Through a lens of a camera - it almost looks like home.
 

A 1st Squadron, 278th Regimental Combat Team, Apache Troop Soldier stands security while members of his squad search a store in the Balad Ruz Marketplace, Iraq.
 

Senior leaders receive a briefing before the last leg of their march north. Members of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Task Force Liberty ‘crossed the berm’ into Iraq for the second time. Some of the division’s Soldiers had served in Operation Iraqi Freedom 1, while others served in Desert Storm as well.
 

SGT Dilts, gunner on the lead humvee for HHC 1 BCT, adjusts his kevlar helmet before a convoy embarks
on a trip from Camp New York, Kuwait to Camp Dagger in northern Iraq.
 

CPT Shane Garrison, 4/64 Armor information operations officer, gives an Iraqi woman a package of diapers during the March 9 medical outreach program.

CPT Daniel Green, battalion surgeon for 4/64 Armor, numbs the finger of a small boy after he injured his finger during the March 9 medical outreach program. 

U.S. Marine Cpl. Duran ensures a wall is plumb before it is nailed down to the floor of a building being constructed in Al Taqaddum. Duran is attached to the 371st Combat Engineers, Marine Wing Support Squadron 371, which is building the structure for use by Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 775. Pic: Cpl. Marsha N. Garcia, USMC 

Corporal L. DeVane, a Bulk Fuels Specialist with Marine Wing Support Squadron 371, mans the fuel pump system during hot refueling on the flight line aboard Al Taqaddum. Pic: Cpl Marsha N. Garcia, USMC
 

PVT Matthew Taylor, SPC Abmale Marquez and 1SG John McNichols go over an inspection checklist for an M113 mortar carrier. Pic: SPC Brian Trapp

 

MAJ Hugh Shoults, operations officer, Task Force Dragon, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C., is the third generation of Shoults men to carry this particular bugle to a combat zone. The family tradition began with his grandfather in 1916. Shoults father and uncle carried the bugle in battle in World War II and Vietnam. Shoults, 38, is from Spokane, Wash. Pic: SGT Michael J. Carden
 

Army Corps of Engineers Maj. Stewart Stanton (center) and U.S. Army Soldiers with the 155th Brigade Combat Team speak with Iraqi contractors during an inspection of the Babylon Police Station reconstruction efforts, in Babil. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are working with the people of Iraq to repair and construct several Iraqi Police stations and schools throughout the Babil Province. Pic: Chief Photographer's Mate Edward Martens, U.S. Navy.  

U.S. Army Chaplin Tommy Fuller takes a photo of Iraqi school children at the Al Mutnba Primary School located near Camp Kalsu, Iraq, on March 22, 2005. Members of the155th Brigade Combat Team from Tupelo, Miss., are delivering school supplies under a Fuller-initiated Adopt a School program aboard Camp Kalsu where different units choose a local school and try to connect them with a U.S. school to help with supplies and start a pen pal program. Pic: Petty Officer 1st Class Brien Aho, U.S. Navy.
 

SGT Eric David, a POB liaison NCO attched to 3/69 Armor, attempts to overcome the language barrier with POB officers in Samarra. Pic: SPC Jimmy D. Lane Jr. 

1LT Barry Humphrey, a 3/69 Armor fire direction officer, shows a POB officer how to work his radio in Samarra. Pic: SPC Jimmy D. Lane Jr. 

SPC Jon Vandebogert, from Milwaukee, Wis. of B Batt. 126th Field Artillery, attached to 1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery of the 256th Brigade Combat Team, is all smiles as the Secretary of the Army, the Honorable Francis Harvey, inquires about his life. Pic: SPC Erin Robicheaux, 

PFC Tiffany Shockley assists CPT Michael Sanders, both with the 520th Area Support Medical Command, Ft. Lewis, Wa., in performing oral surgery on an Iraqi detainee at the Camp Bucca Internment Facility Aid Station. Pic: SPC Jeremy D. Crisp 

Two Iraqi officers from Company D, 604th Battalion, Iraqi Army, use their soldiers to demonstrate the proper technique and procedure to search personnel at a traffic control point stop during a training exercise at the 604th Bn. training facility in An Nasiriyah. Pic: SGT Michael J. Carden)  

PFC Maria L. Morales, a generator mechanic with 175th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Brigade and a combat life saver course student, prepares a bag of fluids before she gives an intravenous injection during the combat life saver course. The combat life saver course was held at the Camp Victory Troop Medical Clinic. Pic: SPC Mary Rose 

SPC Noel A. De Jesus, a Multi Nation Force - Iraq military police and a combat life saver course student, practices giving an intravenous injection during the combat life saver course. The combat life saver course was held at the Camp Victory Troop Medical Clinic. Pic: SPC Mary Rose 

PFC Maria L. Morales, a generator mechanic with 175th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Brigade and a combat life saver course student, gives an intravenous injection during the combat life saver course. The combat life saver course was held at the Camp Victory Troop Medical Clinic. Pic: SPC Mary Rose, 

SGT Michael Saina of 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armor Division provides security along a road in Taji. Saina, a resident of Fagatogo, American Samoa is currently serving his third tour of duty in Iraq (awesome!!!) Pic: SGT Kevin Bromley 

SPC Jeff Sinclair, an infantryman assigned to 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment and a native of Modesto, Calif., donates sandals to an Iraqi girl in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Al Dora. Sinclair is employed as a police officer in California. Pic:1LT Cameron Murphy 

SPC Jeff Sinclair, an infantryman assigned to 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment and a native of Modesto, Calif., hands a teddy bear to an Iraqi child in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Al Dora. Pic: 1LT Cameron Murphy 

Two little boys triumphantly walk towards their home after accepting gifts of toys and clothes from Soldiers of the 256th Brigade Combat Team. Troops from 1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillyer and A Co. 1st Battalion, 156thd Armor Regiment, joined together to distribute the items that were received from donations through the website: www.childrenofbaghdad.com. The site was created by SSG Shaun Warren and SGT Keith Bonnet of 1/141st FA. Pic: SPC Erin Robicheaux. 

Soldiers from the 4th Iraqi Army stand in formation during a ceremony held for their graduation of the 4th Iraqi Army Training Academy Primary Leadership and Developement Course in Tikrit. Pic: SGT Jennifer J. Eidson 

Soldiers from the 4th Iraqi Army say the noncommissioned officer creed during a ceremony held for their graduation of the 4th Iraqi Army Training Academy Primary Leadership and Developement Course in Tikrit. Pic: SGT Jennifer J. Eidson 

Mark Preston, maintenance and field representative for the Aero Space Support Division of Boeing International, St. Louis, embedded with Regimental Combat Team 7, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, sets up the Scan Eagle Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for a mission on Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. Pic: CPL Ramsey 

SGT Josha Dickey hands toys and a can of soda to some Iraqi children during a patrol near Camp Anaconda Many church and family support groups from throughout the United States donated the toys. Dickey is assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 18th Airborne Corps Artillery, Fort Bragg, N.C. Pic: SFC Larry E. Johns 

SSG Pete Peters teaches an Iraqi National Guardsman the proper posture during reflexive live fire training. Pic: PFC Dan Balda 

(left) SPC Kofi Shaw-Taylor, medic, 261st Area Support Medical Battalion, 44th Medical Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C., sets a splint of the right index finger of (right) Chaplain (LTC) Thomas Evans, 18th Military Police Brigade, Mannheim, Germany, at Golby Medical Clinic on Camp Victory. Evans smashed his finger in the door of a humvee earlier that day. Shaw-Taylor is from Baltimore, Md. Pic: SGT Michael J Carden 

Warrant Officer Chuck Zavorka, intelligence analyst, 297th Military Intelligence Battalion, Fort Gordon, Ga., wades through water at the Dodge City North living facilities on his way to work at Camp Victory. Pic: SGT David Foley 

LTC Scott Simmons wades through the flooded Dodge City North living facilities with his dirty laundry at Camp Victory, Iraq. Pic: SGT David Foley 

Sunrise at Camp Victory. Pic: MAJ James Crabtree  

Lt. Col. Joseph Dore, from Charlotte, N.C., 256th BCT Surgeon, listens to a little boy respiration. His warm bedside manner is evident as he and the child laugh and play. Pic: SPC Erin Robicheaux, 

PC Melodi Holliday from Hammond, La., a medic with C Company, 199th Forward Support Battalion, 256th Brigade Combat Team, applies a splint to a little boy jammed finger. Pic: SPC Erin Robicheaux 

Children sit among their new backpacks March 17, brought to them by Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 156th Armor Regiment of the 256th Brigade Combat Team. The local school is in the 1/156th area of operation. Pic: Kaywon Jones, 1st Battalion 156 Armor Regiment - I think he's got a future in photo journalism!!! 

Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor, part of Task Force Liberty, recover a disabled tank in Samarra. Pic:SGT Blake Kent 

Soldiers of the 17th Signal Battalion add on to their communications center with materials they found around Forward Operating Base Brassfield Moora, Samarra. Pic: SGT Blake Kent 

Sniper with Iraqi Policeman: Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Gililand, sniper of Charlie Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, works with an Iraqi Policeman to provide security on the roof of an Iraqi Police Station in the Sha’ab area of Baghdad while officers from his unit meet with Iraqi Police officials downstairs.

Patrol Vehicles: Soldiers of Charlie Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, cordon off a lane of a Baghdad street in order to search a suspicious vehicle during a patrol through the Sha’ab neighborhood. 

An Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team detonates an IED found by members of 1st Battalion, 13th Amored Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division in northern Baghdad Monday. Minutes later, someone detonated a second IED a few meters away as Soldiers moved closer to inspect the detonation site. 

Spc. Rozetti Haynes, an instructor, teaches Soldiers with the First Assistance and Support Team on Camp Victory, how to properly give another person an intravenous injection. Pic: SPC Mary Rose 

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Melisa Shaw (2nd from left) and Polish Maj. Jerzy Kotowski (far left), speak with Iraqi Police Gen. Whab and an Iraqi interpreter before transporting Iraqi civilians to Camp Echo for screening for possible recruitment into the Iraqi Police Force. Shaw is assigned to the 940th Military Police Company from Walton, Ky. Pic: SGT Arthur Hamilton, 

Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, Commanding General, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, presents Basel Mah Moud (right) with a K-Bar, the Marine symbol of honor, courage, and commitment. The presentation took place at a gathering of Fallujah shieks and elite members of the community where Dr. Hajim Al-Hassani, Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals, is presenting checks to help finance the rebuilding of the war torn city. Pic: Staff Sgt. Angelique Perez, U.S. Air Force 

(Center)Sgt. Marcus Miller, flight medic, 50th Medical Evacuation Company, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky., and two medics, stationed at Baghdad International Airport, load a casualty onto a MEDEVAC Blackhawk helicopter at BIAP. The casualty is a civilian contractor. He sustained head, neck and back injuries from an improvised explosive device after he was thrown from his vehicle by the detonation just outside of BIAP. Pic: SGT Michael J Carden 

An Iraqi school girl from the al Qadisiyah Girls School opens a book bag of school supplies given to her by soldiers from 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Troop, 1st Cavalry Division. Pic: SGT John Queen 

A 1st Cavalry Division soldier hands students backpacks during a joint civil/military operation to donate school supplies. Pic: SGT John Queen 

Scratch and Sniff!!! 

The broken pipe was reported by soldiers earlier in the week after it began to spread raw sewage to the village, causing significant health hazards for the neighborhood.

The local contractor specializes in water pipes and cleaned the drainage ditches on the road, temporarily cleaning the sewage until a long-term project to reinforce the sewage pipes can be completed.

News about the sewage work spread fast and within minutes, more than 60 children surrounded the work site. Soldiers distributed soccer balls and other items to keep the children away from the work.  

Soldier from 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment gives away a soccer ball to the children of Abu-Dashir so the local contractor can fix a broken sewer pipe. Pic: CPT Joe Buccino, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment. 

Linguist Mahir Ibrahimov talks with children in a local village during a recent mission to open two water treatment plants near the post. Pic: Pfc Abel Trevino 

Cpls. Eiko Oim and Peeter Heinsaar, both with the Scouts Battalion, Estonian Defense Forces, Estonian Peacekeeping Center, walk past an Iraqi wedding party in Gazalia. The Estonian Soldiers are working with U.S. Army Soldiers from 10th Mountain Division to secure a 15-kilometer section of road in Western Baghdad. Pic: SGT David Foley,  

An Iraqi woman purchases fish from a young vendor, as U.S. Army Soldiers with the 155th Brigade Combat Team, Mississippi National Guard, patrol the neighborhoods of Iskandriyah. The patrols help maintain community relations and strengthen residential security. Pic: Photographer's Mate 1st Class Brien Aho, U.S. Navy. 

Marines with 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, provide security while other Marines use bulldozers to build a barrier berm along the Iraqi-Syrian border south of Husaybuh. The Marines are currently engaged in security and stabilization operations in the Al Anbar Province. Pic: Lance Cpl. Christopher G. Graham, U.S. Marine Corps 

SGT Marcus Miller (right) and medics from the 86th Combat Army Support Hospital (CASH) drive a civilian contractor with head, neck and back injuries from the landing zone to the 86th CASH entrance in Baghdad. The contractor was injured when a vehicle born improvised explosive device threw him from his vehicle near Baghdad International Airport. Miller is a flight medic assigned to the 50th Medical Evacuation Company, part of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. Pic: SGT Michael J. Carden, 

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Terry Nelson fits a new pair of shoes on a young Bedouin girl in a village near Tallil Air Base. Nelson, from the 388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is deployed with the 407th Air Expeditionary Group. Pic: Master Sgt. Mark Bucher, U.S. Air Force. 

SPC Jonathan Mardis, A Btry., 1/9 FA cannon crewmember, inspects a minivan at a traffic control point. Pic: SPC Ben Brody 

SGT Steve Devo, A Btry., 1/9 FA, mans a .50 caliber machine gun atop a Field Artillery Support Vehicle at a traffic control point in Baghdad. Pic: SPC Ben Brody 

U.S. Marines expose a weapons cache buried outside of Kharma. The 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion Marines are currently attached to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. Pic: CPL Trevor R. Gift, U.S. Marine Corps.
 

PFC John Debrock, a paratrooper with A Co, 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, examines the ID card of an Iraqi man attempting to enter a checkpoint at the Iraqi Convention Center in Baghdad. Pic: PFC Mike Pryor 

PFC Strong, a paratrooper with A Co, 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, moves a barrier allowing a vehicle to pass through a checkpoint at the Iraqi Convention Center in Baghdad 

Sgt. Frank Webb of Monterrey, CA a paratrooper with A Co, 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, rests on a security barrier by a checkpoint outside the Iraqi Convention Center while a helicopter passes overhead. PIC: PFC Mike Pryor 

Spc. Timothy Viccari of Tampa, FL, a paratrooper with A Co, 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, examines the paperwork of an Iraqi woman attempting to enter a checkpoint at the Iraqi Convention Center in Baghdad. Pic: PFC Mike Pryor, 

apt. Matthew Smith, 3rd Squadron, 278th Regimental Combat Team, Troop L, company commander, speaks with members of the community at a local chai tea house in Sadiyah, Iraq,. PIC: SSG Duane M. Brown 

The en route care nurses of 1st Force Service Support Group (Forward)s Surgical Shock Trauma Platoon pose in front of a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter here. From left to right the nurses are Ensign Cheryl Niega, Lt. Cmdr. Susan M. Pennebecker, Ensign Virginia Hinrichs and Ensign Kelly J. Bowman. The nurses frequently risk their lives to provide quality medical care and ensure the stability of wounded Marines and other patients during transport from the SSTP to higher-echelon care. First FSSG (Fwd) passed the reigns of the program to 2d FSSG (Fwd) recently when they assumed operational responsibilities in a routine rotation of forces throughout Iraq. Pic: Lance Cpl. Ryan B. Busse) 

An unidentified Air Force Staff Sgt. checks a child's shoe size as he helps deliver shoes to children in the villages near Balad Air Base, Iraq. Members of the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron started the shoe drive in which more than 1150 pairs of shoes were donated by individuals and organizations across the United States. Pic: TSgt. Mike Buytas, U.S. Air Force 

332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Airmen deliver shoes to needy children in the villages near Balad Air Base, Iraq. Members of the 332nd ESFS started the shoe drive in which more than 1150 pairs of shoes were donated by individuals and organizations across the United States. Thank You!!! Pic TSgt. Mike Buytas, U.S. Air Force 

An Iraqi contractor paints the side of a police station in Babil, Iraq. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is supervising projects throughout the Babil Province to repair and construct Iraqi Police stations and schools. Pic: Photographer's Mate 1st Class Brien Aho, U.S. Navy. 

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DAGGER, Tikrit, Iraq - To help remedy one of the many problems the Iraqis face in rebuilding their nation, Coalition Forces donated five ambulances to the Tikrit hospital.

This donation will bring the Iraqis another step forward in their effort to build a stable system of social services, said Capt. Chad Marley, brigade surgeon for 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. One of the main problems health care and emergency care workers were facing was the lack of transportation for the sick and wounded. This donation will give the Salah Ad Din province a better ambulance-to-person ratio. Sorry - I don't know who took this pic!!! 

Dr. Ala'adin Al-Alwan, Iraq's Minister of Health, gives opening remarks during a brick laying ceremony for a new medical training facility in Baghdad, Iraq. Health care providers from approximately 150 medical centers throughout the country will be trained in what will be Iraq's premiere medical training facility. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq John D. Negroponte, and Mr. Baker Jabor, Iraq's Minister of Housing and Construction were also in attendance. Pic: MSG. Dave Ahlschwed 

Dr. Ala'adin Al-Alwan, Iraq's Minister of Health, cements together the first bricks of a new medical training facility in Baghdad, Iraq, during a brick laying ceremony. Health care providers from approximately 150 medical centers throughout the country will be trained in what will be Iraq's premiere medical training facility. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq John D. Negroponte, and Mr. Baker Jabor, Iraq's Minister of Housing and Construction were also in attendance. Pic: MSG Dave Ahlschwede, U.S. Air Force.
 

Meck-A-Nicks slugger Luis Perez, 327th Signal Battalion, Ft. Bragg, N.C., takes a rip at the ball during the Camp Victory MWR Softball Championship tournement. In the two tournaments, the Meck-A-Nicks went a combined 10-1 with 160 runs scored. Pic: SPC Jeremy D. Crisp 

Point Guard Cesar Turcios, Rest and Recuperation Representative, 327th Signal Battalion, Ft. Bragg, N.C. goes for a shot to help his team, the Nighthawks, win the championship game 43-42. Pic: PFC Matthew Clifton 

Balad, Iraq -- Soldiers gather around the bar at "Bills Place" to watch the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Bills Place was constructed by soldiers from Company B, 106th Aviation Regiment, for recreation. PIC: SPC Steven J. Schneider) 

Balad, Iraq -- SGT Lee Hiller and SPC Dan Abrahamson from the 1436th Engineer Company, work together to build desks at self-help. Pic: SPC Kate A Hoit