WARNING: Long post! This is the story that ran in this week's paper. Enjoy!The plane touched down in Baghdad at 3:30 a.m. Its doors opened, disgorging cargo. A group of Soldiers disembark for a tour in the cradle of civilization. The heat is noticable –– an oppressive, dry heat that hits you in the face like a heavyweight boxer the minute you step onto the tarmac. Soldiers gather their gear and head toward the cargo trucks that will deliver them to their base of operations –– the place they will call home for the next year. The infrastructure of the country is in shambles. Highways that were once paved have devolved into potholes connected by patches of concrete. Other roads and throughways range from animal trails to rutted, bumpy paths that can reach up and snap a wheel off or overturn a vehicle at a moment’s notice. The roads are too rough to catch a quick nap, so the Soldiers, stonefaced, ride in silence.
An armed convoy winds it way through the "roads of Talatha The truck arrives at Forward Operating Base Forge. The base is a sprawling complex that houses the men and women of the 82nd Sustainment Brigade, a logistics unit tasked with supporting combat operations performed by the 82nd Airborne’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Other units sharing the base and supporting the 1/505th include the 28th Combat Support Hospital, the 365th Logistical Task Force, a reserve unit out of Mississippi, and a Canadian logistics unit, the 1 Service Battalion.
The level of activity in the compound is like a beehive. Soldiers in various states of dress scurry to and fro, some in uniform, some in physical training gear. Regardless of duty status, every Soldier wears a weapon. Convoys of vehicles preparing for missions or returning from the field are parked along the roadways, loaded with armament. Most of these men and women have rotated through the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., before deployment. It was there they learned the dangers inherent in Iraq. There they learned that Soldiers should be alert to their conditions no matter their environment. A mortar or other attack can hit them at the base just as easily as a suicide bomber or improvised explosive device can in the middle of a village. The weaponry hanging from every shoulder shows how well these Soldiers understand that lesson.
FOB Forge is a self-contained complex that Soldiers call home when not performing missions in the field. It contains several dining tents, a Morale, Welfare and Recreation tent where Soldiers can see a movie, play a board game or even surf the Internet and chat with loved ones back home. There are a series of tactical operations centers that act as orderly rooms and centers of activity for the various units occupying the base.
Down the hill from the main living area there is a motor pool, a flight line filled with helicopters and a combat support hospital. The FOB is a microcosm of a stateside base and guarded vigilantly. Armed Soldiers man the tower at the front entrance. In front of them, there is another guard shack at ground level also manned by men at arms. Soldiers on the gates work a fully alert four-hour shift and are relieved to sleep for eight hours. Pvt. Robb Baumgartner, public affairs officer, 82nd Sustainment Brigade, said the duty is so stressful due to the adrenaline rush that comes from being totally focused, that a four-hour shift in the tower feels like a regular eight-hour mission. The duty is so stressful, personnel manning the gate are allowed eight hours of sleep once they are relieved to recoup their energy. Leading up to the gate there are signs in Arabic and English warning those that approach that disobeying orders given by American forces can result in dire consequences. Blunt words so there is no ambiguity. This doesn’t prevent locals from gathering near the gate to protest. But many are there simply to ask for help.
This British reporter writing for a U.K. newspaper, the Guardian, is here to witness a humanitarian mission taking place April 19 in the village of Sadiq.
A Soldier guards the perimeter of the village of SadiqIntelligence reports state the villagers are ambivalent and uncooperative toward Soldiers. Lt. Col. Scott Harris, 3rd BCT, 1st Bn, 505th Parachute Inf Reg, makes it his men’s mission to change those negative attitudes and restore friendly relations with the village. The unit sets up a heath and job fair, or MEDCAP, in the village. Soldiers with the 1/505 set up a protective perimeter around the village while Harris meets with Sadiq councilman Fakhiri Jamal and Imam Al-Mousiyi Adnan. Harris explains what the Soldiers were there to accomplish. “We’ve set up a medical treatment facility for the citizens of Sadiq. There are family and general practice areas for men to be checked out. In the Iraqi culture, male doctors don’t treat female patients so we have a ‘female only’ area for the women of Sadiq to receive care. There is also a dental treatment facility that can provide cleanings, fillings and extractions,” he said. The medical facilities are manned by members of the 28th Combat Support Hospital.
Medics assess and address the medical needs of the villagers of SadiqThe job fair is set up in a hut, four walls and a roof barely standing yet still sturdy enough. In a conversation with Harris, Jamal confesses that his people join the insurgency because they have no money. The job fair allows villagers to put their names on a list for potential employment. “I have given the Mayor of Sadiq $2,000 to hire people to clean up the area,” said Harris. “We are trying to get some money flowing into the economy by putting people to work.” The unit digs wells and ensures an adequate supply of potable water is available. They also open a police station in the Al-Dukar province to help battle the insurgency and give the Iraqis a sense of hope for the future.
Jamal likes what he sees. “I am very happy,” he said. “Things are happening. Other commanders have come in here and made promises but didn’t follow through. (Colonel) Harris is getting things done.”
Harris said the most important thing his unit can do is build trust. “I think if they (Iraqis) see we will do things to help them, they will grow to like us,” he said. “Ninety-five percent of the people in Iraq are good people. It’s the other five percent that are causing fear and terror. It’s our job to eliminate that.”
The sun sets, signaling the end of another day. The successful mission behind them, the Soldiers reload the caravan and begin the dangerous trek back to FOB Forge. Tomorrow will bring more enemies to fight and more bridges to build. In the meantime, there are showers to be taken, meals to be eaten and ping pong to be played.
A trio of Canadien Soldiers take advantage of down time and break out a game of MonolopyThe Soldiers outlined above are real. But, they are not in Iraq. Rather, they are participating in a training exercise at Fort Polk’s Joint Readiness Training Center. The reporter is real but he does not write for a paper in the United Kingdom. Rather, he is a reporter for the Fort Polk Guardian. He is participating in the exercise to highlight the Army’s premier training center.
The JRTC is where units preparing for deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan go to learn the country’s culture and other situations they may face during their tour. From the time Soldiers arrive on the “battlefield” here until they complete their rotation, they are expected to perform as if they are in the war zone. The only simulations in the “box” (training area) are the explosives and the use of the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System 2000 in place of bullets. The MILES 2000 includes a laser device that attaches to the end of a Soldier’s weapon and a vest with several sensors. When a laser “fired” from the weapon hits one of the sensors, a loud, high-pitched alarm goes off, signifying the Soldier wearing the vest has been wounded or killed.
The training area is called “Talatha” and contains 18 villages. Its population is split between Sunni and Shia Arabs and Kurds to replicate actual conditions in Iraq. The factions have different allegiances. Some are pro-American, some anti-American, others ambivalent. There is a dedicated insurgent force played by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment. It is their job to give rotating units the fight of their lives. Soldiers assigned there say their motto is “the more they bleed here, the less they will bleed overseas” and some take great pleasure in making coalition or BLUEFOR units bleed as much as possible.
The villagers are played by civilians. Many of them come from Iraq or Afghanistan, adding to the illusion of being in country. Commanders on the ground must use translators to talk to mayors or other officials. They must be aware of local customs and courtesies.
While the units coming through JRTC are only here for a short time, the scenario played out in the box doesn’t end when they leave. It is a fluid, ever-changing environment. Lessons learned from the combat theater are taken back to JRTC where they are incorporated into an evolving training scenario.
A newspaper, The Talatha Times, is published daily and distributed to rotating units. It documents the stories and events that happen there. And like the press in the Middle East, sometimes the articles seem to be written with the intention of stirring the pot, making the villagers angry with U.S. troops.
Unit leadership hold radio interviews. The Soldier (interviewee) is brought to the radio station with a translator under fully armed guard. Inside, a disc jockey, speaking only Arabic, conducts a live interview. The spokesman must be aware of the timing involved with using a translator. The disc jockey opens up the phone lines and takes a series of questions from the “public.” “When can the Soldiers come to my village to play soccer with us?”; “My daughter is very sick and may be dying. Can you take her back to the U.S. for medical care?” and “What is your country like where you come from?” are some of the questions that get asked.
Hostile calls are also taken. “I don’t want to play soccer with you, I want to throw bombs at you. I want you to die, infidel! What do you have to say to that?” These questions are asked so Soldiers can get a glimpse of what faces them during deployment.
Press conferences with “local” media are presented to prepare commanders for the task of dealing with a potentially hostile press. Col. Steve Lyons, commander, 82nd Sustainment Bde, gave such a press conference April 20.
Questions for Lyons covered topics like the purported kidnapping of the wife of a local mayor by coalition forces, the lack of compassion or concern over the death –– called a murder –– of a Mosalah man, the state of security in some villages and the status of ongoing water projects. Press conferences like these give the commander a feel for the situation that might play out in country. The commander must feel comfortable facing hostile questions.
Col. Steve Lyons faces tough questions at a press conference April 20After each training mission, an after action review is held. Mistakes are discussed, praise for good actions is meted out and advice dispensed about improving skills. The hope is that by facing situations in a forgiving environment, Soldiers will be better prepared to bring self rule to the Middle East.
The goal of JRTC: To train a Soldier to think, be alert, observe enemy patterns and exploit them so their worst day is here and not in the combat theater.
