The more things are different . . . (Part II)
I hadn't planned on there being a part 2, but the fact is, things remain the same. The bad guys have started up again and as much as there are normal things around, things are far from normal here. So this posting links back to what I ended the last posting with, the reason why we need to think about security.
Like it or not, there are folks here who would do us harm. So when we go out of the international (green) zone, I've got to wear PPE. What an acronym - Personal Protective Equipment. In other words, body armor.
Fortunately, by my desk, they give me a little stand for my PPE. This is it. A helmet, body armor, and . . I'll explain the black thing later. When it's on, the PPE adds about 35 pounds to my body weight. Now imagine wearing PPE, in 120 degree temperatures, with a tie and dress slacks on. The other day we were meeting with some Iraqi professionals. As we were leaving, one of them - who hadn't said a word of English the whole meeting - pointed to my PPE and said, "Hot?" I shook my head, rolled my eyes and we both laughed. 
Now being lawyers, we have to look the part. Even in Iraq. Actually, I wish I had some of the suits worn by my Iraqi counterparts. Judges and lawyers dress well - they're professionals. So we have to as well. So on days when I have a movement to meet Iraqis (the only days I have to wear my PPE), my PPE hanger becomes a coat hanger as well.
Only once have I had to wear a jacket over the PPE. Usually we wear PPE out to the meeting location with the jacket in hand, take the PPE off for the meeting and then put it back on for the trip back. If possible, we take the PPE off before we get out of the vehicles and put our jackets on so we look like we've always been dressed for success. But I'll tell you something about armored vehicles. They don't make them armored by adding armor to the outside. They armor them by making them smaller on the inside. On the outside they look just the same. Now, imagine that you have to lift that PPE over your head while in a cramped vehicle. And I thought it was tough changing out of a wet bathing suit in the back seat of a car when I was a kid. I'm older, a lot bigger and not nearly as nimble as I used to be - but I somehow get it done. Thank goodness no one videotapes us doing it. I'm sure it's pretty funny looking.
So how good is this stuff. As one of our Iraqi colleagues explained to us - it's good enough to give you a second chance to move like hell and get behind cover. He should know. A few years ago he took a round to the chest and managed to run about 15 feet to cover before he blacked out. (Before you get to thinking too much - he was at a different part of the country doing a very different type of job.) PPE weighs as much as it does for a reason - so I try not to complain too much. It's for my own good.
So what was that black thing on my PPE? Well, it's a tourniquet. Actually, it's a rather interesting tool that can be operated one-handed (think - self applying it to an arm if you need to). Forget the horror stories of lost limbs with tourniquets. If done right, you have a few hours before irreparable damage. And if you need a tourniquet, you don't have a few hours to bleed. This is not part of standard issue PPE. I got this from my first aid class back in Washington, D.C. I figure if I have it, I should keep it in a place where I can get to it, immediately. So it hangs on my gear whenever I go out.
So, yes, it might look like a bib, and it's hard not to look dorky in a black helmet, but there's a reason why I wear it other than I am required to. It just might help me come back in one piece.
If I ever "need" it, I'm sure it will make all the pain of wearing it worth while.