Iraq doesn't totally suck. Here's a pic taken by a friend at another camp (Taji) and obviously a pool is pretty cool in the desert.

Here's a cool pic of the work environment here. It's a good pic and I thought I'd share.

As a contrator I get paid according to some base pay, plus a hazardous duty part plus something called an 'uplift.' I've been promoted once since I've been here and today the big rumor was that the uplift part is increasing for Iraq. If true, it will be a pay increase. If not, eh, life will go on.

The Iraqi dinar is a speculative currency that one can buy and hope for an increase. Right now the exchange is about 1 dollar to 1,400 or so dinars. So there are weekly rumors about it 'hitting.' Here is one rumor.



Also, I'm trying to move to Baghdad (the big city life awaits!)

Here's a reply from a friend up there replying to the dinar question and how life is in Baghdad for him (he recently moved there from Tallil.)

"Chris, I have heard a number of rumors. Not sure which to believe, if any. The valuation and time frame in this e-mail are close to what I've heard (end of July to as late as early October).
I like the IZ, but it is far more dangerous. Last week we had 3 rockets impact just 80 yards outside our camp walls - killing 2 and wounding several others. Shrapnel, concrete and other blast debris showered our camp. The blast concussions knocked down hundreds of ceiling tiles in our office buildings. Two days later, two more rockets hit on the other side of our camp - about 250 yards away. One actually flew right over our camp. No one was injured. The concussions from car bomb explosions from just outside the International Zone are a daily event. Baghdad is clearly one of the hottest spots in Iraq right now.

Charles"

Well, maybe 'podunk' Tallil is the place to be?

Here are some general pics around the camp.

The soldiers do quite a bit of artwork around camp. Here's a pic.


Here's the gang that I work with. Usually the needle is in the 'black.'


Here's an artsy pic of the bunkers we use too frequently.


Here's a camel that likes bottled water. I've been told he never fills up.

Today was a bad day. The base where I am is a rather large base and is not easily attacked except by mortars and rockets (and they have terrible aim.) There are several much smaller camps nearby called FOBs and one was attacked today. One soldier died and 3 are wounded. It's still dangerous out there.

I got to visit the Aussie camp on base the other day and took these pics. Some jobs are changing and there are going to be more Australians here. The Aussies and Japanese are definitely friendlier than the Italians. The Aussies are more than happy to show off their equipment and just be friendlier. Maybe it's a cultural maybe it's a language thing.

Anyway, here are a few pics.

This last week has been a tough week. The camp has been attacked twice with rockets instead of mortars. I'm not sure why but it seems rockets make a louder boom than mortars. Pretty much all you can do when we get attacked is run into the bunkers. Fortunately mortars and rockets are indirect fire and the bad guys have terrible aim. So one has been hurt seriously but statistics tell me that it's just a matter of time if we continue to be attacked. When/if a civilian is hurt/killed I suppose we'll see a lot of people want to demob (de-mobilize) right away. Eh, such is life in a war zone.

Here's a pic of me in the bunker.

So one of the things that I do is make presentations in my job. Sometimes the presentation is a mini multi-media show and I did a pretty good one for the Fourth of July. It had pics, sound and a voice over. Part of the show was showing pics on the various states and one pic I used was a coin pic for some of the states. I also work with sub-contract employees (SCEs) and sometimes they understand some American humor. I assigned a task to an SCE to find coin pics of varous states and he did a good job but also found the one for Arkansas here. Fortunately I looked at the coin a little closer before putting it in my final presentation in front of 500 people on the fourth of July.

Here's the pic.



If I weren't in Iraq, I'd probably be in Seattle drinking beer and hanging out on the weekends. There's a lot to be said for that and here's a pic of some friends back in Seattle doing just that.

Ok, I've been very lax in doing any posting. I'm not sure if many people check the blog but I suppose a blog is alike a 'if you post it, they will come' sorta thing. So I'll be more diligent and see what happens.

Yesterday we got attacked for the second time in a week. Spent 2 hours in the bunker where it's dern hot, dry and dusty (but safe.)

I've also been doing well here and got an award. Here's a pic of one award.

And here's a pic of an Iraqi sunset. It's a nice pic and takes up space. I'll post more soon.