Task Force Iron

Hello everyone,

I realize that I prematurely offered a wish for a Happy Thanksgiving in my last post. We’ll just count that as a practice run for the real thing.

This past week I participated in my final mission of this deployment as I ventured out with the local Police Transition Team (PTT) one final time. That was a good opportunity to see the progress, if any, that was being made with the Iraqi Police (IP). We went to two small towns during that patrol – Wynot and Owja. Both are south of Tikrit, and Owja is where Saddam Hussein was actually born and it is where he and his sons (or what was left of them) are buried today. As you can imagine, there is still some hard feelings towards Americans in those parts.

One lesson that all US transition team members have learned since they have been here is that the objective in training or mentoring the Iraqis should never be to get them to the point where they are operating just like we operate. Their culture is different than ours, and we are not going to change that. Their philosophy on life is also very different, and we won’t change that, either. The big goal is to help them reach a level of competence within their systems and to ensure that they can provide security to their country. It is important to count it as progress when they handle events on their own, even though their method of handling those events will make a US soldier cringe sometimes.

As we were heading to our first stop down in Wynot, we heard over the radio that the IP at a nearby check point had stopped a bus that appeared to have a bomb stuck on the undercarriage. The insurgents in these parts use what are called ‘sticky bombs.” They stick IEDs to the underside of vehicles and then detonate them when the victim drives away. We were heading towards the check point in question anyway, so the PTT asked if the IP required any assistance. They said that they did not require assistance. As we passed the check point, both IP and the Iraqi fire department were on scene with the bus. Imagine how US forces would have handled this. Everyone would have moved back a safe distance while awaiting Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel, traffic would be re-routed or stopped, and a robot would likely be sent up to disarm the bomb. The Iraqis handled it slightly differently. The fire truck pulled up literally right next to the bus, the firemen and IP were all standing around the bus, and traffic was flowing right past the scene. Is there room for criticism? Well, nobody got hurt, traffic was hardly interrupted, and the incident was handled completely by the Iraqis, so job well done.

We met with the assistant police chief and a couple other members of his staff when we arrived in Wynot. It is possible to get a feel for the level of love that particular Iraqis have for the Americans by their show of their traditional hospitality, or not. As I mentioned, the south side of Tikrit was Saddam’s neighborhood, so it is no surprise that no Chai tea is offered to the PTT in Wynot. Despite the cool reception, the chief and his officers wanted to talk US politics. They were very interested in the election outcome, and they wanted to know if US forces would immediately be withdrawn. The PTT squad leader asked the IP their opinion on the elections, and one of the Iraqis blurted out, “We’re fu#$%d.” (Sorry, but this is kid-friendly writing.). Remember, these are Sunni who are not exactly thrilled with Americans. The chief started to tell us the history of Iraq starting at 1958. He asked us how the US Presidential transfer of power will actually occur, and after hearing about how that works, he said that in Iraq, the transfer of power has always occurred by gunpoint. The new guy, he said, simply came in and killed the old guy, and the transfer was complete. He said that if the US forces leave right away, the next transfer of power in Iraq would once again occur at gunpoint. The IP captain in the room said that if anyone in the Iraqi Parliament refused to sign the new agreement between the US and Iraq, then the US forces should arrest those people. The PTT members explained that the US was actually trying to teach the Iraqis that this was no longer the correct way to settle political disputes (Henry Waxman notwithstanding), so they would just have to let it work itself out (that very afternoon, the agreement was approved by the Iraqi Parliament. No arrests necessary). The IP chief then explained to us that the Iraqi Parliament is run by Iran, and that he hoped this would change in the January Parliamentary elections in Iraq. As we were leaving, one of the IP captains, who spoke English, told me that he has come to learn over the past few years that no matter who is President of the US, the American people have good hearts. He said that he has learned by watching US soldiers that Americans are good people and that his hope is that the US and Iraq will continue to be friends for generations to come. I said sorry, but the lack of Chai tea made that statement seem insincere. Alright, I did not say that, but I was surprised at his comment since this was not one of the real “friendly” IP outfits.

During our visit in Wynot, the Wynot Mayor entered the IP station and expressed concern that the Iraqi Army (IA) and the Owja IP had conducted a raid the previous day in Wynot without informing him or the Wynot IP of their intentions beforehand. His concern was that he and his IP would have no legitimacy with the locals if other agencies could come in at will and arrest his citizens. The Mayor wanted us to order the IA to stop conducting raids in his town. While the PTT members agreed to find out what happened, they also told the Mayor that he and his IP chief needed to have a discussion with the IA and the Owja IP to work this out. The point is, they need to learn to handle these issues on their own, and sometimes they do not like to hear that.

We left Wynot and headed up to the Owja IP station for a short visit, and as we arrived, we heard another PTT squad report that they had just come across two IEDs in front of the main Tikrit IP headquarters. After departing the Owja station, we headed into Tikrit to assist the other PTT. This turns into another “their way” versus “our way” story.

The Tikrit IP had discovered two IEDs along a road in town a couple days earlier. Taking the initiative and apparently not wanting to wait for their EOD, the officers gathered up these two IEDs and brought them back to their station with them. They not only brought them back to the station, they brought them inside the station. On day two, someone inside felt that maybe it was not a great idea to have a couple IEDs sitting around the office, so he brought them outside and set them against the front wall of the IP headquarters, where the PTT found them as they came to visit. The Iraqi EOD was enroute to collect them, but there they were, sitting on the sidewalk in front of the station, one with wires still attached. A suspicious person might think that someone set these out there so that his buddies could take them and replant them somewhere. I tend to be a suspicious person in that regard. Anyway, probably not the best way to complete the mission, but it is obviously their way. I won’t say no harm/no foul because IP and IA have been killed by being too casual with explosives, but they have a very different attitude towards that.

The good news with the IP is that they are learning how to make their system work a little better than they had in the past. The leaders are beginning to demand support from higher headquarters, which is having a positive impact. The transition teams are making the IP do the work themselves instead of holding their hands too much, so the training wheels are coming off.

As I have mentioned previously, the 1st Armored Division is about to hand over the reigns to the 25th Infantry Division. Task Force Iron will soon hand control to Task Force Lightning. 1AD is heading home to Germany, and in the next couple years will relocate to Ft. Bliss, TX. TF Iron has done some great work in its long deployment in the most volatile region in Iraq right now, “volatile” being a relative term. TF Iron had to deal with the bulk of AQI as the terrorist group promised to never get pushed out of northern Iraq, and it dealt with Sunni fighters coming in from Syria and Shia fighters coming in from Iran; it dealt with the Kurds in their territorial disputes with the Government of Iraq (GoI) and with the Kurdish rebels inciting Turkish attacks into northern Iraq; TF Iron dealt with not only agricultural issues, but also industrial issues due to the oil refineries in the north, and it operated in urban centers, wide open desert, canal roads, and thick pine groves along the river valleys. It dealt with not just Sunni vs. Shia, but also with several different Sunni tribes squabbling with each other. TF Iron dealt with every version of the IED, plus massive mine fields to the east from the Iran/Iraq War. To top it off, every soldier had to be quick enough on the trigger to take enemy lives when the thugs slithered out from the population, but disciplined enough so as not to take innocent lives in the process.

1AD officially ends its deployment in a couple of weeks. It is impossible to measure all that has been accomplished in the time that this unit has been here, because the challenge of measuring economic or governmental progress is one that frustrates military types. The Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) deal in their own mysterious way with those types of issues, although I will still say that the military drives the train to a high degree even in those arenas. I can mention that more than 11,000 detainees were taken off the streets and over 2,200 weapons caches were found and cleared in the north since 1AD has been in charge. Within these caches were hundreds of thousands of weapons and ammunition, including anti-aircraft weapons, grenades, artillery rounds, you name it. Think of all of the IEDs that were NOT made as a result of these cache finds. Over 3,000 IEDs were found and cleared by the Task Force since their tour began. Finally, while the military does not usually publicize figures for enemy killed in action (KIA), I personally think that it makes it appear to the US public that our guys are simply sitting around and allowing themselves to be targets when only US casualties are mentioned. Having said that, the enemy suffered over 1300 KIA at the hands of TF Iron – those are 1300 insurgents who won’t be around to “fight” while hiding behind women and children anymore. It is not known how many more died of wounds or were seriously injured.

Obviously, numerous TF Iron soldiers also paid the ultimate price. 90 Task Force Iron soldiers lost their lives in combat since they arrived in October 2007. 14 others have died from non-combat related injuries. More than 800 soldiers were injured. Just inside Division Headquarters is an electronic bulletin board that continuously rotates through the names and faces of our colleagues from TF Iron who died on this deployment. It is a humbling reminder of those who will not be going home to their families in quite the same fashion that the rest of us will go home. When the TF chaplain has to announce the death of a soldier during the morning briefings, he displays this saying from Calvin Coolidge: “The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.” It goes without saying that the redeployment of the 1AD will be another tough time for the families of the dead soldiers, and they need to remain in our prayers.

I know everyone has heard of MRAPs, and the first picture is of the very common MRAP Caiman. American industry quickly developed this vehicle which has saved untold US lives. I rode in this particular machine on that final patrol. Note the new anti-RKG-3 grenade armor. The 2nd picture is the local Iraqi jail. It reminds me of one I saw in Cleveland once.

I will fire off one last note in the next week or so with some final thoughts, and then I will spend some time being a husband and a dad again when I get home. I will begin making my way out of Iraq and then out of theater in the coming days. In the mean time, and this time for real, have a great Thanksgiving. I will probably have mine in Kuwait.

Take care.

Winding Down

Hello everyone,

Things are winding down here in Multi-National Division-North (MND-N) for the 1st Armored Division (1AD) soldiers, which means that they (and I) will be heading home in the not too distant future. Meanwhile, the beat goes on.

I finally spent some time with my Aviation compadres last week and was not surprised by the data that I collected. The Army Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) consists of the whole gamut of aircraft, including attack (Apache), cargo (Chinook), Scouts (Kiowa-Warrior), and utility (Blackhawk). The Cab also uses unmanned aviation systems (UAS). The CAB had aircraft in the air literally 24 hours a day somewhere in the division sector for its entire 15 month rotation. The CAB covered the largest division area in Iraq and they were in the fight during some of the roughest fighting over here, yet their safety record was phenomenal. If you are a pilot who likes to chalk up flight hours, this was the place to be. The proficiency levels of the pilots are at an all time high as far as flying and fighting their aircraft. Like other types of units, the CAB will have to spend a little time at home brushing up on skills required for a more conventional battle.

I also did some work with the 1AD Military Police Company in the past couple of weeks. This MP unit is one of the few which are not performing as a Police Transition Team (PTT), although the unit does work with the Iraqi Police in Tikrit. This MP Company is a “landowner,” which means that the unit is responsible for the security situation in a large chunk of land in Tikrit. I joined the MPs on mission on Halloween Friday. The day began as we relieved a Special Ops group after they conducted a successful early morning mission against some not-so-friendlies out in town. The MPs and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team arrived on scene at the raid and the EOD folks went to work clearing explosives and other IED making material from the front yard of one of Tikrit’s finest insurgents. He and a couple of neighbors were obviously on the wanted list of the special operators, and now that list is a little shorter.

The MPs went to the houses surrounding the scene of the raid to touch bases with neighbors and to make sure everyone knew what was happening and to ensure that they were all OK. This raid got a little noisy so the locals new that something a little different was happening in the neighborhood. The MPs have earned a great reputation in the community from their willingness to keep the line of communication open with the citizens and to keep them informed. Usually the locals know very well who lives next to them, so they aren’t necessarily surprised when the authorities show up bright and early.

After we completed the work at the raid scene, we went to visit a local Iraqi jail. The jail sits on the base on which Saddam’s mother’s palace (from an earlier post) sits. Trust me, the jail is no palace. It is a small building which houses suspects who were arrested by the Iraqi Army (IA) or the IP. I supposed that it is important to keep things in perspective when viewing the jail. The inmates were not hanging by their fingernails and they were not being given acid baths as would happen under Saddam, but the jail certainly does not offer the creature comforts of your average US jail. There are no bars for cells, but a couple hundred people are placed into a couple of rooms that are so full that people have to take turns laying down to sleep. There is one toilet (hole in the floor) per room, and one shower. The prisoners sit back to back in these rooms with a couple hours to go outside per week. According to the guards, some of the prisoners have been in this jail for several years. Fortunately for the inmates, there was a TV in each of the rooms that I saw.

The good news story here is that each of the prisoners has been before a judge within 24 hours of arrest. They may be stuck in the jail for awhile due to delayed court dates because of a continuing shortage of judicial investigators, but the point is, they are (slowly) moving through the judicial process, which is a giant leap forward from the old days in Iraq. The MPs questioned several inmates to see if they had any complaints, and the only issues that anyone had was that they are developing the skin disease called scabies, which is caused, in part, by continuous close contact with others in a not-too-clean environment. The prisoners were all just sitting in these rooms, back to back, watching TV, looking surprisingly content.

The chief of the jail is frustrated because he would like to expand the jail, but he cannot get funding. The base on which the jail is located actually belongs to the Iraqi Ministry of Tourism. Due to the high number of Saddam palaces on the base, the Tourism ministry wants to turn the base into a tourist attraction, so no money is being allocated to improve the jail. I think that the jail would make a great tourist stop to encourage people NOT to need to go to an Iraqi jail. I will admit, sitting around day after day watching TV for a couple of years does have appeal to some people.

After we left the jail, we briefly stopped at an IA base where a recruiting effort was underway. There is always a recruiting effort for the IP and IA. The line of volunteers was long, as is common. No more forced service in the army as in Saddam’s day.

Before heading back to Speicher, we stopped in an area where there had been a high threat of a RKG-3 attack. The RKG-3 is an anti-armor grenade, and the Sunni criminals in MND-N have used them too frequently. We patrolled on foot through the area and stopped and visited with several shop keepers during the patrol. The MP Commander bought chicken for his troops from a local shop and a couple other MPs grabbed a broom and swept the sidewalk in front of another shop. It is apparent that the locals in that area have a good relationship with the MPs, and the better that relationship, the more likely someone will rat out those who toss the RKG-3s. Believe it or not, there is a pool hall at the end of a row of shops along grenade alley, and the owner invited us in to play pool, smoke cigarettes, and drink Pepsi. The smart shop owners know that the Americans will come in and spend money in their shops, but there were several owners who clearly did not want us in their stores, especially the guy with the RKG-3 hanging out of his pocket (just kidding). After we wrapped up our visit, the squad headed over to the local hospital to ensure that the staff had stopped giving patients water that came straight from the Tigris River. The sickness was getting a little out of hand, and it took the MPs to point out the cause to the highly trained hospital staff.

The scenery is beginning to change here at Speicher. Those wearing the Old Ironsides patch on their shoulders are beginning to pack up and the Tropical Lighting patch of the 25th Infantry Division out of Hawaii is beginning to arrive by the hundreds. Although the 25th does not take charge until next month, our Commanding General gathered us all up for a few minutes to give us a Veteran’s Day message and to say farewell to the 1AD troops who are starting to head home. I will share some statistics with you in my next and final note from in country, but 1AD already made some history as being the first command to deploy to war with none of its own brigades. The Army has developed Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) which some people refer to as “plug and play” units. While the Division used to be the source of support for its brigades, the BCTs are designed to operate somewhat independently with the Division providing somewhat less support but taking on other command and control and combat tasks. Anyway, the CG pointed out that this speaks well of the standardized training of the Army as a whole when BCTs from different divisions can plug in and pick up the fight with a whole separate division. MND-N is a large area, and the 1AD and its component BCTs had some impressive accomplishments.

The first attached picture is me with some hard core Tikrit kids. I only deal with the hardest criminal elements. I knocked on their door for trick-or-treat and they tried to play dumb with me so I had to get tough. You can see how scared they are of the Americans. This was actually at a house in the vicinity of the raid, and the MPs were checking in with the family.

The second picture is obviously the pool hall. No country music playing and no beer flowing, but the table is supposedly always in use. Finally, the last picture is of the chicken vendor in grenade alley. He insisted that I take his picture, so I guess he wants me to plug his shop. So, if you ever happen to be driving through Tikrit and you crave fresh roasted chicken…By the way, the guys in the pool shop wanted to take a picture of me standing among them after I took my picture of them, so if you are surfing through your favorite AQI web site and there is a picture of me being “captured” by some local terrorists, it’s probably not true.

Everyone take care and here’s hoping that you have a blessed Thanksgiving

Veterans Day and a reminder

With another Veteran’s Day upon us, it is always good to pause and to review why we serve.

Below are the words of our Declaration of Independence. It provides the reason for the American Revolution, and it makes it clear that Americans would not stand for any form of despotic government “ruling” over them. American politicians do not “rule,” they serve.

The Declaration of Independence was and is one of the most radical documents in history. While in every other nation in the world, governments ruled over people, the Declaration stood that philosophy on its head. The Declaration pointed out that man’s rights do not come from government. Instead, rights exist independently of government. If government ceases to exist in a society, people’s rights do not cease to exist, because their rights preexist government. Here are the words of our Declaration:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Eleven years after the Declaration of Independence was written, our Founders signed the Constitution, a document that each of us is sworn to defend. Our oath of office states:

" I, (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.''

While the Declaration declares that “We the People” create our government, the Constitution purposefully limits our government to ensure that our government representatives never become the ruling class. The Constitution can be read here: http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html. As European countries have turned over their freedoms to unelected international committees, it is important that we understand the uniqueness of OUR Constitution and OUR way of life. We are free citizens of the United States, not subjects of a greater world order.

As many of us serve our country abroad, it is vital that we always remember that we also serve that Constitution at home. Hundreds of thousands of American service men and women have died, and hundreds of thousands more have fought, to defend the principles in our founding document. The day that we forget our oath is the day that all of that sacrifice will have been in vain.

Thank you to all who have ever served in the US military.