Days in the Desert

My wonderful wife instructed me to include more pictures and to show some of my friends in the pictures. My boys have petitioned for some pictures of some of the aircraft that I see, so as to make all happy I will include a few photos for everyone's personal enjoyment.
In this picture I am sitting next to Will Smith who is an ER doc and sitting next to him is Mark Passamonti who is an Internal Medicine doc. Mark and I met in September in Atlanta and have kept in touch since that time. He is somewhere near Baghdad now and we only communicate via email. He's a great guy and is a lot of fun to be around. Will works in Jackson Wyoming and is an outdoor enthusiast. He has heard of my friend and colleague Dr. Scott Larsen, of Larsen Family Dentistry, but does not know him personally. The next photo is of one of our biking adventures.
With me are a dentist, general surgeon and an ER doc. Our friend the internal medicine doc was taking the picture. We are standing in front of the wadi which is the source of much of the wildlife in the area (snakes, lizards, hyenas, jackals, rodents, birds, etc...).
You will notice a picture of camels as you scan this post. The camels are from Kuwait and the picture was taken through the window of a moving bus. So in all reality, it came out pretty well. We saw these fine specimens after we had fired our weapons and were on our way back to the base for breakfast.


The next few photos are of downed aircraft. The first is a Russian MIG and has my friends HP (General Surgeon) and DS (Internal Medicine) standing near the plane but not close enough to be in any danger.


The photo where you see Man, is a downed US jet. I was told that you can tell it is a US jet because the flags are cut out of the tails on US aircraft. I know its very difficult to see, but trust me that there are holes where the flags once were.

I want everyone who lives and breathes in the US to take three minutes and ponder on the fortunate circumstances in which you find yourself. You are able to choose much of your own destiny and have rights that hardly ever get infringed upon. The US is the best country in all the world, and even if your candidate did not win the election you still had the opportunity to have your voice heard. Do what you can to be a better citizen in your community and reach out to your neighbors and offer a helping hand. Do your part to continue this Country's great legacy. Choose the right and remember that in keeping the commandments there is safety and peace.