Iraq

Every day, images of volatile and unpredictable Iraq are broadcast from various media sources across the world. The cradle of civilization, Iraq is rich in history. It was said that Baghdad used to be the envy of all cities, with its fantastic architecture and legendary riches. We called Baghdad home for over three years, and have many fond memories of our time spent here. We’ve amassed a montage of random photos of friends, family, and USO stars who visited us in Iraq, along with some of the more common sights from the International Zone, Camp Victory, Balad, and other base camps throughout the country.

Standing in the middle of an excited crowd as the national anthem is sung just before the WWE wrestling show kicks off; Camp Victory Goofy faces during movie night with Fran & Joe; Camp Victory Becky, Wallace West, Dwayne Robbins, John O'Brien, Brandy Brasher, Nyah Simmons, CPT Callahan, and Ivan Thuringer; Camp Victory American Idol winner David Cook does a meet & greet after putting on a USO show for the troops It's an Iraq family reunion! Tom, Robby & Fran hanging out in our trailer; Camp Victory Robby, Fran, Tom & Joe share a meal at our Baghdad hooch Joe, Tom, Robby, Fran & Becky strike a pose on Saddam's throne (a present from Yasser Arafat), an obligatory must when visiting Al Faw Palace We had to spice up the marble decor of Al Faw Palace during our guided tour for Fran & Tom Tom, Becky & Robby posing in front of Iraq's largest chandelier; Al Faw Palace Brandy & Becky in front of the more commonly monikered "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" (there actually is no tomb or body, so it really should be called the Monument of the Unknown Soldier); International (Green) Zone in Baghdad Becky, Kelly, Brandy, an Iraqi soldier, and Robby strike a pose at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier; Baghdad The Hands of Victory triumphal arch, an entrance way to a large parade ground in Baghdad. The arch is created from 2 crossed swords weighing 24 tons (cast from the guns of dead Iraqi soldiers), and at the base of each arm are a collection of captured Iranian helmets Driving under the Golden Dome Gate in Baghdad's International Zone 14th July Circle statue (built in honor of the 14 July 1958 military coup led by Iraqi General Abdul Karim Qassim to overthrow the existing monarchy, eventually leading to the Republic of Iraq); International Zone in Baghdad Entrance to FOB Prosperity. Notice the gunner's position in the top right arch? Apparently, a gun is trained on everyone entering this base in case they are perceived to be a threat Date palm tree parking lot; FOB Prosperity View of FOB Prosperity's As-Salam Palace Dennis Haysbert (aka SGM Jonas Blane on "The Unit" or President Palmer on "24") poses with Becky during a USO tour; Camp Victory What an awesome sight! 4th of July re-enlistment ceremony at Al Faw Palace; Camp Victory Got to love the rivalry...Army fans moved an Admiral's entire office down to the first floor of Al Faw Palace during the days leading up to the Army/Navy game; Camp Victory Interior view of "Victory Over America/Iran" Palace View of Flintstone Village, which Saddam had built for his grandchildren as a playground A picturesque mosque, as seen from the balcony of Victory over America/Iran Palace Posing on the rooftop of the Victory Over America/Iran Palace (Saddam's brothel aka "Perfume Palace" is in the background) Interior view of Victory Over America/Iran Palace Becky strikes a pose in a "throne" left in the remnants of the Victory over America/Iran Palace Interior view of Al Faw Palace. There are over 60 rooms and nearly 30 bathrooms (Becky worked here for nearly 4 years); Camp Victory GEN Petraeus and Becky; Camp Victory Everyone crammed in like sardines with not a seat to spare This sign sure doesn't exist anymore. Every statue or signpost referencing Saddam has since been removed Camp Victory's pretty mosque My "combat" photographer (Robby checking out Camp Victory's sights on bike) Mosque minaret; Camp Victory Entrance to mosque at Camp Victory (sadly, this was off limits to non-muslims) Bas relief of soldiers in battle on a building at Camp Victory Becky poses with Max Martini (MSG Mack Gerhardt) and Robert Patrick (COL Tom Ryan) from "The Unit"; Camp Victory If you squint hard, you can just make out the "Saddam" lettering before "International Airport"; Baghdad A snapshot of the dismal Iraq air fleet Swimming pool at the Republican Palace; Baghdad Getting to meet our Commanding General, GEN Petraeus Group photo of the Tongan soldiers who guarded Al Faw Palace Massive flag folding ceremony, Al Faw Palace Another view of the Hands of Victory triumphal arch; Baghdad Becky crammed in the back of a pickup truck to visit the MiG-23 graveyard; Balad Becky atop an abandoned T-72; Balad MiG-23 graveyard A junk yard full of abandoned T-72 tanks (soviet designed tanks that came into production from 1970 onward, and are the most widely produced post WWII tank); Balad Air Base An HMMWV with a clearly marked "danger" sign in English and Arabic (so that civilian traffic does not get too close during convoys); Camp Victory Becky, Melissa & Kelly during a photo session; Al Faw Palace Eric, Becky, Kelly & Melissa striking a pose; Al Faw Palace Overlooking BLDG 58A, aka "the Juicer" from the 2nd balcony of Al Faw Palace; Camp Victory Complex Kelly & Becky clowning around with Melissa, rooftop of Al Faw Palace Partially demolished buildings on "lost lake"; Camp Victory No queue at the Baghdad international airport! Becky buying Duty Free items; Baghdad International Airport US, British and Australian flags signify the coalition forces working at this military flight terminal An armored personnel carrier at a military checkpoint helps to control entering traffic Military checkpoints are no joke...read all signs and heed! Close up view of the Golden Dome Gate; Baghdad Another view of the Monument of the Unknown Soldier (the white, green, red and black cone represents the Minaret of Samarra and was designed from the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia) Becky with a national guard unit at the Hands of Victory monument; Baghdad View of the helmets of 2,500 Iranian soldiers killed during the Iran/Iraq War, overflowing from metal nets at the base of each hand, Hands of Victory triumphal arch; Baghdad Captured Iranian helmets embedded in the ground beneath the Hands of Victory arch (apparently this was done so that the helmets would forever be "trampled" by vehicular & foot traffic); Baghdad View of Al Faw Palace as seen through a helicopter window Becky with a huge grin after a helicopter ride It's a Clark reunion as Fran, Becky & Tom get a rare chance to link up; Camp Liberty Robby taking a break from his normal routine; Camp Victory Becky catches a few rays by the pool, Camp Victory View of the massive step pyramid known as the "Ziggurat of Ur", the best preserved in all of Iraq and Iran The gunner's view; helicopter ride to another base camp in Iraq A spectacular sunset over Baghdad Soldiers taking a unit photo; Al Faw Palace rotunda Robby & Becky get a visit from Santa; Baghdad The Tongan marines & Becky; Al Faw Palace Robby, Becky & Jeremy (our friend from Bad Kreuznach, Germany) have a reunion in Baghdad Most people think of a sandy desert when imagining the Iraqi countryside but there are some areas (such as this region we flew over by helicopter), that are quite lush and fertile View of the Iraqi countryside as seen on a helicopter flight from Baghdad to Balad Helicopter view of the sprawling Camp Victory Complex (the monstrous sized Al Faw Palace is in the middle of this photo) Artificial lakes surrounding Saddam's private hunting reservation Morale, Welfare & Recreation (MWR) facility; Camp Victory Inbound soldiers getting ready to fly to Iraq; Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait A chandelier hangs from this dome inside Saddam’s Al Faw Palace Main entrance to Al Faw Palace; Camp Victory Al Faw Palace looks rather impressive at first glance, but take a closer look and you'll notice the shoddy workmanship; Camp Victory Massive archways, Al Faw Palace A former pigeon cove which was taken over by bats; Dodge City North, Camp Victory Artificial lake side view of Al Faw Palace, commissioned by Saddam Hussein to signify the Iraqi ownership of Al Faw Peninsula after the Iraq/Iran war Chandelier hanging just inside the main entrance to Al Faw Palace; Camp Victory One of the many mini-palaces that are strewn throughout the Camp Victory complex (built for Saddam's relatives) Peter, Jorg, Brandy, Becky, poor unsuspecting Dwayne, Larry, & Chris; JOC Bridge madness at Camp Victory Becky, Tish & Brandy playing with baby geese; Camp Victory Where's the food? A hungry goose anticipates an easy meal; Camp Victory Fran & Robby link up at Basra Robby holding up Iraqi dates (quite tasty too); Camp Victory Becky feeding the Al Faw Palace geese their morning cereal; Camp Victory Sunset over Dodge City North, with the bat cove silhouetted; Camp Victory Dave & Becky checking out the MiG-23 graveyard This is where the ill fated Iraqi airforce goes to die; MiG-23 graveyard, Balad A colorful bus stop; Balad Becky next to a Homer Simpson blowup doll as soldiers decorate their living areas for Christmas; Balad A graffitied MiG-23 sits forlornly by itself; Balad The SPAWAR gang getting Iraqi "moon dust" all over their shoes & clothes; Balad Chrys smiles as he enters a mobile PX; Balad Soldiers tasked to beautify the T-wall barrier near the Balad DFAC A soldier partaking in a "beautification" project, painting a T-wall near the Balad DFAC This Fat Bottom boat isn't going anywhere fast; Balad The SPAWAR gang at the Iraqi airforce MiG-23 graveyard; Balad Becky & the Filipino crew GI humor on how prices jump dramatically once soldiers roll into town Bags getting palletized for an outbound flight; Iraq Lake view of the mosque on Camp Victory Rosie comes to visit Fran & Becky! It's girl scout cookie time! Sean, Greg, Dave, John, Bossie, Ivan, Larry, Gil, Coleman, & Becky pose for a thank-you photo for Barb from JIEDDO Acting silly with the JOC Bridge team (Woods, Coleman, Becky, Ivan, Pam, Collins, Larry, Dave & Gil); Camp Victory purchase photo gallery softwareby VisualLightBox.com v6.1

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *