When the 372nd MP Company arrived at Abu Ghraib, the location was almost more akin to death camp than a prison. Wild dogs uncovered and devoured corpses buried on the site. Two ovens were located near the death chamber to incinerate the dead. During Saddam's regime, it is estimated that as many as 80 people a day were executed by hanging at Abu Ghraib. Prisons have their own unique smell, a curious amalgamation of coffee, rancid food, burned paper, and of course, human excrement. The smell at Abu Ghraib, which was located in an area known for 120 degree heat, would have been overpowering.
The 372nd MP Company was originally trained to support combat operations, not function as correctional officers. Compounding the 372nd's lack of experience in these operations was the all too natural plunge in morale the unit experienced upon discovering what their new role in Iraq would be. As if that were not enough, Abu Ghraib would see more combat that any static position in the country; the prison would come under fire every day for weeks at a time. Between July and the end of September, the prison's population would grow from just under 1000 to over 6000. To guard this cramped, exposed population seething with anger, the 372nd had just 300 MPs. Overcrowding, low morale, lack of manpower, and poor facilities would assure that a crisis would develop.
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