Politics & Government
"Welcome to paradise" reads a piece of graffiti scrawled on a concrete blast wall at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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Special spray-on insulation helps to seal tents, but gives them an igloo-like aesthetic at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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A U.S. soldier walks among igloo-looking tents that are sprayed with a special foam insulation sealant at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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Soldiers use the Internet inside the tent for Morale, Welfare and Recreation at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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American soldiers relax in the shade at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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These are the makeshift urinals at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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Two U.S. soldiers chat while on duty at the front desk inside the main tent at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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Unlike large U.S. military bases in Iraq, where the Halliburton subsidiary KBR provides hot meals and varied menus daily, Army cooks make two hot meals a day and serve them out of plastic bins at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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These are the showers at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran where water is in such short supply that troops can only bathe once every three days. Unlike at many of the state-of-the-art super bases in Iraq, about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces at JSS Wahab. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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A sign in the showers at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran where water is in such short supply that troops can only bathe once every three days. Unlike at many of the state-of-the-art super bases in Iraq, about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces at JSS Wahab. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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With so little do for fun, soldiers created their own basketball court out of spare building supplies at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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With so little do for fun, soldiers created their own basketball court out of spare building supplies at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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With so little do for fun, soldiers created their own basketball court out of spare building supplies at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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Two American soldiers relax outside their insulation-draped tent at Joint Security Station Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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U.S. Army Maj. Daniel Dorado, leader of the Port of Entry Transition Team (POETT), chats with his Iraqi translator, who's known as "Mike," at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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Laundry hangs outside the tent for Iraqi interpreters, known as "terps," at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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A Chinook helicopter lands in a clearing at JSS Wahab, a remote U.S. garrison on the Iraqi border with Iran, where about 60 U.S. military advisers lead a rugged life as they train Iraqi border forces. The nearest U.S. base is a four-hour drive away, so the soldiers often rely on helicopters for quicker transportation. (Hannah Allam/MCT/MCT)
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