"I arrived at Baghdad International Airport on April 10, 2003, just days after it had been taken by U.S. Forces. In fact, I flew in with the team that would assess whether the runway was safe to use. At first we were excited just to be there, but we quickly realized all the real the action was taking place outside the wire.

Over the next three and a half months, SSgt Dawn Anderson, my videographer teammate, and I were constantly pleading with troops to take us on their missions, but we were clearly viewed as a liability because of the security situation. They would tell us, 'We need the person in that seat to have a weapon not a camera.' Although we deployed with a 9mm pistol and an M-16 rifle, this was a battle we constantly fought as photographers, and women. However our persistence paid off and they eventually saw the value in having us along to document history." - Quote from the photographer, Cherie Thurlby

This photo captures their search of one of Saddam Hussein’s Presidential Palaces just a few weeks after it had been bombed. Their job was to look for anything useful, such as documents, weapons caches, etc. "As I recall that day, I think they recovered a few papers and one of Saddam’s personal photo albums but that’s about it."

The United Nations has listed eight presidential compounds containing grandiose mansions, luxurious guest villas, vast office complexes, warehouses, and garages. Enormous sums of money went into creating man-made lakes and waterfalls, elaborate gardens, marble rooms, and other luxuries. In total, Saddam Hussein's holdings included about a thousand buildings spread out over some 12 square miles.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie Thurlby