World News Where I've Been
My blog has been dormant for more than six months. Truthfully I've been contemplating closing this blog down and starting a new one on WordPress. I went to a lecture on blogs earlier this year as part of the Tucson Festival of Books and the guest speakers highlighted the benefits of using WordPress over Blogger, namely easier reader/follower interaction and some better search capabilities. I'm still thinking about making the change but there's something I wanted to share, as it has been front page news this week.
I have only casually been following the recent developments in Iraq. I knew that rebel forces had taken Mosul and that U.S. military advisers were sent in to assist the Iraqi military. And this week I've seen the news about strikes and the air drops of humanitarian aid. Many of the recent developments have been impacting the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
As many of you know I deployed to Iraq twice as a U.S. Army civilian, when I was working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The first time was 2004-05 to Mosul, working for the Gulf Region District in northern Iraq and the second time was 2008-09 to Baghdad and the Gulf Region Division.
It was my deployment to Baghdad that led me to create my first blog. During my deployment to Mosul it was simply e-mails to friends and family, usually on a weekly basis, letting them know how I was doing.
Unfortunately, I don't have copies of those e-mails (if anyone happens to have them I'd love it if you'd forward them to me) but I was able to find a couple Word documents in my files, capturing a few messages I sent home. Thankfully, one of those documents included one of the trips I wanted to share here on my blog.
When I was in Mosul I had the opportunity to travel at least once to all three of Kurdistan's provinces: Erbil, Dahok, and Sulaymaniyah. It was here I got to wander through markets, eat in restaurants, drive and walk around without my battle rattle of flak vest and Kevlar helmet. Basically experiencing a whole other side of Iraq.
During my time with the Gulf Region North District I wrote stories about police training academies in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, border forts, courthouses and new schools in Dahok, electrical substations in Erbil, water projects in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, and the Zahko Military Academy. Some of those projects I got to see with my own eyes.
God has blessed me with many incredible experiences and so often I live an experience and then as quickly as I unpack my bags and do laundry, I'm off to the next thing. Barely contemplating or reliving the amazing journeys I've been on.
I want to honor and appreciate the opportunities God has put in my life so in the midst of the current turmoil and unrest in Iraq, I wanted to share some pictures and experiences from one of my trips to Kurdistan. Hopefully these will make you see Kurdistan in a new way and see a representation of who is on the other side of the evening news.
Click here to read excerpt from my e-mail.
I have only casually been following the recent developments in Iraq. I knew that rebel forces had taken Mosul and that U.S. military advisers were sent in to assist the Iraqi military. And this week I've seen the news about strikes and the air drops of humanitarian aid. Many of the recent developments have been impacting the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
As many of you know I deployed to Iraq twice as a U.S. Army civilian, when I was working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The first time was 2004-05 to Mosul, working for the Gulf Region District in northern Iraq and the second time was 2008-09 to Baghdad and the Gulf Region Division.
It was my deployment to Baghdad that led me to create my first blog. During my deployment to Mosul it was simply e-mails to friends and family, usually on a weekly basis, letting them know how I was doing.
Unfortunately, I don't have copies of those e-mails (if anyone happens to have them I'd love it if you'd forward them to me) but I was able to find a couple Word documents in my files, capturing a few messages I sent home. Thankfully, one of those documents included one of the trips I wanted to share here on my blog.
When I was in Mosul I had the opportunity to travel at least once to all three of Kurdistan's provinces: Erbil, Dahok, and Sulaymaniyah. It was here I got to wander through markets, eat in restaurants, drive and walk around without my battle rattle of flak vest and Kevlar helmet. Basically experiencing a whole other side of Iraq.
During my time with the Gulf Region North District I wrote stories about police training academies in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, border forts, courthouses and new schools in Dahok, electrical substations in Erbil, water projects in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, and the Zahko Military Academy. Some of those projects I got to see with my own eyes.
God has blessed me with many incredible experiences and so often I live an experience and then as quickly as I unpack my bags and do laundry, I'm off to the next thing. Barely contemplating or reliving the amazing journeys I've been on.
I want to honor and appreciate the opportunities God has put in my life so in the midst of the current turmoil and unrest in Iraq, I wanted to share some pictures and experiences from one of my trips to Kurdistan. Hopefully these will make you see Kurdistan in a new way and see a representation of who is on the other side of the evening news.
Click here to read excerpt from my e-mail.
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