A Blackhawk Helicopter flies over a Palm Grove at Camp Victory.For today's post, I will include some of my photos of Camp Victory. Obviously, I can't photograph some stuff, like security points, special areas and the bastard son of Bigfoot and Elvis. But lots of other stuff is fair game.
A little word about Victory. Prior to the 2003 war, the area now comprising Camp Victory was a massive base area for the Ba'ath Party of Saddam Hussein, featuring palaces, private lakes, and all sorts of amenities. Some of those amenities were destroyed, some are neglected, and some we use. Most of our housing and dining facilities are portable buildings, but some, like the Recreation Center below, are old Baathist buildings that we have appropriated.
Looking from Dodge City to the West. The concrete barriers protect the buildings from mortar fire, since most of the damage from mortars is from shrapnel blowing outwards.
A Street Scene. Note the red "Ogaf" sign (It says Ogaf below Stop). Not all streets are this deserted, but I don't like to take too many pictures of people. It makes them skittish.
Mural on concrete barriers. There are several common types of concrete barriers. Jersey Barriers are relatively low, and just keep cars out. These here are Texas Barriers, which are a little taller. These murals were painted by a medical unit, and feature the names of all the soldiers in that unit deployed over the last several years.
Mural on concrete barriers. There are several common types of concrete barriers. Jersey Barriers are relatively low, and just keep cars out. These here are Texas Barriers, which are a little taller. These murals were painted by a medical unit, and feature the names of all the soldiers in that unit deployed over the last several years. 
Palm Tree. For those who don't know.
Recreation Center.
Recreation Center front door. The sandbags are to protect the windows from shrapnel should a mortar round come by for a little recreation. Don't know where they drug the couch from. It was probably in one of Saddam's henchmen's batchelor pads.
Sign at Rec Center.
Detail from Rec. Center Ceiling.
Dome in Rec Center. The Building is slightly larger than the average American house, but the dome feature is cool. Not sure what this building was either.
Detail of Rec. Center Dome. The hole at the right used to look as nice as the jeweled-looking
window to the left.
A Look inside the Rec. Center.
Horseshoe Pits.
Not Sure What this was, but I thought the bas relief was kind of cool.
2 comments:
Thanks for the pics, James! Always good to hear from you.
Margaret
beautiful art. One can only hope that that wont get destroyed by a mortar round in need of some rec time :X
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