Pics from Navistar: Bazaar- This is the bazaar in Safwan from ASR Sioux Falls going to Umm Qasr. If you take the off ramp and follow that road, you'll end up passing Mr. Lube. Convoys coming out of Kuwait have much better luck taking a left at Mr. Lube, bypassing the city and coming out a mile or so north instead of going through it and coming out on the main road right here. Berm- Navistar is a convoy staging area. Camp Carolina Crossroads is the camp there. Last month when we were there, it was still called Camp Big Sky Oasis. I don't know why they changed it. Once we get into the camp, there's a berm around the main camp area. Yes, we got busted by a security patrol while taking these pictures. We had to come back later to get the last two. In order: Hazen, Hazen, Huang, Huang, Deschenes, Westcott and me. I was using different zooms and backgrounds at first, then we started to hurry before we got busted. Border patrol- Another shot of one of their Toyotas. Border sign- Rules, rules, rules. Bus- The bus drivers here camp out in the cargo areas of their buses. Conex- We spotted some conexes that had been made into buildings. Dumpster- Someone threw away a perfectly good dumpster. Flammable- "Quick fire" in Arabic. Fuel- Big fuel point at Navistar. I don't know- They're going north, but I don't know what they are or who they belong to. Neat little trucks, though. ICDC- The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps has been getting some Russian vehicles shipped in through Umm Qasr. A green version of the truck in SUV.jpg, and we passed a convoy of flatbeds carrying these things. The guy on foot is across from Mr. Lube in Safwan. They were running a checkpoint at the intersection. Italians- They've got neat little trucks, too. McCarthy- Westcott took 1 with his camera while we were waiting for the water trucks to fill. Wallace took 2 with his camera of me blocking traffic on Tampa so our convo could cross. MCT- The Movement Control Team are the people who manage the convoys going through. This is the office at the staging area that we start from. 2 is a sign just to its left and 3 is the trailer full of ice just to its right that keeps us coming back. Mini Hescos- Cute, tiny little Hesco barriers. They seem more decorative than anything else. Mr. Lube- I han't been able to get a good high-res shot of the place that the sign was legible in. "Safwan, Iraq. Est. 2003. Franchises available." New store- A new roadside store just got built on Tampa right outside the Kuwaiti border. In 1, it looks unfinished- you can see daylight through the "window" and some ICDCs are resting in the shade. In 2 it's done and open for business. Poles- The Poles were moving south. Leaving, I'd guess. Poor bastards- Some genius decided long ago that allowing soldiers shelter from the elements lowers their effectiveness. These guys are going north. They'll be effective as hell after spending a full day in the open like that. Radio- That's a humvee's dashboard. You can see Hazen's foot as he sits in the turret. Nault's backpack is next to his foot. In 2, you can see our hats and my coffee mug (first thing in the morning, it's not too hot for coffee yet). The padlock is how we secure our expensive radios full of sensitive data. 3 is my end of the mount. I rest my rifle there so it sticks out the window angled up. My camera generally goes with me, and we never go anywhere without bottled water and Gatorade packets. The pouch on the stock is a nice touch. We almost always have to have our weapons with us (at the PX, the chow hall, etc.), and they're useless without ammo. I got this magazine pouch for $5. Before I got it I carried a magazine in my back pocket. It was annoying to have to take it out every time I sat down somewhere. In another 20 years, the Army might issue these things. Safety- Check out the roof of this thing. They put a rearview mirror up there for the gunner. They built a duct for the radiator vent, too. Lots of humvees have it. It probably helps. Security- This little Toyota seems like it's the SOG's vehicle (apparently they ran out of humvees). Here it's running drinks to the guard posts. Another day it was taking a shift back to their tents when they stopped and yelled at us to get off the berm. In shot 3 you can see the Kuwaiti license plate on the tailgate. Sign- This was to the right of the fuel point shots. Strange- Third world vehicles look weird. Sunrise- Morning at Navistar. Taxi home- Returning to Bucca, half a mile or so past Mr. Lube. It must not run well, because it's there a lot. Texas Chicken- It just opened. It's at Navistar, but it's not in the camp, so ask yourself: do you feel lucky? Wallace ate lunch there. I'll send health updates as things change. Transport Co.- Just past the new store are a few new trucking companies. In 1 I missed the sign because digital cameras lag a bit. In 2 there's a guy wearing the traditional native garb that we sensitively call a "man dress." Trucks- They seem to have grabbed every stray trailer in Europe that was left unattended for five minutes. These were just some from a couple convoys that left while we were waiting for the water trucks to fill. 16 and 17 are of the ice trailer behind the chow hall at Bucca. Waiting- It takes a while for the water trucks to fill. 3 is Huang. Hazen is 1, but then the sun got too strong, so he moved to 5. 6 is in the same place, but from my seat in the truck. Can you tell he's in college? Water- Bottled water makes the world go 'round.