CADUDE and Team 4, newly rechristened "Landshark" took a little trip to the Green Zone/International Zone/Whatever you want to call it. We took the obligatory pictures of the famous crossed sabers, of which there are actually four sets.





Some Blackhawks were kind enough to land in front of them and make for a pretty nice picture opportunity.






Most of the areas inside the Green Zone are off limits to photography. Still, there is some pretty architecture and some truly unforgettable sights.






There are several of these amazing golden domes throughout the grounds. Even up close they are quite ornate.











Perhaps a little more mundane but these were also throughout the grounds. Many were used for Iraqi air defense early warning in the Gulf War and the opening of OIF.









My terp told me that this was a monument to the fallen Iraqis in the Iran/Iraq war. A war, incidentally, many Iraqis were surprised to find out had not been a total coup for Saddam.







We've also been doing our regular missions in Tisa Nisan. We attend meetings held by Iraqis. They have come so far, it's really remarkable. The meetings are completely planned and executed by the local Iraqi government with very little input solicited from us. Less than a year ago, we were not even invited to these meetings. Now we are welcome and attend them regularly.

The Iraqis are now discussing how much security has improved thanks to Iraqi National Police efforts. Very little mention is made of Coalition Forces. Though that may not sound like a good thing, it's a great thing. Average Iraqis thanking an Iraqi institution, like the National Police, for the security improvements is huge. It is the face of legitimacy. It is how this thing will start to end.

There are some things that we have become quite accustomed to seeing during our patrols.





Dogs. Everywhere.













Kids. Everywhere. The children are one of my favorite parts of what I do. A huge thanks to my wife for sending all of the stuffed animals. The kids love them.









The kids will take just about anything we offer them. Of course, the boys prefer soccer balls. I don't think an Iraqi boy can have too many soccer balls.








And, unfortunately, garbage. Trash is still a big problem here. Of course, our job is to help out with that and there is nothing I'd like to do more than post another picture of this area in a few months... but completely clean. On the other hand, we can't drive down a normal city street without seeing street sweepers and military age men cleaning up trash.




Garden update: The local Iraqi stuff I replanted completely died. The other seeds have not come up yet. They were supposed to take a few weeks to germinate so I am hopeful still.

We're trying to catch what we can of the NCAA tournament from here. It looks like Duke squeaked by. I'll be driving around with my Duke magnet on my HMMWV for the next few days. Maybe that will help?