Day 29 - Air Force Red Horse

Living in a deployed environment, there are things back home in the States that we take for granted. The biggest of these things would be the luxury of a bathroom, let alone running water, in a building where you work or live. Every time we need to take a shower, use the facilities, or wash our hands, we have to trek outside to the nearest restroom, dubbed “the head”. During the day this wasn’t a big issue because the sun normally kept us warm. During the evening hours, many could be seen running from their rooms to use the facilities. It began a tough decision to make during the evening hours. “Do I really need to use the restroom that bad or can I hold it until the morning?”

The situation we were in was soon to change. As the Air Force’s civil engineers, better known as Red Horse, arrived to camp, they quickly began to work on installing a plumbing system in my office building. With local national contractors doing construction on the inside, Red Horse was outside digging holes and running pipes throughout all hours of the day during their short stint here. With the distinctive red hard-hats, they could barely be seen as they worked several feet below ground connecting water lines and clearing debris.

One Captain who I’d known since the “old days” at the dance nights was the officer in charge of the operation. As I returned from a meeting one day, I saw him in one of the holes, demonstrating his superior supervisory skills. After briefly conversing with him, he decided to show me that in order to be a good leader, you have to be able to perform the jobs of those who work under you as well. As he climbed into the seat of a Bobcat, all of the Airmen had their cameras ready and waiting.

After receiving a brief demonstration and a walk-through, he began to scratch away at the hole, clearing a path to the water main. Getting excited and into the motion, he accidentally hit a communications line and cracked the barrier. As soon as the crunch of the metal-on-plastic was heard, he immediately hopped out of the machine, laughing because everyone else knew the line was there except for him.

As he reviewed the photos and videos of his endeavor, he jokingly begged us to delete them from our camera. Good times were to be had that day. As he walked to inspect the damage, he slipped on the hole he just made, sliding into the several feet deep hole. Again, cameras were out and flashes were going off as we documented another memorable day.

In all, the Red Horse guys had worked several hard days to provide us with running water. Though their mission is not complete, they still work as fast and efficient as possible to give us a bit more civilization than what we were used to having. At the end of this mission, they’re soon to be going to another location to perform other various tasks and help others with the difficult transition from civilization to the barren deserts of Iraq.