Commuting to ... Iraq?

I'm not sure how else to explain this current trip. I'll go from home to Iraq and back to home in 17 1/2 days. Basically a 2 week trip counting 2 days in planes and airports getting between Baghdad and Northern Virginia. The trip is halfway done so far and going well. I'm back at COB Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq after several days at Camp Slayer in Baghdad. I'm not sure exactly where Iraq falls on the big list of the 50 worse commutes, but I'd imagine it ranks pretty high on the list. At least I'll be home for Christmas.

The highlight of Baghdad, outside of work, was getting to tour one of Saddam's private bunkers underneath the Victory over Iran palace. The bunker has been boarded up for the last 5 years and was just opened up so it could be checked for safety and environmental issues. The walls were still scorched and black from the flamethrowers that had been used to clear it back in 2003. My understanding is that next week the bunker will get sealed back up and once again boarded over. That probably counts as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Now back to our regularly scheduled pictures of young master Orick.