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

Me with one of the local kids in a nearby village.

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.

This mosque, I was told, was Saddam's personal mosque near the Al Faw palace. Now, it's located on Victory Base Complex.

my new rifle

This Qatari was selling opportunities to hold his falcon for $5. I didn't take him up on it.

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

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

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

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 a typical truck driven by private security. It's armored to some extent, and features a "gun bucket" in the back for a rear gunner's position.

This is a mosque located on our FOB. No American was alloowed inside - even if you were security (like me) or an American Muslim.

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

House clearing training.

This photo was making the email rounds while I was in Iraq. Reportedly, it was a wolf captured in or around Baghdad. I don't know that wolves are indigenous to Iraq, so it could have come from the zoo.

This is a mural I saw on Victory Base Complex in Baghdad. Obviously, it's supposed to show the heroic former Iraqi army. There's a painted-over figure on the left. I'm guessing that was Saddam.

Everyone going overseas, no matter your job, has to learn how to do room clearing. Here we are training a "four-man stack". The squad leader is taking up the rear.