SALINITY IN THE SOIL

This is what happens when you have too much salinty in the soil. Poor drainage contributes to salinity conditions such as this. Sometimes the grass is not greener on the other side...

MESOPOTAMIA VALLEY

They call this the cradle of civilization. Crops have been growing here for over a thousand years. They grow lots of barley and wheat in this area.`It is very beautiful...

REPORTERS FAVORITE MOSQUE

Here is another view of the mosque that a lot of reporters like to use as their background while reporting "live" from Baghdad. This is in the down town area...

IMPROVED IRRIGATION

This farmer has installed a small sprinker system in his field. It uses less water than the old way in which they flood the field. This also means he has a source of electricity which is a good sign as conditions are steadly improving across the country.

10th MOUNTIAN ARTIST

Here are some more of the artistic murals painted on the T-barriers. This one depicts a scene of two soldiers on patrol from the 10th Mountian....

LONG WAY FROM HOME

You know your a long way from home when the the sign says 6,716 miles. Some of the soldiers made a sign of one of their favorite places back home and pointed the sign in that direction.

ROUGH RIDERS IN IRAQ

When units deploy they always find a way to show off their logo and the cement T-barriers make a good place to show your art work. This is the Rough Riders and their motto "Strike Hard"...

IRAQI DATE SHOW

Believe it or not there are over 300 varieties of dates, some say more like 600, but here is the picture to confirm the claim. This photo was taken at a date seminar held recently in Baghdad. It was an opptunity for the local date growers to display their favorite date...

FRESH VEGETABLES

This is one of the small fruit and vegetable stands in one of the rural villages. These vegetables looked like they were fresh. Notice the boy in the pictue is selling gas.

IRAQI CAMPAIGN POSTERS

Iraqi politics at its best. Here are some of the poltical figures who posted their pictures one of the small villages I visited.

LIVING IN A BEDUION TENT

Here is my new living quarters. No more Palaces for me. The first day I moved in it rained and my mattress got wet. It took me three days before everything completly dried out. Just like camping out.

TOWN & COUNTRY IRAQI STYLE

As we passed by this store it reminded me of the Town & Country stores back home. This is typical of the shops I have seen so far. Most of them put their wares outside so people can see what they have.

FARMING ACTIVITIES

I like this picture because it captures various farming activities. You have the corn being harvested by hand and loaded in the pickup. Wheat fields getting watered. Vegetables are being planted. Cows in the alpha field along with the dogs in the planted field. The neighbors driving by to see what your doing...

COVERED VEGETABLES

In iraq the farmers will tell you there are different types of vegetable farming covered or uncovered. In this picture you see the covered crop. Covered meaning plastic is strecthed over the seed bed to protect the plants from freezing. Uncovered means no plastic.

BAGHDAD COFFEE CLUB

Here is some of my combat buddies warming up with a hot cup of coffee. After our ride accross town in the chopper a hot cup of coffee was just what the doctor ordered. Its not Camble's Soup or Starbuck Coffee but it was MMMM Good...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Here is one of the many posters and cards everyone sends the soldiers during Christmas. Thank you all for remembering the deployed soldiers. I always am inspired when I get a card or letter or some little drawing from someone. keep up the good work and may God bless you all!

BAGHDAD MORNING

My first mission in 2006. It was early in the morning flying over Baghdad on my way to a meeting in Baghdad. It was around 35 degrees and is cold in Baghdad on a chopper. Brrrrr...

TAKING LEAVE

I got come home for a few days on leave and it was good to be back in the good old USA. There is not any better place in the world to be. The bad part of my leave was having to report back on the 24th of December. We passed Santa somewhere over the Alantic and I spent Christmas in Kuwait.

IRAQI VODOO

This is the head of a wolf hanging on a fence in the rural area. it is intended to be a warning to ward off the evil spirts.