and variations of such, you do get a lot of pics that look similar. oh god, i just saw one on there that i am soooo glad i didn't see in real life.


I thought I'd seen those pictures at the top of the page before.. but then I guess it's pretty bloody hard to tell the difference between body burns that severe. Both arms. Poor kid.

[Zalmoxis]

Some of the pictures (I think it's days 8 and 9) don't work, otherwise it is very good, if a bit depressing, material.

[x-dANGEr]

Soly: Am curious, if you've been ordered to kill a bunch of civilians, would you kill them?

[Papewaio]

Soly is a fashion phtographer so it would be death by photos of asian women with big breasts, svelte red heads or a whole UN platoon of women peacekeepers armed in the traditional blue and white lingerie... you would die of excitement or shame depending on your outlook on life.

Worst case scenario he would either use the photos for death by paper cut or even more cutting his acerbic wit.

[Husar]

I´d say CH-47 Chinook and the soldiers are polish, I guess.

[naut]

Wondeful pics. You truly are a talented photographer!

[Vladimir]

I´d say CH-47 Chinook and the soldiers are polish, I guess.

I agree with the '47 but he said something about Italian soda so I'll say Italian. Do they even have any troops there any more?

[LeftEyeNine]

Definitely a mini-documentary here. Something I always wished to experience. Thanks for sharing -and coming back one piece, again, soly :bow:

[Redleg]

https://i2.tinypic.com/11824uu.jpg

I would have to agree CH-47, the soldier uniforms and basic equipement looks primarily United States basic issue - so United States and Iraqi troops would be my guess.

[Idaho]

https://i2.tinypic.com/11824uu.jpg
An excellent photo. It captures all that I like about good photography. It takes you into the middle of a moment and lets you think about all the repecussions and nuances of that moment.

In this one you can see the obvious mix of tension, discomfort and boredom amongst the soldiers. The mundanity of another transport somewhere and yet it isn't mundane it's life or death.

[Vladimir]

An excellent photo. It captures all that I like about good photography. It takes you into the middle of a moment and lets you think about all the repecussions and nuances of that moment.

In this one you can see the obvious mix of tension, discomfort and boredom amongst the soldiers. The mundanity of another transport somewhere and yet it isn't mundane it's life or death.

Well, I guess we all see what we want to.

Not that I disagree.

[Divinus Arma]

I would have to agree CH-47, the soldier uniforms and basic equipement looks primarily United States basic issue - so United States and Iraqi troops would be my guess.

Those are certainly U.S. Standard Issue. However, they are the old fatigues, only still used by some Navy personnel and Air Force.

Also, sometimes we donate older issue used fatigues to foreign militaries that we train. Iraqis have some of our stuff. Northern Alliance had a few bits and pieces of our gear when I was in the 'Stan.

Maybe U.S. Army, since they are still implementing the changeover to the new fatigues. If they are Army though, where are the sleeve patches? All U.S. Army have unit patches on the left arm and U.S. Flags on the right. They also have the brand new body armor and are equipped for night vision; two pieces of gear we do NOT typically loan out.

I'm not sure. I'm almost inclined to say Marine Corps, even though we have already changed over to the new uniforms. The mix of gear, the weapon systems, the second-hand feel of their uniforms. It all says Marine Corps to me since we are always broke and getting hand-me-downs.

Soly, Who are they?

[Major Robert Dump]

Navy and Air Force are used in ground patrols now.

[edyzmedieval]

This is a true documentary. Real life, captured on the screen.
No more comments needed, as it illustrates perfectly how crude is real life. :no:

[Divinus Arma]

Navy and Air Force are used in ground patrols now.

All branches are responsible for the security of their facilities.

They do NOT operate beyond rear area security or convoy security. Air Force and Navy do not conduct operations in forward areas. Even convoy security would be rare. Marines and Army are usually the guys responsible for that.

I would be very surprised to hear otherwise.

[solypsist]

a quick remembrance of my one and only conversation with a military media laison (who looked like he was too young to drink beer) who had finally noticed me, a lone dude who didn't follow the journo pack and seemed to take pics of stuff that was not on the official list:

mp: excuse me
me: hey there
mp: hi. so when did you get arrive? i don't remember seeing you at the last briefing.
me: a few days ago. (i get out my water bottle to give my hands something to do.
mp: who are you with?
me: independent
mp: huh?
me: newsweek (lie)
mp: no you aren't
me: yes i am.
mp: i don't recognize you. maybe you better come with me. (he nods to someone behind me)
me: okay. (but we don't go anywhere)
mp: where's your release badge?
me: i only have part of it. my corporate badge, i lost. this is just my basic i.d.
mp: who are you with?
me: newsweek
mp: when are you leaving?
me: i dunno. (i slouch in fake exasperation and act like i dont want to be in iraq)
mp: (rattles off some military jargon to me; section this and that, various anagrams) i'm going to need to check you out.
me: sure. but i'm on my way to an appointment (i start going through my pockets like i'm looking for a piece of paper)
mp: wait here. (he goes off, leaving me with a soldier behind me, who looks to be about 18 years old)
so i wait, and check my watch and after 15 minutes i turn to the soldier and say
me: can we get some coffee?
gaurd: i dont care. (nods in the direction media-liason went) he don't command me.
me: so why are you gaurding me?
g: hey i'm just standing here.
me: okay i'm gonna pi$$ and get coffee, you want anything?
g: nah.

and i leave. i never saw the media guy (or the guard) again.


you know, on the plane back home i kept thinking of the movie apocalypse now; not to compare myself to martin sheen but rather the whole episodic play of events. he gets on the boat and then there are seperate vignettes that make up the journey, but which could basically be interchanged to any sequence right up to where he reaches his goal. that was me. one crazy scene after another; sometimes it's hard to recall in what order they happened.

[Louis VI the Fat]

https://i2.tinypic.com/11824uu.jpgRomania?

[Husar]

the soldier uniforms and basic equipement looks primarily United States basic issue - so United States and Iraqi troops would be my guess.
That was my first thought, but it sounds too easy.:dizzy2:

[Kagemusha]

I would say those troops are Iraqi´s.

[Major Robert Dump]

All branches are responsible for the security of their facilities.

They do NOT operate beyond rear area security or convoy security. Air Force and Navy do not conduct operations in forward areas. Even convoy security would be rare. Marines and Army are usually the guys responsible for that.

I would be very surprised to hear otherwise.

"patrol" was pretty much the wrong word to use, and no, these guys arent being used in bulk for special assault missions, but they are far from being security guards, and are in harms way:


http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-07-navy-air-training_x.htm?ord=13


http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/editorial/14646727.htm


http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=29111&archive=true

My point is that some of the people in that vehicle could have very well been sailors or airmen, as they are included in both real and training missions. And based on the training they are recieving and the words of the Navy and Air force brass they will play larger and larger roles on the ground in Iraq as the war drags on

[BHCWarman88]

Good Pictures you took.. I like the One Eariler Post with the Troop and the One with the Soliders.. You a Really good PhotoGrapher.. Mabye I will be too,since I won Awards for PhotoGraphy at my School.. you Took some really nice pics m8..

[solypsist]

the soldiers in the pic are mixed: american and italian. totally blew my mind when i learned that. the bad news i have no idea how this came to be - i spent hours trying to figure out the command structure and communications logistics of this, but my brain has no workings of the military machine so i still dunno.

[Vladimir]

the soldiers in the pic are mixed: american and italian. totally blew my mind when i learned that. the bad news i have no idea how this came to be - i spent hours trying to figure out the command structure and communications logistics of this, but my brain has no workings of the military machine so i still dunno.

So it was a trick question :furious3: (~;) )

[solypsist]

Every contract on at least one of the bases, since April 2006, has a "No Sex Slavery" section. This is actually required (Maybe as a late reponse to DynCorp (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/04/25/wbos25.xml) abuses in other theatres, or more likely because of a different scandal that never hit the press); more than a page devoted to combating all the various loopholes by which one could acquire a sex slave under contract. I present for you...complete with spelling errors... the Army Contracting Office's NO SEX SLAVE RULES:


(Beneath Cut)
13. FAR 52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons (Apr 2006)
(a) Definitions. As used in this clause—
“Coercion” means—
(1) Threats of serious harm to or physical restraint against any person;
(2) Any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious harm to or physical restraint against any person; or
(3) The abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process.
“Commercial sex act” means any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person.
“Debt bondage” means the status or condition of a debtor arising from a pledge by the debtor of his or her personal services or of those of a person under his or her control as a security for debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined.
“Employee” means an employee of a Contractor directly engaged in the performance of work under a Government contract, including all direct cost employees and any other Contractor employee who has other than a minimal impact or involvement in contract performance.
“Individual” means a Contractor that has no more than one employee including the Contractor.
“Involuntary servitude” includes a condition of servitude induced by means of—
(1) Any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that, if the person did not enter into or continue in such conditions, that person or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint; or
(2) The abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process.
(3) Withholding employee passports to, among other things, prevent employees “jumping” to other employers

“Severe forms of trafficking in persons” means—
(1) Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced y force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act ahs not attained 18 years of age; or
(2) The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
“Sex trafficking” means the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.
(b) Policy. The United States Government has adopted a zero tolerance policy regarding Contractors and Contractor employees that engage in or support server forms of trafficking in persons, procurement of commercial sex acts, or use of forced labor. During the performance of this contract, the Contractor shall ensure that its employees do not violate this policy.
(c) Contractor requirements. The Contractor, if other that an individual, shall establish policies and procedures for ensuring that its employees do not engage in or support severe forms of trafficking in persons, procure commercial sex acts, or use forced labor in the performance of this contract. At a minimum, the Contractor shall—
(1) Publish a statement notifying its employees of the United States Government’s zero tolerance policy described in paragraph (b) of this clause and specifying the actions that will be taken against employees for violations of this policy. Such actions may include, but are not limited to, removal from the contract, reduction in benefits, or termination of employment;
(2) Establish an awareness program to inform employees about—
(i) The Contractor’s policy of ensuring that employees do not engage in severe forms of trafficking in persons, procure commercial sex acts, or use forced labor;
(ii) The actions that will be taken against employees for violation of such policy;
(iii) Regulations applying to conduct if performance of the contract is outside the U.S., including—
(A) All host country Government laws and regulation relating to severe forms of trafficking in persons, procurement of commercial sex acts, and use of forced labor; and
(B) All United States laws and regulations on severe forms of trafficking in persons, procurement of commercial sex acts, and use of forced labor which may apply to its employees’ conduct in the host nation, including those laws for which jurisdiction is established by the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 (18 U.S.C. 3261-3267), and 18 U.S.C. 3271, Trafficking in Persons Offenses Committed by Persons Employed by or Accompanying the Federal Government Outside the United States; and
(C) All international laws regarding transit/exit/entry procedures, requirements for work visas, and all Host Country entry and exit requirements
(3) Provide all employees directly engaged in performance of the contract with a copy of the statement required by paragraph (c)(1) of this clause and obtain written agreement from the employee that the employee shall abide by the terms of the statement; and
(4) Take appropriate action, up to and including termination, against employees or subcontractors that violate the policy in paragraph (b) of this clause.
(5) Provide a minimum of 50 square feet of personal living space per worker when living space is a necessary and required element of the contract. Contracting officer’s may grant a waiver in cases where the existing square footage is within 20% of the minimum and the overall conditions are determined to be acceptable.
(6) Provide workers with a signed copy of their employment contract that defines the terms of their employment / compensation (e.g., salary, currency, work hours, overtime, vacation, etc.) and ensure sub-contractors provide the same to their workers.
(7) Not utilize unlicensed recruiting firms, or firms that charge illegal recruiting fees
(d) Notification. The Contractor shall inform the contracting officer immediately of—
(1) Any information it receives from any source (including host country law enforcement) that alleges a contract employee has engaged in conduct that violates this policy; and
(2) Any action taken against employees pursuant to this clause.
(e) Remedies. In addition to other remedies available to the Government, the Contractor’s failure to comply with the requirements of paragraphs (c) or (d) of this clause may render the Contractor subject to—
(1) Required removal of a Contractor employee or employees from the performance of the contract;
(2) Required subcontractor termination;
(3) Suspension of contract payments;
(4) Loss of award fee for the performance period in which the Government determined Contractor non-compliance;
(5) Termination of the contract for default, in accordance with the termination clause of this contract; or
(6) Suspension or debarment.
(f) Subcontracts. The Contractor shall include the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (f), in all subcontracts for the acquisition of services.