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.

A collection of rocket launchers. Hajji will often set these up, put a rocket in it, set up some sort of timer device, and then leave the area for the rocket to fire at a later time.

my new rifle

In this photo, I'm in the lower right pulling perimeter security during a short halt in training.

The extension on the front of this HMMWV is used to set off IEDs prior to the HMMWV actually passing by. These have been used in Iraq for some time, so I don't think I'm giving away any secrets here.

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

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

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.

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.

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

This graffiti showed up on some walls in a local national parking lot not long before I left. I was told it is a memorial to locals who had worked for the USA and been killed.

House clearing training.

Me practicing shooting an AK47. As you can tell, it was a hot day. It was fun shooting the AK on full auto, but I still prefer the M4.

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

This gentleman was herding sheep around our FOB. The area we were in was predominantly farm and sheep-herding country.

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.

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

Believe it or not, this is what they served for dinner one night. I think it was a case of a Turk not translating to English correctly.