A few pics from my tour in Iraq, 2005-2006

[Crusader_22]

Like said in my sig, I did a tour in Iraq in 2005-06 with the 32nd Infantry Brigade, C Co., 2 BN 127th Infantry Regiment. We did convoy escort in M1114 guntrucks for a mixture of commercial sustainment convoys, and escorting military transportation units bringing an arriving or departing unit's equipment to their FOB duty station. I was officially based in Kuwait, but spent over 300 days on the higways and roads of Iraq, everything from 6 lane divided superhigways on the MSRs (Main Supply Routes) to little more than dirt paths to get to FOBs everywhere in the country. I saw ALL of Iraq, pretty much every major FOB, and a slew of little tiny firebases and OPs. At least I got to see a lot of stuff.

Convoys could range from boring and uneventful to horrendous. We saw IEDs of all types, and complex ambushes. Artillery rounds and other explosives triggered by a variety of methods. Pressure plates, daisy chains, cellphone remote, and good old fashioned det cord.

Here are a few pics, mostly of combat vehicles. Enjoy, if you guys like these, I will post more, I have hundreds.

Jeff

A very familiar and typical view from the turret. Heading by Tikrit on the way to Mosul.



No kidding?



A mortar exploding at the convoy staging area at LSA Anaconda (Balad)


Me where I was most happy. I was the commander of my truck, but did so from the turret quite often. It gave my gunner experience in radio operation, etc., but the truth is I just liked gunning more.Note the early armor, later M1114 trucks had much improved armor and glass in the turret, we saw this evolve throughout our tour.


M88 recovery vehicle in Mosul


We didn't have any, but the big truck guntruck concept is alive and well. Convoy staging lot, FOB Speicher, near Tikrit.


HMMWV contact maintenance truck. I saw Humvees of every description there.


Remember those ariel IR videos of the pyramid shaped bunkers being blown by GBU bunker buster bombs? Here they are. Ammo bunkers on FOB Cedar for the Iraqi air force base adjacent at Talill. Those big blown out concrete blocks are the size of a house.


"Buffalo" armored EOD trucks.


Capture Iraqi T55 on display at Anaconda. I saw hundreds of Soviet vehicles, and climbed in as many as I could. But not ones with armor penetrations, Uranium penetrators make Uranium dust. Not good.


M1 Abrams being used as a perimeter security bunker/emplacement at a small FOB somewhere north of Baghdad.

[Mr. Recovery]

Thanks for posting the photos, GREAT!! Keep them coming.

[Motorcityman]

Thanks for posting the photos, GREAT!! Keep them coming.

Big +1, I've seen alot of photos from over there but hardly ever see discriptions. Thanks for posting them.

[Mark]

hey, thank you for posting the pictures, gives a guy the idea better of what you went thru,thanks for your service to our country
mark

[Crusader_22]

Thanks, guys. I'll post a bunch more later. It is fun going through them, actually. It has been a while.

I have a ton more on my laptop, my Dad had to recover the hard drive, when he ships it back to me I'll have a bunch more. I have about 200 here now, but not all are interesting!

I figured with all of us being MV fanatics, you would like the convoy stuff. And of course, I took pics of every vehicle I could find, almost.

More to follow.

Jeff

[Ralph Fuller]

Great pictures. Keep 'em coming. It is interesting to see the changes in gun trucks.
I've posted 424 pictures of Vietnam gun trucks and Jeeps here:
http://uglyranger.multiply.com/photos/a ... _and_Jeeps

[Crusader_22]

Thanks for the link, Ralph! I am buying my old '53 M37 back from my brother, and making it into a Vietnam gun truck, so those pics are valuable to me.

Here are some more -

Staging at Udari range complex, Kuwait. We went to this range complex run by the Kuwaiti govenment periodically to qualify and test weapons, or just get some gunning in. It is a huge range for everything from pistols to heavy artillery.



Staging area outside of Camp Navistar, Kuwait before we ran a convoy of HETs north. (HET is "Heavy Equipment Transporter", for armor and such. The trailer bogey wheels articulate and steer. They are slow, a HET convoy was dreaded because we were limited in speed, and blew bogey tires often.


Typical scene at a convoy stop, likely for a flat tire somewhere in the convoy. Against better judgement, I usually got out of the truck to look around and asess the situation, there were times and places where this was a very bad idea. This pic is from a stretch somewhere south of Nasiriya (Jessica Lynch debacle) on MSR Tampa.


Rear gate going out to the "Haji Mart", a collection of local souvineer vendors, at CSC Scania. (Convoy Support Center). Everything from rugs to pirate DVDs to cuban cigars, anything they could sell. I always looked for Iraqi and Russian militaria.


British Army Land Rover Defender (110, I think). Bad place for a recruitment sign, no?



Another view of a HET tractor.


Me outside our initial Company ops tent before we officially moved into permanent buildings vacated by the previous unit.


Typical fuel point, a series of large blivets filled with JP8, with pump stations and nozzles spaced along the strip. We ran JP8, actual diesel was rarely available. The EPA isn't in Iraq, the wet ground is spilled fuel.



View of the TC seat (truck Commander). Pretty cramped in there, I spent countless hours crammed in this space. With full combat load of ammo and in my case, M203 grenades, body armor, and so on, I had no room to stretch. There were about 2 positions for each arm and leg. Cramps, joint problems, and fatigue were part of the job, my shoulder still has issues from the bad ergonomics.


Crusader21, one of the 3 trucks in our squad. Obviuosly, Crusader 22 is the namesake of my MUTT and my screen name!


EOD Buffalo trucks at CSC Scania.


Typical scene of the convoy brief and serial number inspection of all sensitive items prior to moving out on a mission. Load up ice for the coolers, drinks, and weapons and ammo. Load fills in the SINGARS radios, do commo checks, and get daily threat breifings for the trip.



Shot of my truck and another taken at BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) on the grounds of one of Saddam's palace complexes. This structure we were on was actually a zoo he built for his grandchildren.


This pic speaks for itself...see the thermometer?

[Floyd]

Hey Jeff: Wowza, awesome pics. I hope the inside of those tents was cooler than the outside, looks like it was a bit toasty that day.

Floyd

[toptiger]

great posts and many thanks

[sarmadq]

[quote="Crusader_22"]Thanks for the link, Ralph! I am buying my old '53 M37 back from my brother, and making it into a Vietnam gun truck, so those pics are valuable to me.

Here are some more -

Typical fuel point, a series of large blivets filled with JP8, with pump stations and nozzles spaced along the strip. We ran JP8, actual diesel was rarely available. The EPA isn't in Iraq, the wet ground is spilled fuel.


quote]

And no one's concerned about the environmental damage there

[sarmadq]

Thanks for the link, Ralph! I am buying my old '53 M37 back from my brother, and making it into a Vietnam gun truck, so those pics are valuable to me.

British Army Land Rover Defender (110, I think). Bad place for a recruitment sign, no?

That's a Defender 90

[sarmadq]

Nice pictures though, I always like seeing military hardware.

[sherwan_88]

Great Pictures Jeff,
Real Slick Humvees! I don't know what it is but Humvees are just irresistible.

[M2HALFTRACKBOY]

Great pics. I'd like to sneak a few here but it's frowned upon due to OpSec issues. We don't allow it where I'm working so I don't do it in someone else's AO.

Most interesting to me is what we achieve with our MVs as restorers vs. the reality of the condition that military vehicles are in, while in theater.

Mix and match paint schemes, scratches, scrapes, dents, down and dirty stencils, empty water bottles, spent brass in hidden corners and lots and LOTS of 100 mile an hour tape. These are the MVs I really love!

Cheers,
TJ in the Astan

[Crusader_22]

TJ,

You are correct re: OPSEC, I figure these pics are 5 years old now, and show nothing of consequence.

I agree completely about REAL combat vehicles, that is how I have my MUTT. Half ass stencils (intentionally), worn and faded paint, painted over and over, and all kinds of stuff strapped and tied to it. I like working trucks.

That is not to say I can't appreciate a gorgeous restoration like Mr. Dibbles did for Toptiger. That is art. But for me, it has to look like it has been there.

Sherwan and sarmadq, thanks for the comments. (I was 50-50 on wether that was a 110 or a 90, I don't know them very well. Thanks!)

And Sam - yes, it is a whole different standard over there regarding what we in countries which are NOT a war zone would tolerate regarding environmental issues. I have seen lots of things like that, and not from the US military, necessarially. There is a little mechanic shop I would pass by in the convoys near the border, and the guy would drive the car over a pit and just drain the oil into the dirt. I guess the Iraqi people have environmental standards fairly low on their list of priorities right now, and rightfully so.

I saw many large oil spills just sitting on the dirt, acres of it in one instance, and the wellheads Saddam burned are still littering the landscape, surrounded by oil and soot for hundreds of feet around, and refineries burn off excess waste 24 hours a day, 365 in a pillar of black smoke.

Jeff