Dustdevil in Iraq-with pictures!

[Richard B the EMT]

Radar didn't mail a firearm, he was mailing a Jeep, piece by piece!

[mediccjh]

Radar didn't mail a firearm, he was mailing a Jeep, piece by piece!

I am aware of that; however, it's the thought that counts.

And the AK-47 has less parts.

[Dustdevil]

Unfortunately, as anal as they are about prohibiting "war trophies" here, it's going to be hard enough just getting this bullet back home, much less the rifle it came from.

The guys who go home with shrapnel still in them are lucky to even get out of the country with it!

Getting a Hummer home would be easier. You can steal Uncle Sam blind out here and nobody bats an eyelash, but try and bring home an Iraqi uniform, or a few pieces of Iraqi money and they want to throw you in the brig. Typical government nonsense. :roll:

[Richard B the EMT]

Was it Sir Winston Churchill that said, "The biggest thrill in life is to be shot at, and missed"?

[Dustdevil]

Was it Sir Winston Churchill that said, "The biggest thrill in life is to be shot at, and missed"?

I dunno. But that is certainly more profound than anything I've ever said after being shot at.

The F word is usually involved.

[AnthonyM83]

RPGs, complete with rocket = $5 dollars

Fragmentation grenade = 75 cents

You guys ever get to go buy some and play with them? Or would that be too big of a no-no?

[Dustdevil]

Buy? No.

Play? Uhhh.... no.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. :wink:

[Dustdevil]

What the well-dressed Iraqi Army officer is wearing these days...

Colonel Amir, Lt. Col Mohammad, and some guy who looks a lot like me together for midnight tea time. The schmag (headscarf) is a gift from the Iraqis.

[Dustdevil]

Okay, so I took a bureaucratic buggering up the arse and got transferred out of my little slice of heaven in Ramadi. I was pissed off about it at the time, but it looks as though this is going to be a positive thing for me after all. I am now in Habbaniyah, just ten miles from Ramadi. A much more laid back place, and a cooler place to be, scenery wise. The action is not as hot here as Ramadi. I don't get blown out of bed as frequently here, and me mum is happy to hear this. But we also accept that there are no "safe" places in Anbar Province. And now, without further adue...

The night I showed up at the helipad to fly out of Ramadi, I found my friend, General Amir (same man as the Colonel Amir in the photo above), also waiting for a helicopter to Baghdad, and we shared the flight together. It was good to see him, as I was afraid I would have to leave without getting to say goodbye to him.

The thing I was most upset about, leaving Ramadi, was that I was going to be separated from my best friend, Ammar. Well, luckily, he returned from R&R the same day I arrived at Al Asad, so we got to spend a couple of days hanging out before we went our separate ways.

Yes, I know I look fat in that picture.

So after less than a week at Al Asad, I mercifully got re-assigned to my new camp here at Habbaniyah. In this pic, I am eating my third MRE meal of the day, about halfway into an 18 hour wait at the air terminal for my flight. Ugh!

When I finally flew out of there, we had all been waiting for so long that we were totally wasted. Consequently, most of the guys were asleep for the hour long ride. A diverse group, with a Marine sergeant on my right and an Army sergeant on my left.

I mentioned how scenic this new camp is. Here is a sampling of the murals that are still painted on buildings around me. They are starting to chip and fade after four years of neglect, but still cool to look at. The writings all praise the invincible battle prowess of the Iraqi military, and the brilliant leadership of Saddam. Kinda funny, considering they have had their arses whipped repeatedly in the last twenty years.

Here's a couple that are painted on the walls of a movie theatre on the base. In the first one, the part that is all broken out in the centre (where only bricks are visible) was a drawing of a bloody skull wearing a beret with the Star Of David on it. Saddam had a real hard-on for Israel and fancied himself someday invading and destroying them. Kuwait was practice for that. Iraqi military friends tell me that they were actually planning an attack on Israel, which would have happened by now if it were not for the U.S. invasion.

More random murals. Notice that the Palestinian flag appears beside the Iraqi flag in many of these. More showing of Saddam's hatred for Israel and solidarity with the Palestinians.

And finally, the one remaining Saddam monument in my area of the camp. Actually, it was painted over years ago, but somebody recently spent a whole day delicately uncovering the orignal pic, lol. It's cool to have one around.

Speaking of Saddam, here is his "summer palace" that is on this camp. It was completely gutted by looters immediately after the war who took everything from the furniture to the fixtures, to the electrical wiring and the wood of the staircases and shelves. It's a mess now. Totally abandoned and overgrown with weeds. I am one of the few Americans here who even knows it was once a "palace." Befriending local Iraqis gets you lots of cool information! It was actually a big command centre for the Brits in the 30s originally.

And me on the stairs leading to the balcony where Saddam used to address the masses, taken by one of my new Iraqi friends.

My new church, which is only a couple of blocks from my clinic! Very uncrowded too, lol!

The Iraqi Army aid station, which is actually nicer and better equipped than the U.S. Navy aid station on this same camp.

And finally, me with my new dog, Cheetah! Isn't she adorable? Almost as adorable as my new Toyota Land Cruiser "ambulance."

If anybody wants to come visit me on their vacation, I have plenty of room. Let me know!

[sledogg1]

Sign me up.........are u a civilian medic or a military medic? Love the photo of the army/marine sarg u sandwiched between keeping the truce.