Another article from Iraq which highlights the conditions and the stark contrast between the lifestyle of Saddam Hussein and that of his people.

Army chef recalls dangerous times in Iraq

A NORTH Lincs army chef has told of the time in Iraq when he came under enemy fire in the middle of the night.

Sgt Steven Elsom of Scunthorpe was serving with the 1st Black Watch when their camp in a village near Basra came under rocket attack.

The attack came in the early hours of the night in early April and he described the scene as chaos everybody running around trying to gather their equipment.

He said they were a few kilometres behind the lines attached to battlefield HQ, and were part of the Logistics Corps.

Sgt Elsom said they were used to the sound of artillery, but it had been their own guns and had sounded distant. This time it was incoming and a lot closer.

He said: “At about 2am we got fired on by what we thought were mortars, but it turned out to be a rocket attack. It’s scary – you’ve got all this noise happening.

“Everyone’s running around trying to get their helmets on. You’ve got people getting woken up trying to get rifles sorted out. It was just so surreal.”

He added the explosions were a lot closer and a lot louder than the outgoing artillery. He described the scene with people running around as ‘chaos for the first five minutes’.

Sgt Elsom said: “Once things had calmed down we packed up and moved to an airfield.

“We are nor normal infantry and to be put in that situation, it’s a bit hectic. We are soldiers but we don’t do the normal infantry role.”

They later went into Basra after the city had been taken, and Sgt Elsom described the oppression the people had suffered under the old regime.

He said: “It’s their second city. But rubbish was all over the place, there didn’t seem to be any infrastructure and the locals didn’t have any fresh water.

“Electricity was intermittent. That became apparent a lot later on they kept nicking the copper cable to sell. There was a lot of looting.”

He added the people had been oppressed for so many years. “Now they could just take what they wanted, and they did. There was no police force to stop them.

“I saw one of the palaces later on – and the way Saddam Hussein lived compared to his people. He decorated his palaces in gold.”

Sgt Elsom said the thing which struck him was that the people were begging for water and not money or food.

He said: “You see the conditions Saddam expected his people to live in. It was such a contrast. I couldn’t believe one person could abuse his power so much. Alter seeing that, all they wanted was fresh water – a basic commodity.”

Sgt Elsom (34), who received his promotion on March 11, serves with the Royal Logistics Corps (RLC) as a chef and joined up after leaving school in September 1985.

When his unit was in Iraq it had to set up kitchens from scratch, often improvising with whatever materials were available, such as breeze blocks.

He was attached to 1st Black Watch and his duties involved catering for the regiment. On one occasion they provided a finger buffet and a birthday cake.

They were attached to battlefield headquarters and were usually five to 10km behind the front lines.

The routine of living in battlefield conditions involved digging latrines and setting up solar-powered showers.

When he arrived back home Sgt Elsom said there were welcome banners on the family home and family and friends had organised a welcome barbecue for his return.

He also received an honorary life membership to the Liberal Club in Gilliatt Street, in recognition of his service for the country.

Set Elsom will be enjoying his leave in Scunthorpe until August 30, when he will have to go back to Fallingbostel in Germany, where he is usually based.

From the Scunthorpe Telegraph on Friday, August 1, 2003.