JSS Muthana

Baghdad has a lot of wall art. I'm not going to call it graffiti because I think it's supposed to be there. And the drawings would be super weird if they were gang affiliated in any way. I saw one today that I was lucky enough to get a picture with!

We were at JSS Muthana (Joint Security Station) taking care of some business this afternoon. US Forces gave over JSS Muthana in May 2009 to the Iraqi Police. We're still there, but they run the show. We're basically just there to correct them when they're wrong and to teach them things they don't understand. And if shit hits the fan, we're there to save their asses. Basically, the US Army has turned into the parents of a troubled teenager.

So the compound is crawling with all sorts of Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police. All of them in a different uniform from different eras. I love it when I see the dudes who wear pointy dress shoes with their combat uniforms instead of boots. I swear, one of these days I'm going to bust out some heels and parade around in full combat load like that. I'd probably break both my ankles, but it would be worth it to show them how ridiculous they look. Women are a rarity out there in Muthana. I got stared down by these dudes like I was Pamela Anderson. Once I started miming the wall art, laughing and cracking jokes, they disappeared. Apparently women are still to be seen and not heard around these parts.