For Simulating Iraq (2006-2023), I embedded myself on military bases within the United States, photographing the depiction of Arabs and Muslims within the context of counterinsurgency training for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Features of these training environments included costumed role-players, elaborate Hollywood-inspired sets, and staged tableaus hinting at the imagined lives of far-away people. Those portrayed in the photographs include military personnel, often combat veterans playing the role of enemy combatants, immigrants from Iraq or Afghanistan intended to make the training look and feel realistic, and local American civilians hired to populate the artificial villages.

Lead insurgent Sargent Ariel Combs, 2017 (Copy) (Copy)

Lead insurgent Sargent Ariel Combs, 2017 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Camouflage shelter, 2017 (Copy) (Copy)

Camouflage shelter, 2017 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Near Tiefort City, 2017 (Copy) (Copy)

Near Tiefort City, 2017 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Army Specialist Gary Louis Sims playing the role of “Safah Mehdi Faris,” member of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Army SPC Gary Louis Sims playing the role of “Safah Mehdi Faris,” member of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Gold-domed mosque, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Gold-domed mosque, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Joint Command Center, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Joint Command Center, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Donkey and goats, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Donkey and goats, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Civilian Joshua Osborne playing the role of an Iraqi civilian, 2008 (Copy) (Copy)

Civilian Joshua Osborne playing the role of an Iraqi civilian, 2008 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Medina Wasl, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Medina Wasl, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Window, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Window, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Army Specialist Gary McCorkle playing the role of “Jibril Ihsan Hamal,” member of the Sunni Islamist militant organization Islamic Army of Iraq, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Army Specialist Gary McCorkle playing the role of “Jibril Ihsan Hamal,” member of the Sunni Islamist militant organization Islamic Army of Iraq, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Blood/ shadow, 2008 (Copy) (Copy)

Blood/ shadow, 2008 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Afghan-American civilians playing the role of Afghan village women, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Afghan-American civilians playing the role of Afghan village women, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Marine Lance Corporal Joshua Stevens playing the role of a Taliban fighter, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Marine Lance Corporal Joshua Stevens playing the role of a Taliban fighter, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Civilian Afghan-Americans playing the role of Afghan villagers, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Civilian Afghan-Americans playing the role of Afghan villagers, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Marines Sergeant John Sexon, Lance Corporal Cameron Stark and Lance Corporal Joshua Stevens role playing as Taliban fighters, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Marines Sergeant John Sexon, Lance Corporal Cameron Stark and Lance Corporal Joshua Stevens role playing as Taliban fighters, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Aftermath of an IED, 2007 (Copy) (Copy)

Aftermath of an IED, 2007 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Marine Major John Cowait playing the role of a warlord holding a Taliban training camp on a remote Afghan mountaintop, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Marine Major John Cowait playing the role of a warlord holding a Taliban training camp on a remote Afghan mountaintop, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Iraqi grave, 2023 (Copy) (Copy)

Iraqi grave, 2023 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Civilian Howeida Abdelrahman playing the role of an Iraqi civilian, 2007 (Copy) (Copy)

Civilian Howeida Abdelrahman playing the role of an Iraqi civilian, 2007 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

The Kaaba, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

The Kaaba, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Shi’a Mosque, 2008 (Copy) (Copy)

Shi’a Mosque, 2008 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Civilian Krista Galyean playing the role of a Marine injured in an IED blast, 2008 (Copy) (Copy)

Civilian Krista Galyean playing the role of a Marine injured in an IED blast, 2008 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Butcher shop, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Butcher shop, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Humvee, 2017 (Copy) (Copy)

Humvee, 2017 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Marine Lance Corporal Nicole Camala Veen playing the role of an Iraqi nurse, 2008 (Copy) (Copy)

Marine Lance Corporal Nicole Camala Veen playing the role of an Iraqi nurse, 2008 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Church (formerly a mosque), 2017 (Copy) (Copy)

Church (formerly a mosque), 2017 Archival pigment photograph, 30 x 40 inches

Above Medina Jabal, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Above Medina Jabal, 2009 Archival pigment photograph, 30 x 40 inches

American civilians playing the role of Iraqi village women drinking tea, 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

American civilians playing the role of Iraqi village women drinking tea, 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

Civilian Jill Marie Jamie playing the role of Iraqi civilian “Izdahar Kadeem Shihab,” 2009 (Copy) (Copy)

Civilian Jill Marie Jamie playing the role of Iraqi civilian “Izdahar Kadeem Shihab,” 2009 Archival pigment photograph 30 x 40 inches

With this project I look at the way Americans such as myself interact with other cultures.

The photographs draw attention to the problematic depiction of “cultural others” in these trainings, challenging the implicit assumption of American cultural superiority.

In addition to 70 photographs, the project features ephemeral materials that enhance the viewer’s understanding of how the American military trains troops on the cultures and languages of the countries to which they deploy.

The photographs in this series were made at the following military installations: Fort Drum, New York; Fort Irwin, California; Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Fort Polk, Louisiana; The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (Twentynine Palms), California; and The Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, California.

The photographs were made with a 4x5-inch camera on color negative film.