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Bring two pairs of the cold weather PT uniform (the pants and jacket).  It is raining like crazy here and although the Iraqi people have mastered irrigation they know nothing about drainage.  There is deep mud everywhere.  You get dirty wherever you go.  You need a second pair of cold weather PT's to wear when your first pair is sent to the laundry.

Also, you may want to get a tri-band cellphone with an antenna.  I can only speak for Mosul; I don't know what is available in Tikrit.  However, Asia Cell phone chips can be purchased locally for around $100.  They will fit inside most tri-band phones (take off the back and look under the battery, there should be a slot for a small SD card-looking chip).  You then buy prepaid calling cards.  The cost per minute is slightly less than AT&T, but the convenience is very nice.  Also, it is clearer and has less of a delay than the AT&T phones.  The one problem is that they do not work everywhere.  You have to find a good place to get the right reception.  One thing I was thinking that may improve this is if you could find some type of long antenna.  I believe most of those phones have an outlet on them in which you can plug an antenna.  If you found a long antenna you could probably run it onto the roof of your trailer and then you PROBABLY would be able to make and receive phone calls in your trailer.  Don't hold me to that, but I bet it would work.  It is worth a try.

Best of luck.  See you soon.