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From December 2008 to June 2009, I was on deployment in Iraq
to provide strategic support to our
military headquarters there. I was stationed at
Camp Victory, a huge base next to Baghdad International Airport, and worked
with a great team of
people in a task force operating out of Saddam's old
palace. The
hours were long, but we managed to have a lot of fun nevertheless :-) And of
course I took a lot of pictures! Below is a selection. I also added a few more
pictures to several of my other themed pages (animals
& plants, art,
buildings,
landscapes,
me,
portraits, and
technology).
Please contact me if you want full-resolution versions or if you
plan to use any of these pictures.
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During a stopover on the way to Baghdad, I
took a walk along the ocean front in
Kuwait City |
"Iranian fish" on display at the Kuwait
City Fish Market |
Al-Faw Palace
was my home-away-from-home for six months |
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Saddam's throne was everyone's favorite
spot for "been there, done that" photos |
The palace's entrance hall, a rotunda with
a 50ft domed ceiling, is dominated by this huge chandelier |
A giant American flag is displayed in the
palace rotunda for special events |
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While the palace walls and floors are
marble, every inch of ceiling is decorated with the most intricate relief
murals |
Camp Victory features several artificial
lakes that attract all kinds of wildlife in this otherwise arid region |
The lake surrounding the palace is home to
several families of geese |
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A special breed of large and aggressive
carp also lives in the palace lake |
Just for kicks I bought an RC boat, the
"Carpe Diem", which we promptly used to take a Peep water skiing! |
Almost-daily nerf gun battles helped hone
our warrior skills ;-) |
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South of Camp Victory, the wreckage of
Iraqi tanks serves as a reminder of the fierce battle fought here in 2003 |
In downtown Baghdad, the base of the famous
"Crossed
Swords" monument is littered with the helmets of Saddam's fallen
enemies |
An
aerostat now controls the skies over the bombed-out lakefront villa that
belonged to Saddam's son
Uday Hussein |
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We often enjoyed nighttime views like this
one from the balcony on the third floor of the palace |
Across the palace lake, this compound was
home to our Australian coalition partners |
Flying the flag over Saddam's palace on my
last day in Iraq was a great finale to an exciting and rewarding tour |
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