EMBASSY WORKERS

I met these guys inside the Embassy. The one on my right has one wife and seven children. The one in the middle has two wives, two houses,and twenty-four children. Thats twelve each for each wife, as he must treat them equal. The other was still single and a younger brother to the one with two wives...

AT THE EMBASSY

After a long morning riding in the air we finally landed and continued our mission to the American Embassy where we spent several hours in meetings and dealing with the buerarchy of red tape trying to obtain a badge. Here we are exhausted...

ARIAL VIEW OF GRAND MOSQUE

In the background you can see what when finished the largest Mosque in the world. This project was unfinished when the war started and still it remains today unfinished...

PALM TREE ASSESMENT

Its a tough job, assesing palm trees but someone must do it. These are all date palms and at one time Iraq led the world in date palms. The date palm is a very special tree in this country and to the people...

MY FIRST MISSION

In order for me to go to the IZ(International Zone) I can either request a convoy and drive or request air movement by a Black Hawk helicopter. So I chose the helicopter. It takes 10 miutes and no check points the only way to fy...

INSIDE THE SPORTS DFAC

The Army finally did something right when they built the DAFC. This one is the best at the BIAP. They serve fast foods, sandwiches, and a main course meal. Of course the menu repeats itself every ten days, so if you miss the lobester then wait a few days... They also serve Baskin Robbins ice cream ymmmmmmmm...

Dining Out at The BIAP

The DEFAC (dining facility) is the place to socialize and relax. As you can see I am protected from the ouside by this huge cement wall. I am sitting on the outside tables. The only problem with eating outside is the 110 degree heat and sand. Sometimes looks are deceiving...

Agricultral Experts

This is my Iraqi counter part, together we help the Army plan around agricultural issues in our AO. We deal with irrigation issues to developing programs. I thought we could introduce the Boll Weevil to the area and then later develop an eradication program....

Life in the Projects

Some of the things you see at Camp Victory is soldiers running to keep in shape. So far I have not found the idea appealing and refuse to participate...

Neighbors

All of my neighbors share the same type designs. This is government housing at its best. I have to walk two trailers down for a hot shower and half mile to the DFAC thats dinning facility or chow hall or mess for you old timers....

Living at Camp Victory

It may not be the Tajmahal but this is my new home. I live in a little two room trailer complete with an air conditioner. Ahhhh life is good. The humming noise from the air conditioner drowns out the generator and an occasional big BOOM sound.

PACKING MY DUFFEL BAG

I am down to two duffel bags. We just got a new order that we can only take one duffel to Baghdad. Now this is going to be a challenge, because my mom taught me to keep everything...

PORT-A-JOHN

Life is good at Camp Victory until you have to go to the bathroom. There is no air conditioner and there are funky smells. By the time one finishes their duty you are soaking wet. The worst thing is when you get caught in a port-a-john with a fly and it keeps trying to land on you...

OLD TENTS

One thing about Camp Victory is that they have replaced a lot of the old tents. The ones in this picture are some of the ones that were here on my first go around a year ago. Now the tens are dome shaped and its still HOT!!!

THE NEW ARMY DIGITAL UNIFORM

Here it is the new Army uniform. It is digitized and at a distant I am suppose to become almost invisible to the enemy. I think it was just a gimmick to keep up with the Marines. All the patches are velcrow and the rank is worn in the center of the shirt not on the collar.

GREETINGS FROM KWUAIT

After being on the plane for what seemed to be an eternity we finally landed in Kwuait in camp Victory. The place is hot and sand storms daily. Today the temperature was 125 degrees. They say there are lots of camel spiders here, but I have not seen any yet.

FIRING THE 50 CALIBER MACHINE GUN

One of the fun things I get to do before I deployed is fire all the weapons that the Army has. This one is the 50 caliber machine gun that has been around for a long time. Rumor has it that this one had 50 confirmed kills..

COMBAT LIFESAVER COURSE

One of the requirements for a deploying soldier is to go through a three day combat lifesaver course. This is where we learn to give immediate first aid to injured soldiers during combat. The highlight of the course is to give an IV to your combat buddy. My combat buddy must of fell asleep during the class as he stuck me in the arm twice. Needless to say I was in pain and had large brusies in my arm where he poked me with the needle going through the vein. After the second try I found me a new combat buddy.

Promotion

The Commander of 490th and the (boss) commander (Suzie) pin on my new rank to Master Sergeant. That means that you have to stand at "parade rest" when you speak to MSG Wegner. Suzie is having way to much fun...