Land of Palaces

"Hello everyone,

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer. It’s hard to believe that it is already a week into July.

Everyone has heard the stories of Saddam and his palaces that he had built around Iraq. I had the opportunity to see a few of these palaces over the past couple of weeks. Some of these palaces have holes where ceilings used to be, courtesy of the US Air Force, but most others are still in tact. While the palaces make good pictures and are built with marble floors and chandeliers, when you actually take a close look at the workmanship, it reminds you that this is Iraq. The palaces do stand out among the common houses in the surrounding villages, particularly up here in Tikrit.

I spent some time down in Baghdad attending a biometrics conference and collecting information on Army Space Support Teams. I know most of you can hardly contain yourselves thinking of the excitement of that adventure, but hey, some of the work isn’t quite as “field army” as others."
Up Country Iraq