December 21,2008: As Iraq orders billions of dollars of military equipment from U.S. manufacturers, most media coverage is on the weapons (M-1 tanks, F-16 fighters), little attention is paid to some of the equipment items that the Iraqis are keen to obtain. One of the more mundane, but outstanding, purchases is the 644 pound brigade headquarters tent. The DRASH (Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelters) travels as a 48 cubic foot package, but within two hours it is assembled into a 33x13 foot, air conditioned shelter, for brigade headquarters. That's 413 square feet. A brigade headquarters will use several of these. The computers, large screen displays and communications equipment (linked to a nearby satellite dish) enables a commander and his staff to get right to work. The tents are taken down and packed away in about an hour, allowing for rapid movements of headquarters, in order to keep up with fast moving operations.