Lost Postcard from the Sandbox

At the base in Iraq during my last deployment, it was common for some folks to use bicycles, scooters, golf-carts, or SUV's to travel inside the base.

I heard there were even a few military-grade Segways, but I never saw them.

In Iraq, military convoys must be very vigilant. For instance, insurgents always attack in civilian vehicles and never use a "fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance". A nearby civilian could be caught in the cross fire or mistaken for a malicious participant. Even worse, insurgents have no qualms using civilians as shields or turning our western sensibilities about "non-combatants" against multinational forces. Therefore, it is very dangerous for civilians to encounter military convoys.

In order to avoid these situations, military vehicles often have large signs proclaiming, "Danger Stay Back 100 Meters" and "Deadly Force Authorized" in Arabic.

Also pictured with the scooters is a nifty device called a Hesco Barrier by Marines. It is a giant sand bag, only better. They are made by a British company called Hesco Bastion (so proper!) and are actually called Hesco Concertainers®. You need to know all this for the inevitable Operation Iraqi Freedom version of Trivial Pursuit.