Pics from our Christmas run to Baghdad: 94th- At Scania. I hadn't seen this dumpster before. Ooh- look at the completely unarmored humvees on flatbeds in the background! APC- Some old Russian built things. I don't know what kind they are or what country brought them here. I do know that the one pulling rear security hates their gunner. Look at the bullseye. Barn- The farms up north are much more prosperous than the ones in the south. Bridge construction- This is out in the middle of nowhere. There isn't even a road that crosses Tampa here. There also isn't anyone working anywhere near this site, but it seems farther along every trip I take. Brothers (and Hazen)- The Stansfields visit Abu Ghraib. Hazen's up in the tower with them. Bulgarians- Normally, flying flags and brightly painting your doors is exactly the wrong thing to do. I'll bet it keeps these guys safer, though. Cars waiting- I saw this a few times on this trip. I haven't got a clue who stopped them or why they all stayed put. Even if someone managed to put the fear of Allah into the first several rows to keep them from continuing, the guys behind them would have pushed through. Maybe they all ran out of gas at the same time or something. Circle- Now that's what I call a street sign! Circle family- Just sitting on the side of the road. Circle house- It was much more substantial than most of the structures in the area, but the landscaping is the most impressive. Circle kids- All bundled up for winter. Clifford- Relaxing after we got to Abu. Commo- It's really loud inside a humvee. Uparmoreds hold the noise better. I had the speakers turned all the way up but had to ride with the handsets stuck in my chinstrap anyway. My handheld's in my right ear, the radio with its speaker farther from me is in my left, and the radio with its speaker closest to me I decided to trust to luck for. I've only got two ears and it had the speaker I was more likely to hear. Cows- Every time I see them here I still think it's strange. Deuce- Armed and sometimes armored. Driving the wrong way- A local pastime. Dutch- Out on the road. Email address- You know your international shipping company has made it when you get a hotmail account. Feathered Italian- Some people pick the oddest pieces of flair to wear. Field- They cover the young plants with plastic in case there's a frost. Yes, that actually happens here sometimes. Flag- I bought a flag at Bucca to fly here on Christmas day. Fuelers- A mixed convoy. Harvest- I hope they don't harvest at the same speed I see them do everything else. They'll starve if they do. HEMTT- At least the guy in the turret has a rifle. Humvee- I didn't see anything over there. I couldn't make out his flag, either. ING- An actual checkpoint with an actual sign. That's cool. Inside the truck- My view inside. Stansfield's face, Hazen's butt. Italian convoy- Now that's the way to escort a convoy! Italian patrol- Nicer than a humvee. No road for you!- I call it winning their hearts and minds. No smoking- See, around here, we've got rules. The first one is, you can never do this. No step- The second is, never, ever do this. Pickup- On a cold, rainy day, let the wife sit in the back seat. Poles- Escorting an ambulance, and sporting a nice armor kit. Portable substation- The shot didn't come out well, but it's an electrical substation mounted on a flatbed. Ready to SP- One final brief before leaving Abu. Rest area- 1-3 are the "real" ones. 4-7 are a bunch of stores "built" on the shoulder at a road junction. Guess which one more people stop at? Rush hour- Baaaa! The camels were crossing Tampa while we were on it. Uparmoreds are beefy and powerful, but we decided not to hit one. Salt- Shouldn't this be fresh water this far inland? Scania- Rules, rules, rules! Sign- Road signs. Soccer- They love it over here. Speedometer- I love having an uparmored for a long trip. Stansfield flag- He brought a flag up, too. The Stansfields at Camp Victory with Johnson. They've renamed the place Camp Liberty. Someone apparently realized that victory wasn't very accurate. Stansfield the elder- Rob, Craig's older brother, in the room we atayed at in Abu Ghraib. Stansfield tower- Outside at Abu. Stop ahead- Those checkpoints all over the place really slow things down. Stopped convoy- The place can be entirely deserted, but stop for 30 seconds and the locals find you. Tanks- Patrolling Tampa. Teapot- Iraqi lawn art is actually nicer than redneck lawn art. Trailer- There's going to be another big building up north. Wet convoy- Our washer pump didn't work. Every time we stopped I had to get out and splash a bottle of water on the windshield.