No Left Turns - The Ashbrook Center Blog

Photos from Robert Alt in Iraq

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The first two pictures show you the barricaded entrance to the Combat Support Hospital. The next picture is of Pfc. Justin Cussans, who was recovering from a gunshot wound at the CSH when I spoke with him. The last two pictures are of Warrant Ofr. Leo Geibel, who had been hit in the leg by a mortar. As you can see from the picture, his ear pieces are in because he is moments from boarding a Blackhawk for transport.


The first three pictures show the Blackhawk landing at the Combat support hospital and unloading a patient. Note that the chopper is running during the whole process. Following that, the next four pictures give you a view of Baghdad from the air, which as the crew will tell you, is the only way to really see the city.

The next three pictures show the crew performing routine maintenance on the aircraft and the next gives you a view in the cockpit, followed by a picture giving a view of the passenger/patient compartment. The next picture gives another shot of the bird as Pfc. Patterson sits on top completing the routine maintenance, followed by a picture of Father K giving Spc. Pham, who works in the public affairs office, a tour of the cockpit. The next picture shows several of the Blackhawks parked in a row.

The next three shots are of the Bell Kiowa choppers. As the crews describe it, the pilots of these Recon/attack helicopters play a little game of cat and mouse. One flies into troubled areas to draw fire, while a second flies on its tail to serve as the enforcer when the terrorists show themselves to fire.

After that, the next two pictures are of the crew, who as I said requested that the picture be taken in front of the red cross. From left to right is Pfc. Jeffrey Patterson (crew chief), Sgt. Edward Kostelnik (medic), Sgt. David Larson (flight instructor/crew chief), Spc. Pham (Public Affairs), 1Lt. Jerry Murphy (pilot), and Cpt. Roderick Stout (pilot-in-command). The four pictures after that are individual shots of Lt. Murphy, Sgt. Kostelnik, Sgt. Larson, and Cpt. Stout, in that order. (I thought that I had gotten an individual picture of every member of the crew, but it appears that young Mr. Patterson evaded the camera.)

The next picture is of Cpt. Jeff Greenlinger and Spc. Pham of the public affairs office joining Sgt. Kotelnick and Lt. Murphy on top of the Blackhawk at sunset. The final shot is of the sun setting on Taji airbase.






Here are a couple of pictures of most of the members of 4th Platoon, E Troop, 196th Cavalry taken just before I left for Baghdad. In the first picture, from left to right on the ground are Spc. Barrett, Sgt. Smith, Sgt. Black, Ssg. Gleason, Spc. Woehler, Spc. Vorhies and Spc. Russ with crossed 9 mms, Lt. Naum, and Sgt. Porter. Ssg. Pugh is seated on the Humvee, and Pv1 Harkless is in the gunner’s hatch. In the second picture, Lt. Naum and I are kneeling in front. In the second row (from left to right), Spc. Barrett is now hiding behind Sgt. Smith, followed by Sgt. Black, Spc. Woehler, Spc. Russ is seated on the Humvee, Spc. Vorhies, and Sgt. Porter. Ssg. Pugh is seated on the left portion of the roof of the Humvee, Ssg. Gleason is on the right, and Pv1 Harkless is once again manning the gunner’s hatch.


Here are a couple pictures of rocket parts recovered from recent attacks. The first image shows the remnants of one of the missiles, while the second includes a battery (oddly "Rocket" brand) used to launch the rocket.


Here are some pictures of the M-113 APC transport that I mentioned here. The first picture shows Cpl. Clark gunning in the crew compartment, and the second shows Spc. Richmond manning the opposite side. The next three are of Sfc. Hutton in the gunner's hatch (the first two pictures were taken with me extending my arm as far as I could out from the crew compartment and shooting the camera blindly as we barreled down the highway). The next picture shows Ssg. Gleason in the gunner's hatch and Pfc. Ray in the driver's seat. The next picture gives a view of the vehicles behind the one in which I was traveling. The picture after that shows the vehicles stopped for an IED sweep with the sun quickly rising behind us, and the last picture shows one of the M-113s at the destination, with one of the many Iraqi dogs taking a stroll in front of the vehicle.


Here are a few pictures from the raid I described here. The first two pictures show the guys preparing for the mission. In the next picture, Sgt. Tafili (right) and Sgt. Foster (left) stand just off the porch as the family leaves the building. (Note the "Scar" Lion King action figure taped to Tafili's Kevlar.) The next picture shows Sfc. Hall (a.k.a. "Cav Daddy") motioning the family from the porch to the lawn, with Cpl. Clark crouched in the distance. In the next picture Sfc. Murphy and Sgt. Foster head to the stairs. In the next two pictures, members of 2d Platoon secure the stairs and make their way to the roof. The next picture shows (from left to right) Spc. Dickens, Cpl. Clark, Spc. James, and Ssg. Gleason securing the side of the house. The next picture is of Spc. Dickens at that same location. By this time, it had become apparent that there was nothing to be found in the house, so I joined back up with the troopers providing perimeter security. The next picture shows Lt. Naum (left) and Spc. Russ (right, with the large radio antenna sticking out of his pack) at the corner of the courtyard wall. The following picture shows Lt. Naum talking to Ssg. Pugh about searching the fields near the target home. The next two pictures show Lt. Naum, Spc. Woehler, and Spc. Russ searching vehicles passing through the area. After returning from the mission we took a couple of group shots. In the first shot, the top row from left to right includes Spc. Russ, Spc. Vorhies, Sgt. Black, Cpl. Clark, Spc. Dickens, Sgt. Smith, Ssg. Pugh, Spc. Richmond, Sfc. Hutton, Pv1 Harkless, Ssg. Gleason, and Sgt. Porter; the bottom row from left to right includes Spc. James, Spc. Woehler, Sgt. Mattocks, 1Lt. Naum, and Spc. Guyton. The last picture is the same lineup, but with me taking Lt. Naum’s spot in the front row while he snaps the picture.


Here are some pictures that were given to me by the Bravo Unit of the 2-3 FA, 1AD in Adhamiyah that I mentioned here. As you can see, a 155mm mortar round packs quite a punch.


Here are a few pictures of the Snap TCP I mentioned here. In the first shot, Savan, the troops interpreter, speaks with the Kurdish man while Spc. Russ checks the engine compartment. In the next two pictures, Staff Sergeant Pugh examines the AK-47 he recovered from under the driver's seat.


Here are a few pictures from the Memorial Day commemoration at FOB Bernstein.


Here are some pictures of the soldiers walking to check on the progress of the well the Army is having drilled in the Kurdish village of Mansur. As you can see in the first three, my description of them as looking like pied pipers is fairly apt. The next two pictures are of Cpl. Clark with the young boy who took his hand and followed him throughout Mansur. The next three pictures are of Specialist Russ trying out the bike of one of the locals. The next is of SFC Hutton (who appears to like having his picture taken almost as little as I do) with a group of kids. The boy on the right is trying to flip his eyelid inside out for the camera, showing that kids are the same wherever you go. After that is a picture of the muqtar of Mansur and his son, Ali. Every time we come to the village, Ali scurries off to put on his best clothes. On this visit, he wore an outfit identical to his dad. The bottom left picture is of Lt. Naum meeting with the Kurdish Sheikh and procuring the agreement to sit down with the local Arab leaders to discuss the land dispute. The final picture from this trip to Mansur is of the daughter of Noman Najim (the man that Doc saw regarding leg pain).


Here are a few pictures of the Tauq Chay reservoir, as well as the 155 mm artillery shells found there. Read my post on the situation here.


Here are few pictures from the raid that I described here. The top two photos give you a little taste of night vision. I put one of the NODs up to my camera lens (sorry, the lens is much bigger than the NODs). The first is obviously of a Humvee, and the second shows the village that was the target of the raid lit in the distance. The next three pictures are of the Apache air support. The bottom three pictures are of the village itself, the last of which shows the muqtar meeting with one of the civil affairs soldiers.


Here are a few pictures of 6 of the 7 men who had their hands cut off by Saddam Hussein for a crime that amounted to challenging a monopoly operated by Saddam's friends. The man in the red shirt in the center is an interpreter, who has followed their case since it occurred in 1996. Read my article on the case here.


Here are some shots from Davac (pronounced "Divitch"), a small Sunni village outside of Tuz that was a favorite spot for Saddam to visit in this region. On these trips, Cpt. Bumgardner was coordinating with the local Muqtar to build a road.


The top two pictures are of my old friend Lt. Naum with the son of a Kurdish political party leader. The bottom photo is one with Cpt. Bumgardner and a local child.


Here are a few shots of Sgt. Porter clowning with the locals. As you can see, he has an instant rapport with the kids.


As I have said before, the children are drawn to the soldiers, and swarm them and their vehicles. Here are just a few shots. Also notice the Kurdish children in the bottom picture—their hair and features can appear very European.


These are pictures of classrooms in the villages near Tuz. As you can see, they are rather primitive.


These are the members of the 216th Engineering Company that I traveled across the Sunni Triangle with in an unarmored Humvee. In the top left picture, you can see Lt. Courtemanche on the left, Spc. Corriell (a.k.a. Medevac Barbie) on the right, and manning the gun is Sgt. Caldwater. The top right picture is of Sgt. Caldwater standing up manning the gun while we were rolling, and the bottom picture is of the sandstorm we drove through.


The upper right photo is of Chaplain Sizemore leading the 216th in prayer before departing for Tuz. In the top left picture, Cpt. Bumgardner, who leads the 196th, is wearing a kafia that was given to him by the Muqtar's (village mayor's) son. The bottom picture shows Cpt. Bumgardner meeting with a local Muqtar.


In a previous entry I mentioned that Echo Troop of the 196th Cavalry had discovered a daisy-chain IED, which included 13 bombs strung together. Here and here are videos of two of the larger bombs (one of which was 500 pounds) being detonated by the Army's Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit. The unit provided me with the above photos which should give you an idea how big the explosions really were.


These are photos from Our Lady of Fatima Church, a Christian church in Baghdad. The top left photo is of Father George Hermiz, the church's priest who has served at the church since 1980. Read about my experience at this church here.


Soon after the missile hit, a column of U.S. armor went streaming down the street. Who said that cold steel cannot warm your heart?
A little perspective. I bumped into this young Iraqi gentleman moments after the missile hit.


Here are just a few of the many examples of the kids talking to the American soldiers in Adhamiya.


This is the outside of a network video game center I visited while embedded with Bravo unit of the 2d Battalion, 3d Field Artillery Regiment Gunners (or, as they are known among the military, the 2-3 AF) in Adhamiya. Notice that the store is decorated with paintings of Lara Croft “Tomb Raider” and Mortal Kombat. The Tomb Raider painting seemed strangely appropriate, because the 2-3 AF got dubbed the Tomb Raiders for their role in finding weapons caches hidden in cemeteries.
This is the inside of the video game center, where the kids play western games such as Medal of Honor and Vice City. The picture on the top-right is of Achmed, a 16-year-old from the neighborhood who frequents the store with his little brother Omar. His father is an Iraqi police officer. On the bottom-left, you can see 1st Sgt. Woods, the man who suggested to me that the locals want to be "like Mike." And on the bottom-left, Muhannad, who owns the store, stands with a group of the patrons.


The above photos are from a demonstration in Baghdad on March 31, 2004 protesting the Coalition's decision to close an Iraqi newspaper based on the claim that it had been printing stories encouraging readers to commit violent acts against Coalition forces. The crowd was a bit unruly and threw some rocks at soldiers.


These photos of Secretary of State Powell and Paul Bremer were taken at Secretary Powell's March 19, 2004 press briefing in Baghdad.


These photos were taken at the residence of Mohannad Nasim, a 45-year old man who lives about a block from the site of the Mount Lebanon Hotel car bombing. His house was damaged in the blast, but he and his family were unharmed. Click here to read more about Mr. Nasim and his views on America.


These photos were taken at the scene of the Mount Lebanon Hotel bombing in the Karada district of Baghdad on March 17, 2004. The bomb killed at least 29 people and wounded 50 others.


The above photos are from a press briefing with Dan Senor of the Coalition Provisional Authority and General Kimmitt of Consolidated Joint Task Force 7.


Anti-Constitution Rally


Also near the parade grounds is the Unknown Soldier Monument. The next picture is the Convention Center, or, as I like to call it, "Interim Constitution Hall." The next picture is one of land rovers that security details use to transport press and notables after it has taken a couple of rounds in its bulletproof glass. The next picture is of the bunker which I reported from just outside the Al Rashid. And finally, the last picture is of a relatively common sign in the Green Zone.


These are pictures of the famous Victory Arch, which stand at the edges of the parade grounds. The monuments commemorate the Iraqis who died in the Iran-Iraq war. Keeping to his usual megalomaniacal ways, the arms holding the swords are cast based on Saddam’s arms. In the final two close-ups, you can see that the netted object which is strung to the arms contains helmets. In the final picture, you can see that someone has scrawled what appears to be 31 Aug 03 on one helmet and what appears to be Washington on another.


Into the Green Zone. The first picture is of the Al Rasheed Hotel. The Second picture gives a little bit of a close-up of the floors that were hit by the rocket attack several months ago. An acquaintance of mine was in the building when the attack occurred. It literally blew the doors off of his room. The following three pictures are of bombed out buildings in the Green Zone. I have many more pictures of buildings like these, but at a certain point, if you have seen one bombed out building, you’ve seen them all.


Finally into Baghdad. The first picture is of a damaged communications building we passed soon after we entered Baghdad. The second shot is of Downtown Baghdad, as taken from my hotel. The third picture is of the Tigris River, and the fourth once again shows the Tigris, with a little better view of the Green Zone on the other side.


While I was in Jordan awaiting the eventual arrival of my luggage, I made my way out of Amman to the ancient city of Jerash. Jerash is well-preserved Roman city. Formerly known as Gerasa, it was conquered with the rest of the region by Pompey in about 64 BC. The second picture is the South Theatre, which was built in the 1st Century and could hold about 5000 visitors. The third picture is a small slice of the hippodrome, which hosted chariot races.


I took advantage of my long layover in London to get out of the airport and see a bit of the city. I won’t bore you with a lot of tourist shots, but here is a picture of Sir Winston’s statue just opposite the houses of parliament, and here, right next to Sir Winston (ironically) is an anti-war display. It was a Sunday, but the display had the toothless quality of the signs set up in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington. That is, they resembled the perpetual display of the unhinged.


By way of contrast to the Middle East, here is a picture of Medina, Ohio (pronounced Me-die-nah, not Me-dee-nah)—the city in which I lived prior to leaving for Iraq—taken just a few days before I departed. About two weeks before I left, the city had its annual ice sculpting competition.