The Zones

A team of eight adventurous expatriates came together in war-torn Iraq. Their job was to manage an Operations, Engineering, and Environmental Services contract with a workforce made up of 173 Iraqi nationals whose lives were in danger each day they came to work for the Americans. The place was Ibn Sina Hospital at Forward Operating Base "Freedom" in the International Zone. The Expats and Iraqi employees worked together under extreme conditions and in a location known at the time as the "most dangerous city in the world," Baghdad. In carrying out their company's mission for the U.S. Army Combat Support Hospital units, this diverse group of DOD civilian contractors would find that the distinct lines of demarcation between the Red Zone and Green Zone were becoming more transparent by the day, and their jobs more perilous as their work eventually required them to make daily trips from the IZ to Victory Base. The interminable threats of kidnappings and murders, the "Big Voice's" sudden warnings of incoming mortars and rockets, deafening blasts of car bombs, constant challenges on the job, and the high-risk and unpredictable road trips through the Red Zone along Route Irish provided ample cause for concern over the rough road ahead. In spite of the disquieting circumstances of daily life in Baghdad, a strong bond was formed among the CSH personnel, the company's corporate leadership, and the unwavering management team assigned to fulfill the contract.