Hurricane Point

In addition to the "Gov" Center, our Delta Company Soldiers man Joint Security Site (JSS) Hurricane Point--just across the river from us on the outside of the city. Captain Haun visits regularly, but First Lieutenant McKinney, from West Virginia, is the platoon leader and Officer in Charge. Just as he vigilantly keeps his Soldiers stocked with a variety of food and other creature comforts at Ramadi and the "Gov" Center, First Sergeant Colon ensures the guys at Hurricane Point are equally cared for.

Here the Soldiers live in a long corridor that has been sectioned off into small, individual rooms that remind me of stables. At the end of the corridor is their mess hall and CP (where the radios and cameras are monitored). We hold worship services in the mess hall. On the other end of the building is a larger bay where the gym equipment, TV, and computers with internet are located.

Although these Soldiers are part of Delta Company, or the Dark Knights, for much of the deployment they have been attached to various Marine Battalions--perpetual step-children, if you will. This has also resulted in the platoon becoming unusually tight-knit. Often, when we visit, they grill meat and invite us to eat with them--just one of the creature comforts made possible by their first sergeant's attentive support. SSG Tucker, the Platoon Sergeant and griller of meats, is pictured here. Like the Soldiers at many of our outposts, these are never quite sure how long they'll be at Hurricane Point, or where they're going next.