The Day I Was Deported From Iraq
Arriving at an airport brings with it many emotions including the excitement of seeing family and friends, and new experiences. But for me, traveling meant leaving the comforts of home to work overseas often in a less than inviting atmosphere. With the recent Executive Order banning citizens of seven countries from entering the United States, I felt this may be a story worth telling. The day I was deported from Iraq.
For most of my travel to and from Iraq I utilized the services of the USAF rotator airlift, which meant being squeezed into the cargo compartment of a C-130 Herc for the hour or so flight to and from Baghdad International to Kuwait City where I would connect with a civilian flight back to the states. The military flights always included a few days of living in a tent city while the Kuwaitis stamped your passport and issued the required visas to either stay or leave their country. Two things I learned in the Middle East: nothing happens without a rubber stamp and it was always hot.
On this particular trip back to the states I was trying to coordinate my vacation with my manager since we both could not be out of the country at the same time. To reduce the travel time, I opted to fly commercial out of the civilian side of Baghdad International and skip the few days at the Army camp outside Kuwait City. In the Status of Forces Agreement traveling by civilian carrier required an exit and return visa. The visas would cost $100 each way and could be arranged thru the travel office on Camp Victory. The Status of Forces Agreement also stripped contractors of the protections afforded the US military and government civilians. In my previous experiences, I was afforded the same protections as the military or government civilians with whom I worked.
At the travel office, I completed the required forms, paid the required fees and left my passport to have the visas placed in it. I returned to the travel office a few days later to retrieve my passport and was told my return visa would be emailed to me. A few days before my departure I had both documents and was ready to leave on vacation, or so I thought.
Returning to Iraq, I made the stops in Dubai, Bahrain and then to Baghdad without a hitch. Tired from over 24 hours of planes and airports, I presented my documents to a customs officer in Baghdad. He was the perfect model of a post-Saddam government official. Looking over my documents, he passed them to a few others and then asked if I had baggage. Of course, I replied, knowing there was the khaki backpack with several boxes of Girl Scout cookies somewhere between me and the plane I had disembarked from. The customs officer walked me to the baggage carousel where I asked several times what was going on and stated I wished to call the US Embassy.
About the time my backpack came off, a Gulf Air ticket agent appeared and handed me a boarding pass, saying “come on we have to get you back on the plane.” “What is wrong,” I asked, “I have a return visa?” And he replied, ”no, they said your papers are bad, just come back tomorrow.”
Getting back on the plane, the flight attendants looked at me quizzingly. Taking my seat, I shrugged my shoulders and said, “They wouldn’t let me stay.” So, I was off to my next stop in Bahrain. I know the feeling of not knowing what was going to happen next. In my best MacGyver thought process I started reviewing my options. I could get off the plane in Bahrain and call a shipmate at the Navy Support Activity except I didn’t have a visa for Bahrain, or I could return to Kuwait City and the dusty Army camp. I decided the best option was to go to Kuwait City, so I entrusted a local Gulf Air employee with my passport and $200 to buy me a ticket to Kuwait City. He returned about 20 minutes later with my passport and $50 change. Which proves there are helpful and trustworthy people everywhere.
Landing at Kuwait City in the late evening, I decided a night at the Marriot was much needed and I would regroup in the morning. Settling in for the night I opened my backpack only to find several empty Girl Scout cookie boxes. Somewhere between Louisville, Kentucky and Kuwait City, an airline employee or customs agent enjoyed a sugar high. The next morning I called my office to go over my options. Since I was traveling without the required helmet and ballistic vest, I could not fly on a USAF rotator flight. I called the US Embassy to get less than helpful advice, basically being told it was their country and probably the best option was to return to the states to obtain a new visa. This didn’t sound like a good option so I looked for a ticket on Gryphon Air. This was a British company that flew from Kuwait to Baghdad but landed on the military side of the airfield, avoiding the customs officers in the main terminal. However, the earliest I could fly was about 4 days away. Which meant I relaxed in Kuwait City until I could return to Baghdad.
I eventually made it back to the military side of Baghdad and was relieved once an Air Force sergeant verified my identification. Never was I so glad to be back at Camp Victory. The next day I returned with my visas and passport to the travel office where I learned they had sold me two exit visas and not an exit and return visa. They reluctantly refunded my $100 but did not want to discuss the cost of the hotel, etc. I never flew from the commercial side of the airport again.
I learned that when you are traveling you are often at the mercy of the faceless bureaucrat that has control of your destiny, regardless whether it is the customs officer, ticketing agent, or flight attendant. I also learned that the empty statement, “I am an American Citizen, I wish to call my embassy” is a joke to the rest of the world. The American Embassy isn’t always the most helpful (my regrets to my colleagues in the Foreign Service). Lastly, that when you are traveling and land in a foreign land and are told in a language you don’t understand or broken English that you can’t stay, it sets off unbelievable feelings of helplessness, hate, despair, and jubilation once you return to your secure zone.
To the travelers who landed in the US and were told their visas were no longer valid and were detained, I am embarrassed for my country. I believe strongly in maintaining the security of the United States, and screening of those that wish to enter. But, a quick fix that interrupts the current process does not work. The Executive Order is not the answer to the problem!
Dave Mattingly is a writer and national security consultant. He retired from the U.S. Navy with over thirty years of service. He is a member of the Military Writers Guild and a published reviewer of books dealing with foreign policy, intelligence and military operations. He holds a Masters of Arts in National Security Studies from American Military University.
