The Iraqi Army Colonel took us to his summer house, which was situated on a hilltop with a nice view of the surrounding mountains. In this picture, I was eating grapes from his vineyard. Delicious, I must add. Very relaxing. I could see myself sitting on this porch, enjoying the view for quite a while.

This is a picture of a Kurdish garden. You see the difference is great. They place alot of fruit/wine related plants in these gardens.

I took this picture when we stopped for a short period to look at the dam again. This typical of the landscape of the entire region.

Behind the Dam

So, we jumped into a number of vehicles. I jumped into a Landcruiser with a bunch of my guys. I look over at the Iraqi Army soldier, I smile, he hands me his Dragunov sniper rifle and I place it down next to me. As soon as I saw this guy, I knew this would be a good time. He was a very nice host (driving us around). He was the Colonel's sniper/bodyguard. Dahok sits in a valley. The damn, I believe, is on the north side. This is a picture of that dam, which is larger than this picture shows. So, this guy leans over and insists that I call someone to tell them I am in Kurdistan driving around. So...I called Kitty...sorry everyone else. They took us to a basic training camp for the Peshmirga. I mean there were Peshmirga everywhere along with police. So wierd though. Everyone waved. Next they took us to the Colonel's summer house. This, I will reserve for tomorrow...have to sleep...

So, where did it start. We took a trip north in our Strykers. It was a cold morning. It was fine after your hands lost feeling. We arrived in Dohuk early in the morning, which is shown in this picture. What you can see in the background if you zoom in, is the Kurdish flag painted on the mountain. At this point, we dropped our gear and cleared our weapons. A bit wierd I would say. The change was almost immediate though. The air was clean, the people waved, the infrastructure was decades ahead, and best of all, there were no worries of people shooting at you or attempting to blow you up. How did we know this? The Iraqi Army we work with are Peshmirga (the Militia of Kurdistan). There is a set number placed on by the Iraqi Government, but there is still a great deal in comparison to the total population of Kurdistan. We were treated as honored guests and I know we were not the first. There were a many people that spoke english. It was definitely akward at first though.

Whats this? I just made a visit to Kurdistan. It was amazing. My commander was invited to lunch with an Iraqi Army Colonel. We made a day out of it. It may take a while, but I will try and post as many pictures as possible. You really have to see all of this.

Heading into a house to talk with some people. Little things will either set you on the right path towards getting what you want from people or the exact opposite direction. I take my gloves off to shake hands and glasses off to look them in the eye. This helps a great deal, but obviously within mission constraints. Inside a house, its not a problem. Its the little things that reap great rewards here.

I don't remember if I have posted this picture before. Its a great picture though. An Iraqi Army soldier with one of my squad leaders, waiting for me to stop talking to this family inside.

Platoon Sergeant after a meal with the Iraqi Army