News>Airmen pick up pieces before historic handover
Photos
Staff Sgt. Alexis Johnson (left) and Staff Sgt. Nicole Beye, from the 447th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron, remove debris from inside the Victory Over America Palace as more than 35 volunteers cleaned up the palace June 11, 2011, at Camp Slayer outside Baghdad, Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jason Lake)
Staff Sgt. Alexis Johnson (left) and Staff Sgt. Nicole Beye, from the 447th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron, remove debris from inside the Victory Over America Palace as more than 35 volunteers cleaned up the palace June 11, 2011, at Camp Slayer outside Baghdad, Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jason Lake)
Staff Sgt. Justin Loterg and Tech. Sgt. Brian Jones, from the 447th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron, haul out debris from inside the Victory Over America Palace as more than 35 volunteers cleaned up the palace June 11, 2011, at Camp Slayer outside Baghdad, Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jason Lake)
Senior Master Sgt. Jeff Gideon, from the 447th Air Expeditionary Group, hauls out plywood from inside the Victory Over America Palace as more than 35 volunteers cleaned up the palace June 11, 2011, at Camp Slayer outside Baghdad, Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jason Lake)
Staff Sgt. Teresa Pavljuk, a 447th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron aerial porter, tosses debris and old office equipment into a pickup truck as more than 35 volunteers cleaned up the inside of the Victory Over America Palace June 11, 2011, at Camp Slayer outside Baghdad, Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jason Lake)
by Tech. Sgt. Jason Lake
321st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
6/17/2011 - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- More than 35 Airmen and Soldiers volunteered to clean up the Victory Over America Palace at Camp Slayer June 5 through 7.
The palace, which is one of 70-plus palaces Saddam Hussein built throughout the country, will soon be returned to the Iraqi government.
The three-day cleanup effort was coordinated by Staff Sgt. Teresa Pavljuk.
"Now that tours are over, I volunteered to open (the palace) up and organized for (Airmen) at Sather Air Base to clean it up," she said. "I'm doing something that is part of history. I'm giving back palaces to Iraq. How many people can actually say they did that while deployed?"
Over the past eight years, the bombed-out palace had been used for office and dormitory space, supply storage and even as a dining facility before it became a novelty site where deployed service members took occasional supervised visits for souvenir photos.
"We had a lot of military people here back in 2003," said Sergeant Pavljuk, a 447th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron aerial porter. "Now we're cleaning up the mess. There's a lot of wood, glass and metal. We're taking it all out and trying to make any kind of presence we had here go away (before) we sign (the palace) back over to the Iraqi general."
For some Sather Air Base newcomers, like Staff Sgt. Nicole Beye, it was an opportunity to help out U.S. Army property caretakers while getting a glimpse inside Iraq's historical landmark.
"We helped the Army out. We filled up a flatbed and a regular truck several times," said the 447th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron weather observer. "(I've moved) more than I've ever moved before in my life. I'm glad I had the opportunity to come out here and actually look at it since nobody else will be able to after this."
Comments
6/21/2011 6:19:27 PM ET Whether it was originally built with good or evil intentions does not negate the fact that this palace is a part of our human history. We have restored, preserved and resurrected countless buildings and monuments all over the world and I hope that the Iraqi's are able to put this one to use as a valuable resource in rebuilding their country. It's a shame that some of you would render this simple VOLUNTEER act of goodwill and try to twist it into something ugly. You all need to get out from behind your computers and give a little of yourselves maybe to appreciate such a selfless act. Job well done I say to the volunteers who put their free time and muscles to good use taking out our garbage before leaving. Thank you all. And let's hope it does not rot into oblivion, for as it goes, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
SSgt Jones, Offutt AFB NE
6/21/2011 2:34:49 PM ET so the message is "lose the war. it's ok. we'll clean up the mess." further proof of the sissification of the military and the united states. should have bulldozed when we were done with it.
msgtcappy, toledo ohio
6/21/2011 1:21:30 PM ET I applaud the volunteers who cleaned up in preparation for turnover. @SJ, the palace may have been built for an evil dictator but is now being reused for the Iraqi people. MSgt M, THANK YOU for your service
Michael Osborn CMSgt ret, Texas
6/20/2011 5:44:41 PM ET Another sterling example of what the regular Air Force does in a deployed setting...Cleaning up a bombed out palace is what warriors do. I will venture out on a limb and guess that each person involved with this clean up is presented an AF achievement medal for their efforts while under constant threat of rocket and mortar attack.
Jason, Off the grid
6/20/2011 4:38:00 PM ET The airmen failed to recognize what this palace stood for. Did they, SJ? I just saw an interview and read an article that only covered the cleanup, not their political views on the place. It's great to see our brothers and sisters in all services taking positive steps forward, not wallowing in the past. Great job to the whole team!
SSgt RGB, Offutt AFB
6/20/2011 8:16:28 AM ET I was taught very early on in my career to always leave things better than you received them. It doesn't matter what this palace represented. The U.S. military used it therefore we should leave better than we got it. Kudos to these Airmen for exemplifing Excellence in All We Do!
MSgt M, Iraq
6/19/2011 7:40:42 PM ET Do the Iraqi's help with anything? What a waste of my taxpaying.
Joe, Calif
6/19/2011 9:47:19 AM ET How naive I was at the Palace in 2008 and it should be left to rot in the desert. It's odd that while intentions are good, the airmen failed to recognize what this palace stood for and unfortunately built by one of our so called allies. This palace built by the French represented a failed UN policy of oil for food and at the time the inability of the United States to remove a brutal dictator. The only presence that should be left at this building is a reminder of how brutal Sadam was to his own people. Let the Iraqi people decide the building's fate since they sacrificed their oil and food to line the pockets of their leader and the French companies that abandoned their property.
