2009 Christmas in Iraq

Christmas morning in Iraq...

It sucks! It doesn't even feel like Christmas, but me and my good friend Liesl sure had a good time trying to have the Christmas spirit. The fun lasted until 11:30, there was a few loud explosions and so I thought I better leave her room and go get cleaned up. It turned out to not be anything, it was our own guys blowing stuff up, but it killed the mood and so I just slept and read the rest of the day.

Me with Santa

Cards I received from friends and school children around the country

My good friend Shelly and her family sent me this tree with the presents...

THANK YOU Shelly, it gave me a little holiday spirit for my room!

I decided to open the presents early, good thing I did because it was all the decorations for the tree. I loved it!

Shelly had soldiers I work with back in Colorado write messages on this stocking for me...

When Liesl would open a present she put the ribbons and bows on us.

I looked like a cancer patient at the end of it all...

Me and Liesl with our ribbons...

This was all the stuff we were going to play with

Liesl's friend sent extra presents for her friends. That was really nice of her!!!

Liesl gave me the majority of them and we had so much fun with them!

Left over Halloween gifts from my friend Tina...

We broke it all out!!!

Shirt says...

"I told Santa what I wanted for Christmas,

He washed my mouth out with soap."

Christmas Light Paining

A few of us went out light painting on Christmas Eve. It was the most fun I had had since getting back from leave in Utah and Wyoming. Christmas in Iraq... not that great, it was actually just another day off. It was a little better being around the few people that mean something to me and being able to laugh and have a fun time for a few hours. These pictures actually are harder to do than they look!

Light Painting

Liesl introduced several of us to something really cool you can do with cameras and chem lights and/or laser pointer lights. We have gone out a few times at night to do this and it's been a lot of fun! I am learning all kinds of cool things here and it breaks up the day-to-day boredom.

Flowers, Trees, grass, etc...

This is me blowing out candles on a birthday cake

A guy trying to get into the back of our vehicle, little explosion to the left of him

When I got promoted, this is me and a Marine Warrant Officer

Liesl and me posing with "Army Strong"

Promotion

I am a Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2) now!!!

I'm sure some of you are wondering what the difference between aWO1 and CW2 are, let me explain. A WO1 (Warrant Officer 1) is appointed by the Secretary of the Army and a CW2 is a commissioned officer appointed by the President of the United States. So there is a lot more responsibilities as a CW2, plus you are expected to know a lot more. Hmmmm..... sure, ok.

Me and my soldier, SGT Thurman, before promotion.

My promotion formation

LTC Morris was so nervous about putting the new rank on me because it goes on our chest, it's in the center of our boobs.... HAHAHAHA

Abraham's Oasis

According to Arab legend, Abraham (patriarch of the Hebrew Bible, the Quran and other Islamic writings) visited this oasis at Al Asad on his journey from Ur to Haran. According to the legend, Abraham stopped at the oasis, drank from the water and bathed himself. He and his family camped here for a short time before moving on to Haran.

The Arabic name of the village near the oasis is Eyen Al Asad, which means Spring of the Lion. The name was derived from a time when this area was a wilderness with all kinds of wild animals to include lions.

The oasis had neither settlement nor village before 1920 other than the occasional occupation by Bedouins who passed through with their flocks and stopped for water. Over the centuries, most people in the region lived much closer to the Euphrates River, along it's banks or flood plains. They preferred to stay close to the lush and trade route that the river naturally provided.

A friend took me to the Oasis on one of my parts runs to Al Asad. No one knows for sure if Abraham truly stopped here, but it is a protected area and the Iraqi's and Americans treat it as a sacred piece of land.

Having Fun

These are just random pictures of me and friends...

Teva and Nani

Here are pictures of my 2 little ladies, well one isn't so little anymore. Teva is my 5 year old Australian Shepard, I love her so much and miss her even more! Nani is a 6 onth old 1/2 lab, 1/2 Australian Shepard. She's going to be a monster!!! I've only seen her during the first month of her life. My friend is keeping both of them and training Nani. I'm kind of happy about missing the whole puppy stage, I don't want all my stuff chewed up.