After a fun night of traveling and getting on the wrong helicopter I'm currently at FOB (Forward Operating Base) Speicher, a large and mostly empty base between Baghdad and Mosul. I've got about 10 people to train here before I board another helicopter tonight for my next destination.
After my two-hour Blackhawk flight through the desert last night, I came to a realization that I thought would not be possible. I was... bored... on my flight. Yep. Bored. Sitting on a helicopter and not seeing any cities below you gets old pretty quick. If I wasnt sitting in an awkward position with the barrel of a .50 caliber machine gun sitting in my lap I might have actually taken a nap. I really need to get some daytime flights in one of these days.
The photo above was taken at FOB Marez in Mosul -- the city of Mosul is in the distance on the hill and the vehicle in the foreground is an MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) Vehicle, which was designed and rushed to production to provide additional protection to troops traveling through cities from IED's (Improvised Explosive Devices).
