Operation Iraqi Freedom

This page is dedicated to all of the men and women that have served our country in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Regardless of duty position or location, the men and women that have served deserve your thanks and support. Below you will find some photos of what I saw in Iraq. My claim to fame for OIF is the return of the F16 canopy to US soil. While I was involved in a good many activities, bringing the canopy home is what I am most proud of. Below you will find various photos I took during my stay in Kuwait and Iraq from February 2003 to January 2004.

The photos above were taken in Mosul and Iskandari. Photo one is of some Iraqi art with some USGI modifications. Two is a jacked BMP on Mosul Airfield. Three is the tail end of one of the mortars they hit us on the morning of 4 July 2003. The last photo is of a bunker full of something at the airfield in Iskandaria. While they may not have had WMD, they had bunkers full of pesticides and other unknown items.

Iraq has some great sunsets. Photo one was taken in Iskandaria. Photo two is a guard shack the 101st took care of. Most of the photos just look like trash and the place was blown to hell and back. The next photo is of ordnance on the ground from the block house. The last photo is a promotion. The soldiers get washed of their old rank then they get dirtied up a little!

More fun in Mosul. The guy getting drenched was celebrating his birthday with a near beer and a Cuban cigar. The remaining photos are of abandoned or captured Iraqi equipment. I do not recall the location or date of the photos.

The Kuwaitis offered some amusement for the soldiers as they rolled in. Two of my soldiers getting some the night before we rolled north. Another sunset in Iraq. The last photo I took on our second day of the convoy into Iraq. The flat area I believe was a river bed but I don't know the location. Iraqis were gathering salt from the ground and piling onto carts pulled by donkeys.

An Abrahms at work. I don't think that airport is named as such today. The third pic is the "hanger" we used in Mosul. The Iraqis stole everything! The last one is my favorite: six lanes in southern Iraq. MODOT could learn a thing or two from Iraq and apply it to I-70!

The Tigris River. My first reup in Iraq. Lots of soldiers reenlisted in Iraq. Only a few of my soldiers did not stay and most were to have gotten out right when we deployed but were caught in the stop loss. Though the writer can't spell, the point is clear. This man's wife emailed me about his service in the Gulf War and told me about his current state. The Hellfire went to good use! The bridge you see here is in Mosul though it is identical to the one in Fulluja the bastards hung the American from in 2004. These bridges were built by the Britts when they where in charge.

The market in Mosul. These guys worked for me in Iraq and I have now idea if they are alive today. Some bombs in Iskandaria as well as a dirt devil.

101st birds prepared for movement in Jacksonville, FL. Some Hellfires ready for some lovin. The Tomb of Jonah in Mosul, Iraq.

Read the name of this tank on the barrel. It says it all! A pic of an Iraqi Tabuk rifle. The 101st HQ in Mosul. Who says they don't arm pilots? She was our 747 pilot taking us from FT Campbell, KY to Kuwait in February 2003. They really took care of us!

Having some fun in Kuwait. One of the many visitors you could find in your tent. Home at Iskandari, our first base in Iraq. The work area at Iskandaria.

The Patriots saved our butts in Kuwait! The canopy after she was found. A bunker full of ammo. Most of the platoon in Mosul.

This is the stuff most of you want to see! The first one was taken in Iskandaria. I am not sure what is at the bottom of that cloud but it was one hell of an explosion. I wonder what the dogs are eating in the third photo?

CNN did not bother showing up the day we handed the school back over to the kids! I am not sure why. A photo of Mosul from the top floor of the medical school. I hated this sign but looking back on it it was pretty funny. Soldiers waiting to run the two mile portion of their PT test.

This guy was one hell of a NCO! He worked in the motorpool and kept our vehicles running. We had only a few break downs the entire time we were deployed. Not bad for over 60 vehicles. He died at work shortly after we returned home for no apparent reason. Soldiers tried to save him but they lost their brother. You will be missed Sergeant! The wrecker did die on the way back from Kuwait. A jacked up hummer. Bingo scratching his ass in Mosul.

All local purchases made in cash! A gate to the ancient walled city of Nineva. Some flying during the war. An Abrahms getting some work done on her.

These images were quickly destroyed and photos were hard to come by. I am not sure where this photo was taken. Everybody loves taking photos! Leroy the cat.

A rack of M4s. Iraqi training aids. Dropped from a CH-47 at 800 feet. Camp Udari, Kuwait.