Christmas in Iraq - Santa's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
This photo filtered through the official military system somehow. This was taken yesterday in Iraq (click for larger version). Merry Christmas to all in Iraq and Afghanistan!

Santa, played by Ken Rice, a civilian contractor with the AAI Corporation, and his six reindeer, Soldiers from Company E, 615th Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, prepare for launch on an unmanned aerial vehicle launcher at Camp Taji, Iraq Dec. 18. Santa is apparently trying to get an early start this year and has traded in his traditional sleigh for something a little newer and more “high tech.” Photographer: Master Sgt. Winston Churchill.
And below is a photo of Jim Nickelson, and his wife Beth, as they cut a tree in mid-November for Soldiers from 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, deployed to Taji, Iraq:

The Nickelsons, from Ludington, Mich., have donated holiday
trees to troops in Iraq for the last three years. (Courtesy photo by
Needlefast Evergreens). The results of their efforts shown below:

Sgt. Maj. Della St. Louis (left) from Ludington, Mich., and Pfc. Alisha Downey, a native of Wilson, Okla., decorate a Christmas tree Dec. 2 donated by Jim and Beth Nickelson from Needlefast Evergreens in Ludington, Mich. Both Soldiers are from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Nathan J. Hoskins, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade Public Affairs)