• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

NEWS RELEASE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND 7115 South Boundary Boulevard MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101 Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894

April 21, 2003
Release Number: 03-04-164


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


POOL REPORT OF MR. GARNER'S TRIP TO BAGHDAD

Pool Report 1: Note that all times are Kuwait local time, which is one hour behind Baghdad. On agenda: Trip to Yarmuk Hospital, South Water Sewer Plant and baghdad main power station. The pool met at the Hilton resort in Kuwait, where Garner and the rest of the 20-person ORHA delegation, including four security guards, joining him had been staying. Other notables making the trip included Tim Cross, Britain's highest-ranking ORHA delegate; Barbara Bodine, central regional coordinator for ORHA; Larry DiRita, a Pentagon rep; Margaret Tutwiler, who's taken on public relations for Garner; Col. Kim Olson, Garner's military assistant. The pool boarded a charter bus (Garner not on this) to the military terminal of the Kuwait International Airport. The bus went through a maze of concertina wire, concrete jersey barriers and sandbags to reach the terminal at about 3:25. Garner spoke to two Kuwait television reporters exclusively, to thank the country for its hospitality (pool not part of this). At the airport, Garner stepped into the waiting area briefly to introduce himself to the pool. He was wearing khaki pants, a blue button-down long-sleeved shirt, a khaki jacket and casual brown shoes. At 4:15, the pool was shuttled via bus to the tarmac, where a military C-130 airplane was waiting, it's rear entry port was open, letting light out onto the dark tarmac. We waited for several minutes before boarding at about 4:45. Garner stepped onto the plane at about 5 a.m. Along with all the others, he sat in the red netted seats close to the cockpit entrance. Pallets of bottled water, MREs (meals-ready-to-eat) and other supplies were loaded into the back. Garner sat across from Bodine, and had the view of the unvarnished interior wall: straps and pulleys, ladders, a broom, emergency kits. Wheels-up at 5:45. Conversation on the flight wasn't possible because of the loud roar in the plane. Garner spent much of the flight reviewing paperwork, working the gum in his mouth. Air flow in the plane made it chilly, and Bodine, holding her arms to her chest, caught Garner's attention. He took off his jacket and handed it to her. She draped it like a blanket over her. The plane climbed to about 16,000 feet, entering Iraqi airspace at about 6:05. The flight crew said the days of evasive flying over Iraq had ended about three days before, so this flight was smooth, without the dips and dives that often come with C-130 flights. Garner got up to stretch at about 7. He went over to a circular window, leaning right hand on a metal bar, placing his left on the interior wall. He stood there for nearly a 20 minutes, looking out. The view of the ground came into view: first is mostly brown dirt, but at about 7:20 the landscape turns green with sparse outcrops of buildings and houses. Garner and others made to sit down for landing at Baghdad International Airport. Wheels down at about 7:25. 'This is the best aircraft the military has. It's a workhorse,' he says. Upon landing, Garner and Tim Cross exit aircraft and offer comments for pool, including components of pool who were waiting at airport. Following are Garner's comments: 'It's a great day to be here and personally it's a great day for me also. What better thing than to be able to help somebody, affect other people. That's what we intend to do.' 'We're the first elements of our organization and we're going to make an assessment of health, power and water, and then we'll begin flowing our people in here and we'll add capability that the coalition already has done. They've already done an awful lot here, so we'll begin to add to that capability and then begin to spread out through the countryside.' on how long to get power back: 'As soon as we can.' 'I don't have a date on the calendar. But we'll bring it back as soon as we can. We'll do the best job we can. The coalition already has done a great job, they got their best people here.' on 90-day target: 'I don't think I would put 90 days as a mark on the wall, but we will be here as long as it takes. But we'll leave fairly rapidly.' Garner got into a GMC Suburban and was followed by a convoy of nine Humvees and three security vehicles with armed coalition forces. At about 8:10 convoy left airport for Yarmuk Hospital in southwest Baghdad. It's a 700-bed hospital with a medical college attached. [more to come from hospital, sewage plant, etc.] Pool Reporter was Peter Slevin, Washington Post.