Here's what it looked like as we boarded the plane to fly to Iraq. I remember being both excited and nervous at the same time.

We went through training on how to search a suspect and I got to play "suspect".

A McDonald's sign I saw at Ali Al Salim base in Kuwait.

This is a UH60 refueling. I don't recall what base this is on. They kick the passengers off while they're doing this, which is when I got this picture.

That's me flying in a UH60 between bases.

While in Iraq, you get a one-week MWR trip to Qatar. On one of the trips we were allowed to take, this Qatari was selling camel rides. I didn't bother with it.

Here's a couple of the Iraqi Army soldiers we had living on our base. Not exactly Western standards, but they tried.

During training, we fired our weapons many times. Here I am getting in some practice firing three-round bursts for accuracy.

This is the Al Faw palace at Camp Victory in Baghdad. Saddam used to occupy it, but it's now home to MNC-I.

I would love to tell you what this mural says, but I never got it translated. I'm pretty sure it dates back to when the Iraqi Army and Air Force were still under Saddam. It was located in a building on our FOB.

Here's one of my soldiers manning the gunner's post. This was during one of our trips into Qayyarah.

I took this photo while flying over Baghdad. It is the Grand Mosque which Saddam was building when the invasion occurred. When finished, it was supposed to be the largest mosque in the world. I doubt it will ever be completed.

This is the Perfume Palace on Victory Base Complex in Baghdad. The story I heard was that this was once where Saddam and his boys kept their extra-curricular female companions. Now, it houses contractors.

Iraqi Police having their vehicles checked prior to entry to the base. We trusted the Iraqi Army in our area better than the police.

Here's my section training in house clearing.

Here I am during a trip to Qayyarah to check on a water-pumping station.

Here I am at the infamous Abu Ghraib. While in Baghdad, I ran into a friend of mine and was able to join one of his unit's convoys to this prison. This is, of course, prior to this facility being turned over to the Iraqis.