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Mesopotamia
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This was taken at Al Asad airbase in western Iraq. I was impressed with the open, barren desert here. It was lifeless and felt like another planet. I described it as having "Mad Max" motif, like a post-civilization wasteland. The odd-looking pyramid bunkers are left over from Saddam's Iraqi Air Force. There is evidence everywhere of the 1991 Gulf War. This photo was taken on Saturday, March 21, 2009 and added to the web on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Image copyright 2010 polihale.com |
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Two of my co-workers play basketball at the end of a long day. This was taken at Al Asad airbase in western Iraq. The basketball went from orange to grey in just a few days from all the fine dust on the ground. This photo was taken on Friday, March 20, 2009 and added to the web on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. |
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Two of my co-workers play basketball during a break. This was taken at Al Asad airbase in western Iraq. You can see in the background that this area is an open, barren desert. The purple slingshot on the basketball hoop stand is used to launch water balloons at nearby Marines. This photo was taken on Friday, March 20, 2009 and added to the web on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. |
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Vehicles in Iraq get so dusty and dirty that you can reliably use them as writing surfaces with your finger. Here, someone drew a map. This reminds me of when Mark and I delivered pizzas one summer; the manager drew maps in the flour as he made pizzas. This photo was taken on Thursday, March 19, 2009 and added to the web on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Image copyright 2010 polihale.com |
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Marine dog handlers and their dogs waiting for a helicopter ride at the ADACG in Fallujah. This photo was taken on Thursday, March 12, 2009 and added to the web on Monday, March 23, 2009. Image copyright 2010 polihale.com |
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Dog crates are loaded onto a helicopter in Iraq. This photo was taken on Thursday, March 12, 2009 and added to the web on Monday, March 23, 2009. Image copyright 2010 polihale.com |
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The recent rains in Iraq have cleaned most vehicles, but not all of them. This is one of our rental trucks that's normally caked in dust and sand. It all turned to mud. This photo was taken on Monday, January 12, 2009 and added to the web on Monday, January 12, 2009. |
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Puddles in Iraq. Who would have ever guessed I would see this? When I heard it had started to rain, I couldn't believe it. It rained for 12 hours. This photo was taken on Monday, January 12, 2009 and added to the web on Monday, January 12, 2009. |
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Recent rains in Iraq have had one good side effect. Some vehicles are cleaner than they have ever been before. Usually, it's so dry that vehicles are encrusted with layers of sand and dust, so much that when you slam a door shut, there's a puff of dust. The sand here isn't like granular beach sand; it's a fine powder that gets on everything. You can even get into a vehicle without getting some on you, and it stains. This photo was taken on Monday, January 12, 2009 and added to the web on Monday, January 12, 2009. |
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This is not my photo. My host Marine battalion gave this to me. The local Marines here organized a charity clothing drive in the States for children here in the Al Anbar Province in Iraq. In the winter here (which is as cold as many parts of the USA), some local children have inadequate shoes and coats. Here, a Marine is sizing two girls for new shoes and coats. This is a picture you'll never see in the New York Times. Furthermore, this picture was taken just a few days after my host battalion suffered a deadly attack in the same area. Shame on anyone who thinks the Marines are a destructive, unwelcome, "Kill-em-All" presence here. This photo was taken on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 and added to the web on Thursday, January 15, 2009. This image is in the Public Domain. It has no copyright and is free for distribution. |
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Here is a Third World National (TWN) living near a US military base in Mesopotamia. This is actually a two-man unit, just big enough for two mattresses and a TV. When I first got here, I thought my own living conditions were hard (I'm basically in an old cabin, about the size of a dorm room, sharing it with others, with a walk outside to the toilets and showers). But the TWNs -- who come from India, Uganda, Ethiopia, and even Iraq and Iran -- are grateful to be here, and grateful to have work. They are contract labor for the vendors that support the military base (janitors, drivers, cooks, etc). This photo was taken on Tuesday, December 30, 2008 and added to the web on Thursday, January 1, 2009. |
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While walking back from chow, I noticed a Marine dog handler and his dog waiting for a ride near the helicopter landing zone. I haven't seen a dog in a month, so I had to go over and ask to pet him. Given the area where we were, I figured he was an EOD canine (Unexploded Ordnance). But I was wrong, the dog was a tracker. This photo was taken on Sunday, December 28, 2008 and added to the web on Sunday, December 28, 2008. Image copyright 2010 polihale.com |
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This is me with a military tracker canine in Iraq. I was surprised his handler let me play with his dog. Thanks to Lance Corporal Rowan for taking the photo. This photo was taken on Sunday, December 28, 2008 and added to the web on Sunday, December 28, 2008. This image is in the Public Domain. It has no copyright and is free for distribution. |
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Two Marine Corps V-22 Ospreys take off from a dusty field in Iraq. We hear and see them all the time, but it's a show that never gets old for a military aviation junkie like me. This photo was taken on Sunday, December 28, 2008 and added to the web on Sunday, December 28, 2008. Image copyright 2010 polihale.com |
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A grim reminder that we are in a warzone: the local hospital routinely updates a sign asking for donors of certain blood types. This photo was taken on Thursday, December 25, 2008 and added to the web on Sunday, December 28, 2008. Image copyright 2010 polihale.com |
this is page 1 of 3 (pages 1 . 2 . 3)
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