Short trip to Taji....lots of pics!

SgtSki in MI

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Hi All!

Just got back from a short overnight trip to Taji, which is north of Baghdad. I had to go up there to do a site inspection of one of our construction projects. On the way there I was able to get quite a few pics of Baghdad and some pics on the ground at Taji. I picked out 12 of my favorites for everyone to check out;

First here's me in the air in a UH-60 like what Tom (ashleysflyr) flies.
Me in the Air.jpg

Here's a pic of the Baghdad Tower (aka Saddam Tower) the highest point in Baghdad
Saddam Tower.jpg

This is the Al-Shaheed Moument, a memorial to all Iraqi Soldiers killed during the Iran-Iraq War
Al-Shaheed Monument 1.jpg

Here is an open-air corner market we flew over
Corner Bazaar.jpg

Here are some garden plots in Baghdad:
Garden Plots.jpg

Yes Virginia...there really is GREEN stuff over here!
There is green stuff here.jpg

Here's our wingman who was flying behind us. We were flying lead so didn't get too many pics of him
Our Wingman.jpg

Here are some Russian-made Mil Mi-17s belonging to the "new" Iraqi Air Force (or Iraqi Army Aviation, not sure)
Iraqi Mi-17s 2.jpg

Here's some old Iraqi T-62 Tanks (Russian-made) There are ACRES of Old Iraqi vehicles here!
More T-62s.jpg

And here's some "newer" Iraqi Armor, T-72Ms and M-84. The M84 is a license-built copy of the T-72 that was built in the former Yugoslavia. Iraq also produced a T-72 copy called "Asad Babil" (Lion of Babylon). The New Iraqi Army is also equipped with T-72's which were donated by Hungary.
T-72 weird variant.jpg

Here is a shot of part of a US-Built M-109A1B 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzer. Over 300 of these were sold to Iran during the Shah's rule and several were captured by Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War.
Captured from Iran by Iraq.jpg

And finally, these are French-made F-1 GCT 155mm Self-Propelled Artillery. Merci Beaucoup, mon NATO amis!!!
Thanks France.JPG


Anyways, those are highlight photos from my little trip!

30 more days and we fly OUTTA HERE!!!!

HH,
SgtSki
 

pratt

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sgtski:
:thumbsup: your doing a great job over there and thank you.

Nice pics.
 

Chitlin

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Thank you for your service. The Charlie Daniels topic on this page reminds me to appreciate all yall even more.
Love the helicopter shots......
:icon_salut:

Chitlin
 

SouthArk

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Great Pics, SgtSki........ and to you..... keep up your great work over there.

My son gets to come home on leave this Friday, and has to go back on April 15...... can't wait to get to see him. He's on a 15 month tour this time...... it's his third tour there. The other tours were 12 months each. He's with the 3rd ACR out of Fort Hood.

To all you guys and gals...... I salute you!
 

SC_hunter

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Loved the pics Sgt...My son in law was stationed in Taji his last deployment and looks like he will be going back in June. Stay safe over there.
 

River Rat

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I love helicopter rides, did quite a few with the AF but it was Army aircraft. Thanks for taking me for a ride, Ski...I enjoyed the sights. Stay safe!!

:wink: RR
 

gnewt

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Thanks Ski, you got some good pictures, heck of a lot more than the media shows.
Gnewt
 

Hemisteve

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Great pics.
Let all your fellow soldiers know we support you 100% and wish you all a safe trip home.
Looking forward to more pics and stories when you return.

Steve
 

muleskinner

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Well documented my friend. Maybe you could be a photo journalist after your tour. Hesperea has gotta look good to you after what you have been thru.
Looking forward to meeting you.
Muleskinner
 

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SgtSki in MI

SgtSki in MI

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willieboyd2 said:
The "blue egg" is still there!

I thought that the US was tearing down all of the Saddam monuments.
They were going to tear a lot of them down but the Iraqi Government wants certain ones to stay, Such as the Al-Shaheed Monument and the Monument to the Unknown Soldier bacuse they are monuments to Iraqi Citizens and not to Saddam himself. They were going to tear down the swords arches in the International Zone but those look like they're going to stay too.

There's a new flag too here which was approved just this past January. It's similar to the old one except the Baathist stars are gone and the legend "Allahu Akhbar (God is Great)" has been changed to a different script. The old flag had it in Saddam's handwriting.

Here's a pic with the new flag on top and the old one beneath:
iraq-flagx.jpg
 

EDDE

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the T 72/84? has some rather interesting graffiti ::)
long live uncle fester :icon_pirat: 8)
 

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