Baghdad

After months of hearing details trickle in about this deployment, I'm finally here. It's really been a unique experience just getting here and I'll have more details about that coming soon. I think that I'm in for a positive experience though and something that will be a "character-builder" if nothing else. I'm at a base close to the international airport on the grounds of one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces (which is now a massive headquarters building). It sits in the middle of a large man-made lake, the shoreline of which is dotted with other smaller buildings and lined with palm trees. My headquarters is in one of these buildings and its actually pretty impressive in it's own right. I imagine it was used as some type of living quarters for groundskeepers or lackeys of the former regime. Anyway, its been a long day and I've still got much to do.