VOLUME 49, NUMBER 2

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM

Transforming While Mobilizing (Part II)

A Soldier’s Journal

Scenes From the Desert

➔
2 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

ON THE COVER

Army Reserve Sgt. Paul T. Abernathy, 

a squad leader in the Bridgeport, W. Va.-

based 459th Multi-Role Bridge Company,

turns his head to hear an order during a

firefight in the town of Al Gharraff in

central Iraq. For the full story, see An

Arab-American at War in the People

section. (PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI,

U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO)

INSIDE BACK COVER

Soldiers from the 411th Civil Affairs

Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from

Danbury, Conn., deliver meals to displaced families living in the former

Al-Rashid military complex. 

(PHOTO: SPEC. RYAN SMITH, 372ND MPAD)

NEWS

How to Avoid Money Problems 

When Returning Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Army Reserve Celebrates 

95th Birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

The Exceptional Family 

Member Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Exchange Reassignment 

Web Page Goes Live . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

ARPERSCOM Introduces 

New AGR Streamlined 

Accession Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

U.S. Army Reserve 

Implements Cognos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Army and Army Reserve 

Agree to Merge CIO Shops . . . . . . . . . . 7

★

Army Reserve Magazine

is an authorized Department of

the Army publication, published

quarterly by the Chief, U.S. Army

Reserve, ATTN: DAAR-ZXP, 2400

Army Pentagon, Washington, DC

20310-2400 in accordance with

Section 10210, Title 10, USC. 

The Secretary of Defense has

determined that the publication

of this periodical is necessary 

in the transaction of public 

business as required by law. 

Use of funds for printing this

publication was approved 

by the Secretary of the Army 

on September 2, 1986, 

IAW provisions of AR 25–30. 

Opinions expressed herein 

do not necessarily reflect those 

of the Department of the Army 

or the Chief, Army Reserve, nor

should they be construed as official policy or directive in nature.

Local reproduction of all 

materials is approved, except for

copyrighted articles or photos.

MAGAZINE

ARMY RESERVE

Since 1954.

Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly

CHIEF, ARMY RESERVE

CSM Michele Jones

COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR OF THE 

ARMY RESERVE

Steven Stromvall

DIRECTOR, U.S. ARMY RESERVE

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Editorial Services

MANNING, SELVAGE & LEE

Design Services

THE MADISON DESIGN GROUP

14
Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 3

Volume 49, Number 2

Army Reserve Magazine online:

www.army.mil/usar/armag/reservemag/html

USAR Soldiers from 

the 422nd Evaluate Baghdad’s 

Fire Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Civil Affairs Team 

Trains New Baghdad Police . . . . . . . . 39

Tracking Service Members 

Injured in Battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Religious Differences Aside . . . . . . . . 43

Getting the Mail Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Just One of the Guys —

An IT Guy That Is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

LETTER

Letter from 

Gen. John W. Handy, 

U.S. Transportation Command, 

to Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, 

Chief, Army Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

TRANSFORMING WHILE

MOBILIZING

Interview with 

Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, Chief, 

Army Reserve (Part II of II) . . . . . . . . . 8

TWO WEEKS IN THE DESERT 

A Soldier’s Journal of the 

March to Baghdad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

PEOPLE

In Honorarium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

An Arab-American at War. . . . . . . . . . 21

The Man Who Brought 

Water to Umm Qasar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Volunteer Doc Aids Rescued 

American POWs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

SCENES FROM THE DESERT

Getting the Gear out of the Rear . . . . . 25

Florida USAR Soldier Making 

“Large” Contribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Texas Tornado Hits Kuwait . . . . . . . . . 27

South Florida USAR Soldiers Build 

POW Camp They Will Guard . . . . . . . 27

St. Pete USAR Soldiers Guard 

Captured Iraqi Airbase . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Desert DJ Plays for Iraqi POWs . . . . . 30

Members of the 354th 

Strike it Rich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

USAR Soldiers Rescue 

Valuable Art in Baghdad . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Returning Baghdad International

Airport to the Status Quo . . . . . . . . . . . 32

USAR Soldiers Transport 

Seven Rescued POWs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

USAR Soldiers Help Ensure 

Public Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

USAR Soldiers Working to Help

Homeless Iraqi Children . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Iraqis Thirst for Water 

and Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

USAR Soldiers Help Distribute 

Donated Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Bringing a Smile to a 

Child’s Face . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

SUBMISSIONS • Army Reserve Magazine invites articles, story ideas, photographs and other material of interest to members

of the U.S. Army Reserve. Manuscripts and other correspondence for the editor should be addressed to Commander, U.S. Army

Reserve Command, Attn: Public Affairs (ARM), 1401 Deshler Street, SW, Fort McPherson, GA 30330-2000, telephone (404) 464-

8500 or dsn 367-8500. All email submissions should go to usarmag@usarc-emh2.army.mil. All articles must be submitted

electronically or on disk or CD. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs will not be returned. Query by letter.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS • Do not write the magazine. TPU soldiers should notify their Unit Administrator or Unit Clerk. Members

of the IRR and IMA should contact their Personnel Management Team at ARPERSCOM, 1 Reserve Way, St. Louis, MO 63132-

5200. AGRs should contact their PMO/PMNCO. Paid subscribers should forward their address change to the Superintendent of

Documents, Attn: Mail List Branch SSOM, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. Special military distribution recipients may write the editor directly.

SUBSCRIPTIONS • Army Reserve Magazine is distributed free of charge to members of the United States Army Reserve.

Circulation is approximately 450,000. Paid subscriptions are available for $14.00 per year domestic, $19.60 foreign. Single

copy price is $5.50 domestic, $7.70 foreign. Mail a personal check or money order payable to the Superintendent of Documents

to: New Orders, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954, or fax your order to (202) 512-

2233. Visa and MasterCard are accepted.

38
HOW TO AVOID MONEY PROBLEMS

WHEN RETURNING HOME

A

lthough Federal law mandates that

active duty military personnel

receive special consideration when

it comes to their jobs and financial obligations, some employers and creditors

do not know, understand or comply

with the regulations. As a result, Army

Reserve soldiers, among other military

members, can find their return to civilian life complicated by lost jobs or

unexpectedly high bills. 

The lesson returning service members

should know is this. If creditors do not

follow the rules, soldiers should get legal

assistance to make them comply. First,

soldiers should ask their local judge

advocate general attorney to write a letter

explaining how their rights as a service

member were violated. If that doesn’t

remedy the situation, soldiers should

then consider suing in Federal court 

for the relief to which they are entitled.

While judge advocates cannot take these

cases, there are volunteer attorneys all

over the country who will. The ombudsman service of the National Committee

for Employer Support of the Guard and

Reserve will help locate a lawyer. 

Federal law also protects returning

service members whose employers are

unwilling to put them back on their

jobs. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act

(USERRA) has lots of case law supporting it. And the law is clear that service

members are entitled to return to the

jobs they previously held. Service members also must be treated for seniority

and pension purposes as if there had

been no time away for military service.

The service member who believes he 

or she has been wronged has the right 

to take the employer to court and seek

back wages, penalties and legal fees.

However, the best course of action is to

first talk to the employer. Sometimes,

there can be a misunderstanding. 

But, if that doesn’t work, the service

member should turn to his or her unit’s

judge advocate attorney. If that fails,

then he or she should ask the National

Committee for Employer Support of the

Guard and Reserve for a legal referral.

Situations where the issues are not

always clear mainly involve layoffs. The

law’s reference to layoffs uses seniority

— a common union benchmark — as

the basis for deciding whether a military

person still has a job. Employers who lay

off workers can lay off a military person

on active duty if that person would have

been laid off anyway determined by his

or her seniority date.

However, most layoffs today are not

determined by seniority. Take, for

example, the 35,000 people laid off by

Boeing, many of whom were Army

Reserve soldiers. Boeing had no system

of seniority, so it was difficult to determine whether a job was really gone. 

In this kind of situation, the law places

the burden of proof on the employer.

Therefore, if a soldier comes home to 

no job and the reason is unclear, the

employer is required to bear the expense

of any legal action to determine if the

company is on solid ground.

Further, some returning soldiers are

finding that, while they may have a 

job to come home to, they missed out

on raises while they were on active

duty. Companies that give only merit

increases are, in many cases, telling

returning service members that they

aren’t entitled to raises because they

weren’t around for annual performance

reviews. 

This issue currently is being litigated 

and it is expected that the courts will

decide that employers must give an

affected employee an amount that

reflects previous performance experience. So, in other words, a worker who

had been a stellar performer in the past

would be entitled to a raise reflecting

that, even though he or she was on

active duty. For more information, visit

http://www.esgr.org.

ARMY RESERVE CELEBRATES

95TH BIRTHDAY

Who can be in the Army Reserve, 

where and how they serve, and what

they can do have changed many times

in the long march of the Army Reserve

from 1908 to 2003. There have been

numerous changes in uniform, structure,

equipment, leadership, terms of service,

doctrine and even name. 

Army Reserve soldiers have served,

fought and even died in an everchanging and ever-increasing list of

places: along the U.S. and Mexican

border; in Flanders fields and the

Meuse-Argonne; at a Civilian

Conservation Corps camp in Pennsylvania; on Bataan, Omaha Beach and

Okinawa; near the Chosen Reservoir; 

at Chu Lai, Grenada, Panama, Saudi

Arabia, Kuwait, Somalia, Haiti, Central

America, Bosnia, Hungary, and Kosovo;

at the World Trade Center and the

Pentagon; and in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, Guantanamo Bay

and Iraq.

Throughout it all, however, one thing

has not changed — the fundamental

concept that the Army Reserve would

be comprised of American patriots

whose professional skills were not 

routinely required by the Army during

peacetime, but were recognized as being

absolutely critical during mobilization

or other military crises.

Ninety-five years after its birth, this

combination of devotion to country,

readiness to serve, unique professional

qualifications, and immediate responsiveness in support of crises remains 

the fundamental principle for all Army

Reserve soldiers and units. And, no

matter where the future sends Army

Reserve men and women, they will

remain wedded to this foundation.

To learn more about the Army Reserve’s

long and distinguished history, visit

http://www.army.mil/usar/ocar/

95thstory.html.

4 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

NEWS

News Briefs
THE EXCEPTIONAL FAMILY

MEMBER PROGRAM

If you have a family member with a

special healthcare or educational need,

enrollment in the Exceptional Family

Member Program (EFMP) is mandatory

if you are an active duty soldier. This

includes soldiers in the Active Army;

Army Reserve soldiers and National

Guardsmen in the Active Guard and

Reserve (AGR) program; and Army

Reserve soldiers on active duty for

more than 30 days.

The program is designed to assist 

soldiers who have family members with

special healthcare or educational needs.

In addition, the Army’s EFMP is

designed to decrease the time a soldier

is unavailable for duty due to issues

dealing with exceptional family

members.

Army Regulation (AR) 608-75, dated

October 15, 2002, provides a detailed

description of everything EFMP families

need to know. Once a family is enrolled,

the appropriate personnel manager will

consider the special needs of a soldier’s

family members during any future

assignment selection process. 

Soldiers initiate enrollment in EFMP

by contacting their nearest Army

Medical Treatment Facility EFMP 

case coordinator. The family’s healthcare provider will then be asked to

complete a Medical Summary (DA

Form 5962-R) and/or Educational

Summary (DA Form 5291-R). 

These forms can be found on the U.S.

Army Publishing Agency Web site

(http://www.usapa.army.mil) or by 

contacting the appropriate Army

Medical Treatment Facility.

If a soldier is determined to be eligible

for EFMP, an approval memorandum

signed by the EFMP physician will be

attached to the forms and forwarded to

the Full-Time Support Management

Directorate (FTSMD). Enrollment is

then recorded in the AGR Management

Information System (AGRMIS) for use 

by the soldier’s personnel manager

during reassignment. Soldiers are

responsible for updating their EFMP

enrollment as the needs of their exceptional family members change or every

three years, whichever comes first.

Accommodations and Implications

The Office of the Chief, Army Reserve

(OCAR) Permanent Change of Station

Policy, dated December 4, 2002, states

that FTSMD will consider current

approved EFMP enrollment during

reassignment as contained in AR 608-

75. Personnel managers will do their

best to match grades and occupational

specialties with valid personnel requirements in locations where the exceptional

family member’s needs can be met.

Soldiers who are enrolled will still be

subject to worldwide assignment and

may be called upon to serve an unaccompanied tour. However, special

education needs will be taken into consideration. Assignments within the 50

states and territories will not be based

on the educational needs of children.

Questions about EFMP assignment 

processing should be directed to the

soldier’s FTSMD personnel manager. 

Further, enrollment in the EFMP will

not have a negative impact upon on a

soldier’s career. Information concerning

enrollment in EFMP or any data used

in the program will not be made available to selection boards.

Additional Information

Additional information can be obtained

through http://www.armycommunity

service.org, a Web site that provides

useful tools, addresses, case studies,

and frequently asked questions.

Further, soldiers who live near an

Army post can contact their local 

Army Community Service (ACS) 

office for further assistance.

Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 5

IRAQ FACTS

★ Background: Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire,

Iraq became an independent kingdom in 1932. A

“republic” was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality

a series of military strongmen have ruled the country

since then, the latest being Saddam Hussein.

Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive

and costly eight-year war (1980–88). In August

1990, Iraq seized Kuwait, but was expelled by 

US-led UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of

January–February 1991. Following Kuwait’s liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq

to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and longrange missiles, and to allow UN verification

inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with

UNSC resolutions during the past 12 years resulted

in the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and

the ouster of the Saddam Hussein regime. Coalition

forces remain in Iraq, helping to restore degraded

infrastructure and facilitating the establishment of a

freely elected government.

★ Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf

between Iran and Kuwait.

★ Area Comparative: Slightly more than twice 

the size of Idaho.

★ Border Countries: Iran; Jordan; Kuwait; 

Saudi Arabia; Syria; Turkey.

★ Climate: Mostly desert; mild to cool winters with

dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous

regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows

that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq.

★ Terrain: Mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along

Iranian border in south with large flooded areas;

mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey.

★ Natural Hazards: Dust storms; sandstorms; floods.

★ Population: 24,683,313 (July 2003 est.)

★ Life Expectancy at Birth: Total population, 67.81

years. Female, 68.99. Male, 66.7 years. (2003 est.)

★ Infant Mortality Rate: Total: 55.16 deaths/1,000

live births. Female: 48.95 deaths/1,000 live births.

Male: 61.09 deaths/1,000 live births. (2003 est.)

★ Ethnic Groups: Arab 75%–80%; Kurdish

15%–20%; Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%.

★ Religions: Muslim 97% (Shi’a 60%–65%, 

Sunni 32%–37%); Christian or other 3%.

★ Languages: Arabic; Kurdish (official in Kurdish

regions); Assyrian; Armenian.

SOURCE: The Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook,

updated August 1, 2003.

IRAQ Euphrates R.

Tigris R.

Diyala R.

Al Basrah An Nasiriyah

As Samawah

Al Kut

Karbala’

Ar Ramadi

Tikrit

As Sulaymaniyah

Kirkuk

Arbil

Mosul

An Najaf

Baghdad

Ar Rutbah

Umm Qasr

Tigris R.
EXCHANGE REASSIGNMENT 

WEB PAGE GOES LIVE

Effective January 15, 2003, the U.S.

Army Reserve Personnel Command’s

Full Time Support Management

Directorate (FTSMD), with the help of

the 2xCitizen (https://www.2xCitizen.

usar.army.mil) webmasters at the Northrup Grumman Corporation, launched

the AGR Exchange Reassignment Web

page on My2xCitizen. The Web page is

designed to enable Active Guard and

Reserve soldiers in the ranks of sergeant

and staff sergeant to find soldiers like

themselves who want to exchange

assignments free of charge.

To use the site, soldiers must do the 

following:

★Go to the 2xCitizen Web page

(https://www.2xCitizen.usar.army.mil)

and click on the link titled, “AGR”

★From the left-hand side menu, click

on “Exchange Reassignment”

The site includes the OCAR memorandum that explains the program and

describes eligibility requirements, as

well as allows soldiers to download a

sample Exchange Reassignment request

packet and view procedures for submitting their packets to FTSMD.

Once soldiers determine they are 

eligible, they can then click on the link

found at the top of the page titled,

“Exchange Advertisement and Search

Tool,” which will enable them to logon

to My2xCitizen. Once logged on, soldiers must verify that they have read

and understood the program’s policies

and procedures, as well as update their

contact information. Qualified soldiers

can then begin searching for other 

soldiers interested in “swapping”

assignments.

The site automatically will use the

information provided by eligible soldiers to begin finding matches. At the

bottom of the page, all soldiers who

have expressed a desire to be in a particular soldier’s current duty location will

be listed as possible matches. In other

words, soldiers will be able to see all soldiers interested in their assignment. For

example, if a soldier were assigned to a

unit in Houston, Texas, a listing of all

soldiers who have been to the site and

entered a desire to transfer to Texas or

Houston, Texas, will be listed at the

bottom of the page.

Further, when soldiers enter their own

geographical preferences, they can click

on a button to limit the list of soldiers

appearing at the bottom of the page to

only those soldiers in their preferred

geographical area. In other words, the

list of soldiers appearing at the bottom

of the page will be further defined to

show only those soldiers who desire the

soldier’s assignment AND currently are

assigned in one of the areas the soldier

desires to be transferred to.

FTSMD encourages all soldiers to use

the program after ensuring that all policies, procedures and eligibility criteria

are understood and have been met.

Again, only soldiers in the ranks of sergeant and staff sergeant will be able to

access this valuable tool.

ARPERSCOM INTRODUCES 

NEW ACTIVE GUARD AND

RESERVE (AGR) STREAMLINED

ACCESSION PROCESS

No longer will soldiers have to wait six

to 10 months to find out if they have

made the grade for the Active Guard and

Reserve (AGR) program. On January

7, 2003, the Chief, Army Reserve

(CAR) approved a streamlined accession

process, which will have the effect of

trimming months off the old process.

Under the new streamlined AGR transitioning process, the goal is to have a

90-day turnaround time for notifying

soldiers they have been selected for the

AGR program. According to the U.S.

Army Reserve Personnel Command

(ARPERSCOM), they plan to make the

transition to the new process happen

immediately.

6 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

REASSIGNMENT

ONLINE
NEWS

Interested soldiers must submit fully

completed AGR entrance packets to:

Commander, ARPERSCOM, ATTN:

ARPC-PSV-BB (AGR Entrance Board),

1 Reserve Way, St. Louis, MO 

63132-5200.

The packet will need to include physical

exam results (from within the last five

years) and an HIV test result (from

within the past six months) for it to be

considered complete. This is a major

change from how the accession process

was conducted previously.

The ARPERSCOM commander will

ensure that a sufficient number of AGR

Entrance Boards are conducted to preclude the need for any special (off-cycle)

boards. An AGR Entrance Board will

convene when there is a minimum of

200 to 300 AGR applications submitted

to ARPERSCOM’s Personnel Actions

and Services Directorate. While the new

board process began in February 2003,

the new packet requirements will not be

implemented until June 2003.

The Full-Time Support Management

Directorate (FTSMD) will advertise

projected unit vacancies by grade and

military occupational specialties for

enlisted soldiers, and by areas of concentration and functional areas for

officers. Soldiers interested in the AGR

program must be available for worldwide assignment.

FTSMD accession/transition teams 

will conduct local background checks

on all soldiers prior to publishing initial

permanent change-of-station orders. In

addition, FTSMD will continue to serve

as the lead coordinating organization for

the implementation of the streamlined

accession process.

For more information on the AGR

program or to request an application

packet, visit the 2xCitizen Web site at

http://www.2xCitizen.usar.army.mil/

soldierservices/programs/agr/agr

program.asp, or call 1 (800) 325-4118.

U.S. ARMY RESERVE

IMPLEMENTS COGNOS TO

MONITOR AND ANALYZE

OPERATIONAL READINESS

The U.S. Army Reserve has implemented a business intelligence (BI)

solution from Cognos to provide 

thousands of military officials and

administrators with instant and secure

Web access, and the ability to report 

on the status of all troops and assets.

With Cognos, commanders and staff

have the integrated information they

need to effectively plan and manage 

unit resources. Reserve leaders can

readily access information in a variety 

of key areas — personnel, training,

assets, resource management, logistics,

maintenance, parts inventory, etc. —

all of which will enable them to see

exactly where units stand and to ensure

units are always battle-ready.

“Using Cognos, more than 19,000 individuals can now access and work with

information to improve the effectiveness

of their units,” said Lt. Col. David C’de

Baca, U.S. Joint Forces Command, U.S.

Army Reserve. “Military leaders and

administrators can gain instant awareness of troops and assets, and target

resources precisely for maximum costeffectiveness.”

With Cognos, Reserve officers and

administrators can access critical status

information when and where they need

it. This ability — to perform deep

analyses and to gain up-to-date status 

of operations across all units — should

enable threats to be pinpointed early

and resources to be reallocated quickly

and easily to respond in times of crisis.

ARMY AND ARMY RESERVE

AGREE TO MERGE CIO SHOPS

The Army and Army Reserve have

signed a memorandum of agreement

that calls for integrating the Army

Reserve’s CIO staff into the Army CIO

organization. The move was prompted

by a desire to better align IT operations

and support, and demonstrates both

parties’ commitment to the transformation of the Army and to a common,

single Army enterprise.

Daniel Weiner, II, Army Reserve CIO,

said, “The merger does not require any

cutbacks, including my own position,

and instead will result in significant 

efficiencies in technical, operational

and human resources.”

Under the memorandum of agreement,

the Army Reserve will continue to be

responsible for command, control, communications and computers/information

technology (C4/IT) planning, programming, budgeting and execution support

for all related appropriations. The Army

CIO will continue to provide strategic

guidance and policy oversight to ensure

that Army Reserve C4/IT requirements

are integrated and validated with the

Army’s financial management process.

The Army Reserve regional CIO will

retain authority for the Army Reserve

virtual region, and all Army Reserve

major command CIO functions and

responsibilities will remain with the

Army Reserve CIO in coordination with

the Army Reserve Command CIO.

“The Army Reserve counts communications and signal technology as one of its

core competencies,” said Lt. Gen. James

R. Helmly, Chief of the Army Reserve.

“In today’s security environment, where

the speed and quality of IT affects actions

on battlefields, the Army Reserve’s two

theater signal commands — the 311th

and the 335th, are an integral part of

today’s force.”

Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 7
8 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

★

Interview with Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly

Chief, Army Reserve

(Part II of II)

Army Reserve Magazine (ARM): Traditionally, the Army Reserve has been heavily 

concerned with combat support and combat service support. One of the things being

discussed now is having some of the combat arms functions come into the Reserve.

What is your opinion on this? Is this something the Army Reserve can do and 

do well?

LTG Helmly: The history of the Army Reserve dates back to 1908, when the Army

Reserve was established in law principally to act as a support and leader-rich organization. For example, the Army Reserve formed the core of the Reserve Officers

Training Corps. This led to our being able to produce a whole cadre of capable officers pre-WWII. The Army Reserve also ran the Civilian Conservation Corps. Those

kinds of things. 

During the Cold War years, the Army Reserve stood up several separate brigades —

three I believe. And we had several separate combat battalions stationed around the

world — tube, artillery, infantry, and armor. Then, of course, during the war years of

WWII and Korea, we had Reserve divisions within the Army structure. The 81st, for

example, started out as the 81st infantry division in WWII.

Transforming While

MOBILIZING

PART TWO
Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 9

ARM: So, I imagine, the Army Reserve has some degree of inherent expertise in

combat arms already.

LTG Helmly: We do. And I am very comfortable with where we are today, which is

heavily invested in combat support and combat service support. In the future, I

believe we will explore the establishment of more military police units. And, as we

finish out the activation, we are standing up two new black hawk helicopter units.

We also have some work going on right now not to grow the size of our aviation

force, but to grow its readiness and strength. That consists primarily of our two

attack helicopter battalions, our two black hawk units, several fixed wing units, and

several Chinooks.

We plan to establish more biological detection and surveillance units. And we probably are going to inactivate some maintenance units, such as water. Further, we will

grow the readiness of our watercraft and transportation fleets. And, in the future, I

think we will see ourselves more heavily invested in multi-component units and

integrated formations — establishing more echo companies or shadow units if you

prefer. These echo units, which will have no equipment, will assist the Active component aviation units, allowing them to man their aircraft at higher crew ratios

during wartime.

ARM: Similar to the way the Air Force Reserve does that.

LTG Helmly: People often point to the Air Force Reserve as a tremendous success story.

However, we are more integrated with the Active component of the Army than the

Air National Guard, and we are about as integrated as the Air Force Reserve. And we

will remain heavily committed to our medical force. We need to do a better job of

readying, preparing and retaining soldiers in that very important portion of our force.

ARM: You bring up an interesting point. The Air Force Reserve and Air National

Guard have about 23 percent full-time manning because they are so heavily integrated. Are you looking at additional AGR full-time people to get the Army Reserve

to that level?

LTG Helmly: We’re growing both the AGR and MilTech programs. And we are changing

the way we manage the AGR program. We are building a lifecycle model, and we will

manage it against predictable, patterned career development — albeit with a lesser

number of PCS moves than an Active component soldier will have.

But today, we have the lowest level of full-time support of any of the Reserve components. And I don’t see that changing. There is just too much politics involved and too

much ground to be made up. However, just to give you an example of how important

we consider this to be, we are harvesting RPA dollars to buy out full man-years of the

AGR ramp increase, and we’re growing that every year. 

We also are looking at changing the MilTech program in one slight way. We want to

use our MilTechs more in training, instruction and management functions as

opposed to straight functional performance. One example is the way in which we are

moving MilTechs into AMSA shops. We are exploring moving more MilTech positions into the units rather than running supporting functions like AMSA shops.

★

I am very comfortable 

with where we are today, 

which is heavily invested

in combat support 

and combat service support. 

We’re growing both the AGR 

and MilTech programs. 

And we are changing the way 

we manage the AGR program.
10 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

★

ARM: You state that you are harvesting RPA money to pay for additional full-time

support. What does that mean to traditional Army Reserve Soldiers? Does it mean they

will have fewer opportunities, or is it merely a reflection of the fact that you have extra

RPA money because so many people have been mobilized?

LTG Helmly: There is never extra RPA money. Certainly, we are avoiding some costs due

to the numbers of soldiers we have mobilized. But all of that is accountable. In some

cases, the money will be taken back from us by the Army OSD and OMB. Having said

that, however, we are reducing the amount of RPA dollars we provide to commanders

for extra tours of duty, etc. 

We will not deny soldiers training. We will send them to required and authorized training. But you can’t have your cake and eat it too. People want more full-time support,

and I have to pay for that somehow. And I have to grow our levels of full-time support.

So another thing we are doing is trying to harvest spaces that are outside the Army

Reserve and bring them back inside the Army Reserve command and units. 

ARM: What is your view on double-tapping and back-to-back mobilizations. How do you

think that is going to affect the Army Reserve in the long run?

LTG Helmly: Obviously, it is going to hurt us. Predictability, again, is the key. I just stumbled across a case yesterday where a young man — a linguist — was mobilized for 179

days. We demobilized him on January 23, and now we are mobilizing him again. This

is inexcusable. I have sent a very strong message to the Department of the Army that,

in my judgment, it is better to mobilize soldiers for one-year periods. Soldiers will then

have a greater degree of certainty that we will not have to come back to them.

We have gotten ourselves into a mess because, instead of looking at mobilization holistically, we have done it incrementally and in pieces. So, we end up mobilizing soldiers

for Guantanimo Bay for a year regardless of the fact that we have a deployment policy

of 179 days. And, then, when I have to rotate them out of Guantanimo, I have to find

other soldiers to backfill them. In Kuwait, we have soldiers under three different statuses. We’re under PSRC for 179 days in Bosnia and Kosovo.

I want 179 days — the same as the Active component. I’m fighting for that. I’m saying,

“Let’s get it done and then bring the soldiers home with a greater degree of certainty

that we’re not going to have to mobilize them again.”

Where soldiers go, while important to them and their families, is not the issue. The

issue is the break mobilization causes in soldiers’ ties with their civilian employment

— whether they are working in private practice as doctors, lawyers, engineers, photographers, etc. or working for someone else. Regardless of soldiers’ grades or employment

status, we are interrupting their daily income that goes directly to paying the mortgage,

car, kids’ dental bills, education, clothing, everything. And soldiers cannot manage

their resources predictably if we continue to start and stop all the time.

ARM: Are we fundamentally changing the nature of the Army Reserve? It seems that,

depending upon what MOS and what unit soldiers are in, we’re almost at the point

where they are not really Army Reserve soldiers any more.

LTG Helmly: They are Army Reserve soldiers. However, we have gone through a metamorphosis here. For a very long time during the Cold War years, we never mobilized

Army Reserve soldiers. We didn’t even use Active component soldiers all that much.

We didn’t need to deploy them to operational missions. 

We will not deny soldiers training.

We will send them to required and

authorized training.

The issue is the break mobilization

causes in soldiers’ ties with their

civilian employment.
Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 11

Following Vietnam, however, we had a small two- to three-week operation in Grenada.

Then we had a small operation in Panama. And then things took off. We went off to a

large operation in the Persian Gulf, and then a large part of the Army went home. At

that point, the size of the Army came down and we have pretty much stayed at that

size ever since. However, our involvement has increased. 

Initially, we kept one battalion task force on the ground in Kuwait. Beginning in the

late 1990s, it was up to a brigade task force in Kuwait. Then we went to Bosnia and

stayed there. And we went to Kosovo and stayed there. And now we are engaged in a

war. And the difference with this war is that it is a war of indeterminate length. It is

around the world. It is not conducted all in one theater with large masses of manpower,

but rather in many theaters around the world with smaller numbers.

We are in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan. We are in Kuwait, Qatar, Ethiopia —

up to tens of thousands of soldiers. But our force is structured to meet masses of

manpower in one particular theater of operation — not several theaters. So we’re

mal-structured. We’re malformed. That is the reason why we have to attack our

structure.

However, the nature of Reserve service as a purely one weekend a month, two weeks

in the summer training group of soldiers that never gets mobilized over a 20–30 year

period is over. That is not the world we live in. And that is not what our soldiers want.

Most of our Reserve soldiers want to participate. They want to participate, but in a

way that also allows them to manage their civilian careers and lives. And I believe

that is achievable.

It is going to take internal transformation within the Reserve and some hard fights in

Washington in order to force that change. But we need to change to properly organize,

man, train, sustain, mobilize and manage our Reserve forces for this new environment.

And we need to do it with some degree of predictability. 

We have to do it. We have to do it because we are in a world that has changed faster

than our ability to change with it. And because we will remain at war in some country

even after Iraq because there will never be a shortage of “bad guys.” And because it is

our turn in the box the same as it was for the generation of WWII. 

We are being challenged. But we will meet that challenge with success. It will require

sacrifice by every citizen in the country — not only the members of the Armed Forces.

But I have every degree of faith that our soldiers in the Army Reserve are up to that

challenge. I know I am up to it and I expect everyone else to be up to it.

But will it be neat? Will it be clean? Will it be comfortable? It will be none of those. It

will be hard work. It will be most uncomfortable. But we can change our force. We will

get to a model — set a structure such that, for predictable missions like the sustainment of Balkan rotations, Guantanimo, etc., we will not have to mobilize a Reserve

soldier for more than a nine-, ten- or 12-month period out of a six-year window. And,

when you consider that, it means most soldiers with a five- to six-year window will

change grades if we’re doing our job properly. They will get promoted. So we may not

even have to mobilize the same soldiers that amount of time if we get our structure in

order and start to manage it correctly.

★ ...the nature of Reserve service as

a purely one weekend a month,

two weeks in the summer 

training group of soldiers that

never gets mobilized over a 

20–30 year period is over.

We are being challenged. 

But we will meet that 

challenge with success.

Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 13

★

ARM: What would you tell 18 year olds who are considering joining the Army Reserve

right now?

LTG Helmly: First of all, there are the obvious things — pay for training, and commissary and px privileges. More importantly, however, we’ll teach them technical

skills. We’ll allow them to grow in stature, responsibility, maturity, and leadership

skills and experience. 

Second, and on a more practical level, I’d tell them that the odds are that, within

their first five years of service in today’s Reserve, we will probably mobilize them for

a six- to 12-month period. Thereafter, if they’re fortunate, we won’t have to mobilize

them for more than a six- to 12-month period more than twice during the rest of a

20-year career.

Finally, I would tell them that I want them to stay more than 20 years and serve. But,

if they do that and grow in grade and stature, more will be expected of them. If they

want to become a sergeant first class, a chief warrant officer, or a field grade officer,

for example, they are going to have to plan on some extra days, attend meetings and

planning conferences, and take on additional schooling.

I also would tell them we are breaking the model. That we intend to school them in

the future through ANOC, BNOC, first sergeant’s course, CGSC, advanced course,

war college, etc. However, while they’re going to those schools, we are going to pay

them and they won’t have to be in a unit at that time. That’s the Individuals

Accounts piece of the package. They’re going to be put into that just the same as the

Active component.

Now, they might ask how that’s going to work. Well, I don’t know yet. But I’m charging on to get that changed because I know our people deserve that. I intend for our

people to be able to be schooled as leaders as they grow through grades similar to the

Active component in that they be allowed to get their training pay, but don’t have to

be in a unit at the same time. I want to do away with this idea that soldiers need to

find their own slots in units. I don’t want soldiers to find slots. I want to find slots for

them. I want them to stay in the Army Reserve. That’s my job. Their job is to go to

the unit of assignment, train, lead it and help make it better. 

This interview took place on March 14, 2003.

...[Within] their first five years of

service in today’s Reserve, 

we will probably mobilize them 

for a six to 12-month period.

I intend for our people to be able 

to be schooled as leaders as they 

grow through grades...

Their job is to go to the unit of

assignment, train, lead it and 

help make it better.

[Left] “Their job is to go to the unit of assignment, train, 

lead it and help make it better.” Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly,

Chief, Army Reserve, March 14, 2003.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FT. DIX
14 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

By Lt. Col. Gerard Healy, 

U.S. Army Reserve PAO

M

ARCH 19TH: nothing is easy in the desert. Not with 20 pounds of

gearstrapped on. The flak vest goes on top of the desert camouflage uniform. The load bearing equipment (LBE) goes

on top of the vest. The utility belt attached below the vest includes two

canteens of water and a nine-millimeter pistol. The protective mask is

strapped across the flak vest. And, on top of it all, goes the water pouch.

As a member of the Army Reserve Public Affairs team, I am traveling with the 459th

Multi-Role Bridge Company from Bridgeport, West Virginia. But this day, we are in

Kuwait, just south of Iraq, sitting around a campfire while darkened figures of soldiers

toss wood and trash into the flames.

Pride and professionalism are evident in this unit. Earlier in the day, we learned the

unit had placed second out of a field of 22 in a European bridge-building competition.

Their professionalism also is evident in the quiet surrounding the camp. 

Outside the camp, however, beyond the boats and bridge parts mounted on large vehicles, there are voices. Someone is yelling for a first sergeant. Someone else loudly asks

for a Sergeant Brown. In contrast, the quiet within the 459th area is almost unnerving.

TWO WEEKS

IN THE DESERT: 

A Soldier’s Journal of the March to Baghdad

Members of the 459th Multi-Role Bridge Company 

construct a floating bridge over the Tigris River 

on the outskirts of Baghdad.

PHOTO: SPEC. CORY MEYMAN, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO
Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 15

All soldiers are in full battle gear. No head is without a Kevlar helmet, and no weapon

is more than an arm’s length away.

Capt. Timothy Vanderborne moves purposely around the perimeter of the camp. As the

commander, he performs the last minute checks and talks often to First Sergeant Bell.

There is a question of enough water. Bell heads out into the dark to contact a neighboring unit. Later, he reports the water problem is solved.

Vanderborne, at five feet seven inches, is not tall. However, even in the dark, his movements are easily monitored. He moves with energy, propelling himself forward with

quick steps. At close range, his M-16 rifle is slung at a 45-degree angle across his chest,

and a rubbery contraption that surrounds and holds his glasses distinguishes him from

other soldiers.

“I want to get it done,” he says, echoing the comments of his soldiers. By “it,” he means

the war with Iraq. The soldiers have been at Camp Hammer for eight days. These few

words reveal their impatience.

“I’ve been waiting 12 years,” says one soldier standing by a wooden table outside a field

cooking shelter. “I wasn’t at Desert Storm, but I’m here now. Let’s do it.” Heads nod 

in agreement.

“I just wish we came here earlier,” says Vanderborne as he surveys the camp from his

jeep. “At Arifjan, the soldiers were losing their focus a bit. You could see it in their eyes.

They’re sharp now.”

As the commander of the 172-person unit, Vanderborne is responsible for everything

the unit does or fails to do in the coming battle. When asked if the current situation or

his responsibilities cause him concern, he flashes a quick smile. “This?” he asks. “This

is nothing. Back home I manage a chemical plant.”

Vanderborne and his entire company are members of the Army Reserve. Last October,

they learned of their deployment. Four months later, they arrived in Kuwait. The 459th

includes construction workers, college students, truck drivers, a school counselor, a

policeman, and even a bartender.

Soldiers of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force respond to

sporadic sniper fire in the Iraqi town of An Nasiriyah. 

PHOTO: LT. COL. GERARD HEALY, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO
Camp Hammer is in the process of being

disassembled. Erased from the desert

landscape. Later, long rows of vehicles

will begin a northwest trek — not yet

into enemy territory, but closer to the

coming fight.

It is now beyond the President’s deadline, and America is at war. So, the men

and women of the 459th begin the move

toward Baghdad. Standing between them

and Saddam Hussein’s home lies the

Euphrates River. Before the end of the

month, the members of the 459th may

well bridge it.

Since leaving Camp Hammer, it is hard

to measure time in hours and days. There

is driving time, which is almost continuous, and there is sleep time. In between,

there is the time spent sitting by the side

of the road wondering if there will be any

sleep time.

March 20: Today, at 5 p.m., the unit witnessed several energy-boosting events.

First, was the sighting of numerous

rockets traveling in clusters northward,

sent on their way by Multiple Launch

Rocket Systems. Next, was the clear view

of what appeared to be a SCUD missile,

arching directly over the camp before

suddenly disintegrating into the desert

air. Finally, was the word to don our

chemical suits.

March 21: The big news of the day is that, surprisingly, no one seems to mind the chemical suits. The charcoal-lined, thick texture of the suits works well in keeping out the

desert’s cold night air. 

At 8 a.m., the convoy moves out again, creeping northwest at about 10 miles per hour.

Like the desert path, the day seems to go on forever. It is a day spent in what could,

quite arguably, be the longest traffic jam in modern history. At 10:15 a.m., we arrive at

a desert pass. A long fence that warns of electric shock stretches to both sides of the

east-west horizon. Thirty meters of the fence is torn away. And, on a sign on the near

side of the fence, the words are enough to cause even the bravest soul a moment of

reflection. It reads, “Welcome to Iraq.”

On the other side of the fence and down the road apiece, two gentlemen in long

flowing robes tend their sheep and wave to the convoy. About six miles further, a

man of about 20 approaches the convoy with three children. A young girl gestures

toward her mouth for food, and several soldiers hand over Meals Ready to Eat

(MREs). About another mile down the road, tents are patched together with various

styles of cloth.

16 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

Soldiers of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force protect a

passing convoy in the Iraqi town of An Nasiriyah. 

PHOTO: LT. COL. GERARD HEALY, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

Marine Cobra gunships circle a neighborhood in the town

of An Nasiriyah. 

PHOTO: LT. COL. GERARD HEALY, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

The big news of the day is that, 

surprisingly, no one seems 

to mind the chemical suits. 

The charcoal-lined, thick texture 

of the suits works well in keeping 

out the desert’s cold night air.
By afternoon, the immense line of vehicles has taken its toll on the hard-packed desert

dirt. Almost impenetrable with a shovel earlier, the main road now has been ground

into a substance almost as fine as talcum powder. And at least three of the unit’s vehicles

get stuck. At 6:18 p.m., we arrive at a resting position. The three vehicles would rejoin

the unit days later to the sound of loud applause.

March 22: Twice during the night, the unit prepared to move out. However, at the last

minute, stood down. At 6:30 a.m., we are underway. By two o’clock in the afternoon, we

are 50 miles into Iraq. 

During the night, we received a mission to assist other units stuck in the sand.

Traveling is slow across the desert, and several times we must pull over to the side of

the road to allow other units to go forward. By 6:30 p.m., we pass through another

assembly area that is in the early stages of development. Marine Cobras land and take

off while we continue on our way.

March 23: The convoy reaches a main highway today. The thought of leaving large

swirling dust storms behind significantly boosts morale. However, with all of the traffic

headed north and none going south, travel remains slow. After 22 hours of on and off

driving, the unit finally gets to sleep at 5:15 a.m. Three hours later, we are up and met

with the announcement that we will now proceed south. It is a stunning pronouncement

for a group that is visibly exhausted. At 5:30 p.m., the unit moves out.

The mission is to travel south, link up with a separate Marine element and then proceed

north again on another route. In the distance, the sounds of battle are clearly audible.

We are too far away to hear the sound of small arms fire, but the thumping sounds of

artillery smashing into the ground have become routine. Tanks and armored personnel

carriers race past us during the night. And, as our convoy pulls to the side of the road,

Marine Cobra helicopters roar overhead, moving quickly north. Shortly after 1:30 a.m.,

tired soldiers fall asleep.

March 24: By 7 a.m., most of the unit has finished eating, and spend the day collecting

much-needed rest as plans for following operations are reworked. Others attend to

equipment. At 3 p.m., the unit gets word of a mission. We will go around An Nasiriyah

where fighting has been reported. At 9 p.m., the convoy moves out, changing direction

during our travels to go to another holding site where there was sniper activity the previous night. We now learn that the unit will go through the embattled city after all.

Explosions echo through the night from the area of the city we will enter.

March 25: “A lot of sitting and 

a little bit of driving, but no

sleep,” a soldier says as he

passes a truck. The convoy 

has been moving since 3:15

a.m. At 7:45 a.m., maps of An

Nasiriyah are passed out revealing where the convoy may

expect to encounter small

arms fire or artillery rounds.

At 8:15 a.m., we pass artillery

placements 100 meters in from

the road on the west. Further

along, large Iraqi military

trucks litter the road. Just

beyond a “Welcome” sign, we

Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 17

A convoy in the desert. 

PHOTO: LT. COL. GERARD HEALY, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

In the distance, the sounds 

of battle are clearly audible...

the thumping sounds of artillery

smashing into the ground have

become routine.
18 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

move slowly toward black smoke emanating from an open fire outside oil

storage tanks. The city appears peaceful,

but poor, and villagers look on curiously

as Cobra helicopters fly overhead.

At 9:00 a.m., the convoy crosses a river.

On the other side of the bridge is a large

color portrait of Saddam Hussein, smiling

in welcome to the soldiers. Immediately,

gunfire breaks out. It is small arms fire —

single shot rifles and machine guns. An

Iraqi troop carrier still smokes off to the

side of the road.

Suddenly, two Cobra gunships fly over the convoy, angling toward the city and firing

upon a target beyond the houses in our view. To the right of the convoy is open terrain.

To the left, rows of Marines in firing positions — some in vehicles, others lying on the

ground. They also open fire, their rounds going between the vehicles in the convoy to

land upon houses about 300 meters away. Shots from two single-shot rifles come from

the city while the convoy moves slowly onward. Further ahead, Marine placements are

dug in on both sides of the road. Sporadic fire continues while the convoy crosses a

second bridge and exits the city.

At 10:40 a.m., a truck from behind sounds three loud blasts from its horn signaling possible chemical contaminants in the area. Convoy members don their masks. Fifteen

minutes later, the “all clear” message is given. For the next several hours, the convoy

continues its “stop and go” pace, passing over a small canal that rises majestically out

of the dusty and desolate horizon. Above us, a dusty cloud of brown rises about 300

meters into the desert air. At several points, we stop while the Marines continue

onward, gazing neither right nor left but rather at their weapons, which they have

managed to keep miraculously clean.

At 4:00 p.m., the convoy passes numerous dead bodies on the road. Bullet-ridden buses

sit idle by the side of the road. Just beyond this point, Marines stand guard on about 30

thin prisoners. They sit on the ground, their hands behind their backs, looking at no

one directly. The next day, we learn that the buses loaded mostly with men, but some

women and children as well, had just passed through a checkpoint when they began

firing upon the troops.

By 7:00 p.m., we finally get to sleep. Strong winds blow a sandstorm through the camp

when suddenly the sound of large artillery rounds is heard about 300 meters away.

“Sergeant Lambert,” a soldier yells. “Are those incoming or outgoing?” No answer.

Again, “Sergeant Lambert,” this time with more urgency. “Are those rounds incoming

or outgoing?” Finally, “Outgoing. It’s okay. They’re outgoing.” Tired soldiers, only

slightly relieved, struggle with sleeping bags in the dark amidst the sandstorm.

March 26: Iraqi interpreters familiar with the area tell both the Marines and the Army

Reserve soldiers that the former mayor of a nearby town is a general in the Iraqi Army.

He is suspected of organizing the resistance to Americans in a nearby town. Civilians

approach the interpreter and tell him that there are small arms weapons and missiles

within the town and that it is not safe for the convoy. Later, a crowd begins to approach

the convoy. It is quickly turned away. However, the group of 40 to 60 people begins to

approach again. This time, warning shots are fired. Several civilians are injured. A

Marine major explains that the civilians, despite several warnings, boarded a truck

known to contain weapons.

Soldiers battle dust storms in the desert. 

PHOTO: LT. COL. GERARD HEALY, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

...a truck from behind sounds

three loud blasts from its horn 

signaling possible chemical 

contaminants in the area. Convoy

members don their masks. Fifteen

minutes later, the “all clear”

message is given.
As we continue north, a pattern is established in which the Marines will leap frog ahead

of the convoy to secure towns. Once secured, the convoy can move forward. The convoy

moves about 60 miles this day in relative peace. Of the five towns we pass, only one

reveals a gathering of civilians. A group of about 50 young teenagers gather by the road

to wave at the passing convoy. The convoy rests from 9 p.m. until midnight and again

from 3 a.m. until 7 a.m.

March 27: Today, we learn we are to stay in place for two days while the Marines secure

a town known to include an element of the Iraqi Republican Guard. Throughout the

day, the sounds of firing and artillery can be heard. Helicopters frequently are seen

landing and leaving.

During the night, soldiers conduct security of the perimeter — two hours on, two off.

As some of the soldiers prepare for bed, outgoing artillery booms from less than 1000

meters away. Two rockets are launched that arc high in a northwesterly direction to fall

silently beyond the horizon. Hours later in the darkness past midnight, three flashes of

light emerge, the ground shakes and the loud cacophony of bombs is heard to the west. 

March 28: This day is spent quickly digging foxholes large enough to accommodate twoman fighting positions. At 3 p.m., a large furor across the perimeter sends soldiers

scrambling toward the road. Two buses and two small cars have been stopped along the

ridgeline. The situation is similar to earlier breakthroughs that led to ambushes. An

Iraqi interpreter boards the bus. He learns the bus contains enemy prisoners of war

being sent south. Later, soldiers man their foxholes and listen as more artillery is heard

hitting a town they may soon pass through.

March 29: Soldiers conduct security in two-man fighting positions throughout the night

— three hours on and three hours off. Security is still the main concern. The perimeter is tightened to make way for more incoming Marines. Fighting positions are filled

back in and new ones dug into the barren landscape to adjust for the new perimeter.

March 30: Soldiers fill in foxholes and take down communications equipment to prepare to move to another location. The unit does not move.

Foxholes are rebuilt.

March 31: There is an early wake-up during the night when seven mortar

rounds land near the assembly area. A Marine runs into the area shouting, “Get in the foxholes. They walked those rounds right down the road.

That’s how they start — first with mortars. Then they follow them in.”

Later, the Marine Regimental headquarters estimate the mortars at 1.7

kilometers from the 459th’s tactical operations center.

April 1: We awake at 5 a.m. and the unit begins lining up for movement at

5:30 a.m. Navy Construction Battalion (SEABEES) provide security for

the unit as it moves westward and north closer to Baghdad. 

As of April 2003, the 459th Multi-Role Bridge Company from 

Bridgeport, W. Va., had 172 soldiers in Iraq. The unit is comprised of 

Army Reserve soldiers from W. Va., Ohio, and the Pittsburgh, Pa., area.

On April 7, 2003, the 459th built two floating bridges over the 

Tigris River while under fire from Iraqi troops. This allowed advancing 

U.S. Marine elements to attack the center of Baghdad.

Supplies are airlifted into the desert. 

PHOTO: LT. COL. GERARD HEALY, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 19

PEOPLE

Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 21

IN HONORARIUM

O

n the morning of September 11,

2001, Mary Ill was at work focused

upon her television set like millions of other Americans. She knew her

husband, Staff Sergeant Frederick J. Ill,

Jr., a captain in the New York City fire

department, was probably at the World

Trade Center in the thick of the rescue

work. What she didn’t know was that,

when he kissed her goodbye that

morning, it was the last time she would

ever see him alive. Ill lost his life saving

others and died as he had lived — as a

brave and caring civilian and a proud

member of the Army Reserve.

On September 11, the 77th Regional

Support Command (RSC), also known

as the Statue of Liberty Command, lost

six Army Reserve soldiers, including Ill.

In April of this year, the 411th and

Company A of the 854th Engineer

Battalion dedicated the Bullville U.S.

Army Reserve Center to Ill. The ceremony was led by Maj. Gen. Richard S.

Colt, Commander of the 77th RSC, and

Brig. Gen. James Snyder, Commander of

the A/854th. Bullville is approximately

80 miles from New York City in the

Catskill Mountains.

Each of the Army Reserve soldiers 

with the 77th RSC lost during the attack 

on the World Trade Center has been 

memorialized with buildings dedicated 

in their honor.

AN ARAB-AMERICAN AT WAR

Most U.S. soldiers traveling the road to

Baghdad look out their windows in

wonderment at the ancient towns and

ambling goat herds that dot the way

north. Not Sgt. Paul Abernathy. “I look

and think, I have cousins who live just

like this,” he said.

The 23 year old Abernathy, a squad

leader in the Bridgeport, West Virginiabased 459th Multi-Role Bridge Company,

hails from Cuddy, Pennsylvania, just

outside Pittsburgh. But his mother’s side

of the family is Syrian and, for Abernathy,

who has spent many a summer visiting

family and friends in Syria, Operation

Iraqi Freedom is a collision of the two

worlds he knows so well.

Abernathy admits his service in this war

has divided some family hearts. “They

love America and they know how terrible it is for Iraqis to live under Saddam

Hussein. But they don’t support this war.

They just don’t think it is America’s

issue to settle,” he said. “Fortunately,

they know what it is to be in the military.

They’re anti-war without being antisoldier. They know soldiers don’t make

decisions. We just carry them out.”

For a sergeant at war, that means taking

care of the soldiers under you — a job that

Abernathy’s squad says their unfailingly

personable leader does exceedingly well.

“Sarge is always looking out for us,”

said Pfc. Dustin Wazzelle. “He really

cares about how we’re doing. He’s our

sergeant, but he’s also like our friend.

That’s important when you’re going

through the things we have out here.”

Certainly, the 459th’s road to Baghdad

has not been an easy one. It has been a

halting, often grueling tour of the sights

and sounds of war — days of death and

destruction, nights of vigilance and fear.

Not to mention, many days without a

shower.

Ask Abernathy what he’s proudest of

accomplishing, and he will tell you

about one thing. “Every evening, before

the sun goes down, we sit down and

have our dinners together. I think that’s

really important,” said Abernathy. “We

just hang out and talk about whatever 

is on our minds. I think it helps keep

everybody going.”

“I think he’s the best leader we have,”

said Spc. John Berger. “Out of the whole

unit, our squad is the closest, and that’s

because of him.”

Because of Abernathy’s background, his

soldiers also get an education — in where

they are, what they’re seeing, and what

they’ll be facing as the 459th journeys

north. He’s the company’s unofficial

translator when an Iraqi civilian

approaches his unit, its unofficial strategist when it comes to enemy behavior,

and its designated political analyst when

they listen to a BBC broadcast.

“I sure know a lot more about ancient

Mesopotamia than I did before,” added

Berger. “I know that not everybody

here is Muslim, but religion is important

People in Focus

Sgt. Paul T. Abernathy, an Army Reserve soldier from

Cuddy, Pa., serving in Iraq with the W. Va.-based 459th

Multi-Role Bridge Company, flashes a smile during an

informal platoon meeting in a bivouac area in central Iraq. 

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

[Left] Sfc. Janis Albuquerque, with the 352nd Civil

Affairs Command, an Army Reserve unit from Riverdale,

Md., stops to speak to an elderly beggar woman sitting 

on the sidewalk in the market district of Sulaimania,

Kurdistan in northern Iraq.

PHOTO: SPEC. CHAD D. WILKERSON, 372ND MPAD
22 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

PEOPLE

to people here. And I know that the

best reason why we are here is for these

kids we see waving to us by the side of

the road — for these people that

Saddam Hussein has been holding

down for so long.”

Abernathy is nearing the end of his

enlistment, and he figures his time with

the Army Reserve is almost done. He

wants to put his understanding of the

Arab world and its plight to use with a

graduate degree in international relations

and, after that, maybe enter the seminary.

“I’ve always believed in America, and I

understand what we’re trying to do,”

said Abernathy. “I also know that, as

scared as we are in combat, it doesn’t

approach the fear that people who live

here have had to endure under Saddam

Hussein’s regime. 

“Early on, when we first crossed the

border into Iraq, we stopped by the side

of the road to refuel. An old Bedouin

walked up and, when he saw my face, he

came up to me and said ‘Arab-American,

Arab-American.’ We exchanged a few

words and, before he left, he pointed

north and said to me in Arabic, ‘Go get

him. Go get Saddam.’ That made me

feel good.”

THE MAN WHO BROUGHT WATER

TO UMM QASAR

In the desert, few resources are as

valued as water. And that is certainly

true in and around Umm Qasar.

Everywhere one goes in that area, children still mass on the sides of the road

to repeat over and over again one of the

few English words they know — “water.”

So, it’s not surprising to hear Maj. Jim

Thorpe, a resident of Grand Island,

New York, and a member of the 402nd

Civil Affairs Battalion from Tonawanda,

New York, referred to reverentially by

local residents as “the man who brought

water to Umm Qasar.”

Umm Qasar had been without water 

for several days when Thorpe and his

five-man team arrived on March 20th.

Attached to the British Army, they

worked quickly through military channels to arrange transport of two water

tankers from Kuwait. The next day, he

and his team were distributing water to

Iraqi citizens. 

As word spread, they soon found it necessary to work from behind rows of

concertina wire during the water distribution. It was a potentially dangerous

situation that required holding back

crowds of thirsty Iraqi citizens while

maintaining order. But they managed to

pull it off without incident.

A few days later, a man walked into

Thorpe’s office, claiming that he owned

five water trucks. Instantly, Thorpe saw

the possibility for controlling the water

distribution and arranged for the man

to get all of his tankers filled with water

from Kuwait.

“With water a top priority, I worked out

a plan with the man where a third of the

water would go to the hospital and

schools, and would be given out free of

charge. The remainder would be sold at

the pre-war minimum price throughout

the city. This way, the man with the

tankers could be paid for his fuel, time

and effort,” said Thorpe. “Two days

later, I had 20 tankers outside.”

Eventually, the system Thorpe devised

included 27 water tankers, and the

crowd problem disappeared. Weeks

later, he and his team were able to turn

over water distribution management to

a local Iraqi businessman, referred to by

Thorpe as an interpreter attached to the

British Army. 

“It felt great,” added Thorpe, reflecting

on his accomplishment. “I love this job.

It’s an ongoing adventure.”

Thorpe concedes that the water 

situation in Umm Qasar is still not 

completely resolved. However, several

A local Iraqi boy takes a drink of water brought to Umm

Qasar with the help of the Army Reserve’s Maj. Jim Thorpe

and his 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion. 

Maj. Jim Thorpe of the Army Reserve’s 402nd Civil Affairs

Battalion discusses water delivery to Umm Qasar with

three local Iraqi citizens. 

PHOTO: SPEC. CORY MEYMAN, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

Sgt. Paul T. Abernathy, an Army Reserve soldier from

Cuddy, Pa., serving in Iraq with the W. Va.-based 459th

Multi-Role Bridge Company, keeps an eye on the perimeter,

pulling security while the other members of his squad

check on their vehicles and get some rest.

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

PHOTO: SPEC. CORY MEYMAN, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO
PEOPLE PEOPLE

non-governmental agencies have now

reached the town and are working on

getting even more water distributed.

As for Thorpe? The man who brought

water to Umm Qasar and his five-man

team have moved on to another 

Iraqi city in need of immediate civil

assistance.

VOLUNTEER DOC AIDS 

RESCUED AMERICAN POWS

When seven recovered POWs came

through a Kuwaiti hospital, the military

medical staff operating there coyly

referred to them as their “special

guests.” They protected their celebrity

patients from media and other unwanted attention with guards, code

words and extra-tight security while 

the former POWs awaited their flight 

to Germany. 

But the hospital leadership group could

not shield the surgeon who treated the

recovered former POWs.

“No good deed goes unpunished,” Dr.

(Col.) Johnathan Woodson joked as a

photographer snapped pictures of him

leaving the hospital. 

A former commander of the Army

Reserve’s 399th Combat Support

Hospital, Woodson left his private 

practice and gave up his command just

to treat troops coming back from the

front. And, while he could be back

home in Canton, Massachusetts, he

chose to extend his tour of duty at the

combat zone hospital. According to

him, his greatest pleasure has been in

dealing with his seven “special guests.”

“I have been thoroughly uplifted by my

contact with them. Seeing their spirit,

their courage, and their high morale.

Hearing their stories of bravery under

very dire circumstances. How they

banded together to support one another.

And how resilient they’ve been in terms

of coming back and being integrated

into a normal life.

“They’re intelligent. They’re humorous.

They clearly support each other and

want to be together. And it’s been a

pleasure and an honor to take care of

them. It’s the highlight of a career,”

said Woodson.

The 865th Combat Support Hospital

unit that deployed from its home bases

in Utica, Syracuse and Niagara Falls,

New York, to run the military wing of

the hospital is supported by rotations of

“90-day docs” like Woodson from units

all over the United States. The rotation

is short to decrease the hardship of military service on the doctors and their

patients back home. 

Woodson certainly would have qualified

for a shorter duty tour, but instead 

volunteered to serve as deputy commander of clinical services with the

865th, guaranteeing him a full tour 

of duty in the Gulf.

“The soldiers out here put everything on

the line for us. So, it’s a very small effort

for me to be there for them as they come

home. If you look at the time I might

serve on active military duty, that’s

maybe 18 months over a 35-year career,”

said the veteran of recent service in

Kosovo. “In total, that’s relatively little.”

“We’re certainly very happy to have him

in both positions. He’s a sharp doctor and

a great soldier,” said Col. Kevin Pehr,

Commander of the 865th. “He’s smart.

He’s personable. He cares about his

patients. He’s even a good organizer.

There really isn’t anything bad I could 

say about him.”

“Here’s a guy who left a lucrative

private practice and gave up a command

of the highest-rated combat support

hospital in the country just to come and

treat soldiers. That’s the best part of

working in the Army medical field. It’s

where the heroes are,” said 1st Lt. Mike

Olivieri, the officer in charge of inoculations at the hospital and one of the

part-time medical PAOs. 

Col. Johnathan Woodson, the surgeon who treated the seven

rescued U.S. POWs, smiles as he chats with a fellow staffer

at the 865th Combat Service Support hospital in Kuwait. 

Staff Sgt. Dawn Tal 

of the 865th Combat

Support Hospital 

in Kuwait, aids in 

diagnosing Staff Sgt.

Jayme McKenna.

Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 23

PHOTO: SPEC. CORY MEYMAN, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO
24 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

A

rmy Reserve soldiers have faced a number of deployments in 

all of America’s major — and most of its minor — military

operations. They have been used almost constantly in Haiti,

Bosnia, Kosovo, Cuba, and now in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

As of July 15, 2003, almost 62,000 Army Reserve soldiers were mobilized — primarily

because they have critical skills and because tensions still run high throughout the

Persian Gulf and elsewhere. 

From providing invaluable logistical support to restoring order and maintaining the

systems that enable a society to function properly, Army Reserve soldiers always 

can be counted on to do their jobs with a high degree of both professionalism and

commitment. These stories capture some of their experiences as they occurred during

Operation Iraqi Freedom.

SCENES FROM

THE DESERT
Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 25

GETTING THE GEAR OUT OF THE REAR

Thanks to the 66 members of the Army Reserve’s 1184th

Transportation Terminal Battalion from Mobile, Alabama, soldiers with the 101st Airborne, one of America’s elite fighting

forces, did not have long to wait before they were reunited with

the Humvees, heavy trucks, Blackhawk helicopters, and other

equipment that would be their lifeblood in the field. Since

November 12, the 1184th has been stationed at a port in Kuwait,

bringing their hometown stevedore spirit from the Gulf of

Mexico to the Persian Gulf. Their mission — to make sure the

countless tons of equipment arriving there get off the ships and

into the hands of those who need it as safely, securely and

quickly as possible.

Since their arrival, the 1184th, whose motto is “doing it right,”

has amassed quite a record, helping the U.S. military move more

necessary cargo through the port than it moved through two

ports in the last Gulf War.

“We’ve offloaded 28 ships, which is maybe 40,000 pieces of cargo

taking up more than two million square feet of space,” said Col.

Janet Cobb, Commander of the 1184th. 

“In the space of 22 hours alone, we moved 731 pieces. That’s a

lot of stuff. But we’ve got a really good, experienced team. We

were over here for Desert Storm doing the same work.”

The 1184th was the last Army Reserve unit to come home from

the Gulf in 1991 and, this time around, they were one of the first

called to duty. They are on one-year orders and, like most others

in the desert, they don’t know when they will be headed home.

But, according to Cobb, spirits are high and they take pride in

being such a vital — if unsung — part of their country’s participation in this war.

Spec. Richard Abercrombie was a pre-school photographer

before he was mobilized and, for him, one of the hardest parts of

this deployment has been the culture shock. 

“We were ripped away from our jobs and our homes. And, being

a southern boy, the redneck-meets-Middle East thing has been

pretty strange,” he said. “But, when I need some motivation, I

only have to think of 9/11. My company had offices in the World

Trade Center and I shudder every time I think of having to

explain to pre-schoolers the terrorist attacks that occurred.”

“Sometimes I feel like a glorified parking lot attendant. We’re

here to make sure everybody gets what they need, and then we

run and hide,” added Abercrombie smiling. “But it helps to

remember that, without us doing our job, others wouldn’t be

able to do theirs.”

Maj. Dan Arzonico is a software developer in his civilian life,

and he doesn’t mind telling you he took a “pretty big pay cut”

Maj. Dan Arzonico, a vessel officer with the 1184th, shows off two of his reasons for

wanting to go home — his daughters, Emily and Amy. While in Kuwait, Arzonico helps

coordinate force protection at the Kuwaiti port of Shuaiba. 

Spec. Richard Abercrombie, a traffic management coordinator with the 1184th,

manages some traffic as vehicles roll off

the GYSGT Fred W. Stockham and into the

rolling stock staging area at the Kuwaiti

port of Shuaiba. 

Sfc. Kenneth Johnson, a vessel supervisor with the 1184th waves a seven-ton truck off the

GYSGT Fred W. Stockham and down the off-loading ramp at the Kuwaiti port of Shuaiba.

PHOTOS THIS PAGE: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO
“You never know what you’re going to end up doing. In the

morning, you could be navigating the ship. During the day, you

could be tying lines down on the deck. You have to know a little

bit of everything to keep the craft going,” added Large.

The Hormigueros’ current mission is to ferry

containers from larger ships, which are 

too weighed down to cross shallow waters,

into the port. And, according to Large,

the work can become treacherous when

the wind and seas get rough. However,

the crew is experienced and has had no

problems getting the job done.

“Large, as well as the rest of us, have the

will, experience and ability to get things

done,” said Spec. Vincent Passero, Large’s

roommate on board the LCU. “None of us are

wet behind the ears.”

to be deployed to Kuwait. But he says he has only three reasons

he wants to go back to Mobile — his daughters Emily, ll, and

Amy, 5, and his wife Nancy, who heads up the unit’s Family

Readiness Program at home. He has one reason for being

here. “That flag you see flying on the ships that

come in here.”

Arzonico is a vessel officer with the 1184th,

but for this mission he is tasked with

overseeing the 598th Transportation

Terminal Group, managing force protection at the pier and off-loading area.

He knows the importance of keeping

this port up and running.

“Our unit helps the troops get their equipment and get out there. It makes me feel

proud,” said Arzonico.

Sgt. Melvin Polk was a full-time Active Guard and

Reserve (AGR) administrative clerk with the 1184th back in

Mobile, but there isn’t much use for paperwork here. Instead, he

uses one of the Army’s newly adopted Radio Frequency

Identification (RFID) scanners to record each UPS-labeled

item — from Humvees to five tons of heavy equipment transport vehicles. 

“It’s not my specialty, but with everything going on these days

and with so much at stake, I’m here helping out the best I can,”

said Polk.

FLORIDA ARMY RESERVE SOLDIER MAKING 

“LARGE” CONTRIBUTION

As the salty water of the Persian Gulf along Kuwait’s shores 

laps at the sides of the U.S. Army Landing Craft Utility 

(LCU) ship “Hormiguieros,” Spec. Joseph Large is on board to

make sure it is seaworthy and capable of delivering supplies to

the troops on the ground. This Army Reserve deck hand

enlisted when he was 32 years old, feeling a call to duty even

though he was comfortable in his own real estate business in 

St. Augustine, Florida.

“I just felt the need to join. It was my time to pay my country

back for all of the freedoms it has provided me,” said Large.

Large chose to be on board an Army boat for his job because he

loves the water. And, when he’s asked why he’s not in the Navy,

he simply reminds people that the Army has more boats, they’re

just smaller.

Members of the LCU are cross-trained in all areas of boat 

operation, so Large is well-versed in every aspect of the craft’s

engineering operations.

Army Reserve Spec. Joseph Large of St. Augustine, Fla., checks the navigational charts

aboard the Hormigueros, an Army Landing Craft Unit that unloads ammunition and 

supplies at Kuwaiti ports. 

26 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

“...when

I need some

motivation, I only

have to think of

9/11.”

PHOTO: SPEC. CORY MEYMAN, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO
Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 27

SOUTH FLORIDA ARMY RESERVE SOLDIERS 

BUILD POW CAMP THEY WILL GUARD

When the 724th Military Police Battalion arrived at the coalition’s temporary holding facility at Camp Bucca, Iraq, a plan

already was in place for a nearby semi-permanent facility. The

only problem was that it hadn’t been built yet. So the 18 soldiers

assigned to guard part of the new facility found themselves put

to work laying down the very concertina wire fence line they

would soon be patrolling.

“You know the joke about what MP stands for — ‘multipurpose.’ You name it, we do it. We’re out here pulling shifts in

the towers and along the perimeter, waiting for this camp to be

done so we can start doing what we came here to do. And now

they want us to build the thing ourselves,” Spec. Jose Lopez

grumbled cheerfully.

Lopez, a deputy sheriff for Broward County, Florida, was exaggerating a bit. Engineering units with heavy equipment would

TEXAS TORNADO HITS KUWAIT

“Kuwait is a lot like home — hot, dusty, sweaty. Put in a longhorn, a cactus, and maybe a country bar, and I’d be happy,” said

Cpl. Bryan Register from Killeen, Texas, who went through

Fort Lewis, Washington, to help fill out the rolls of A Company,

5/159th Aviation Regiment, attached to the 12th Aviation

Regiment for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In the Army Reserve, Register is a power-train mechanic —

basically an expert on the rotors, transmission and everything

else used to get power from the engines to the blades of helicopters. It is a job not unlike his civilian position with DynCorp,

where he is responsible for inspecting and repairing the fiberglass components that make up the blades of a helicopter.

“That’s the great thing about being a Reservist,” said Register.

“At DynCorp, we support the military, and I’ve probably had

my hands on some of those very birds right there. Now that I’m

called up and working on Chinooks, it makes you feel like

you’re even more involved in what we’re trying to do here.”

Register seems to do it all — striding from bird to bird on the

tarmac, climbing up on top of the monstrous machines to tinker

with power trains, and keeping his crew at top efficiency. His

new unit even has chosen him to be a member of what in a

Chinook unit is like a squad of combat medics — the lean,

mean, hard-charging DART team.

“Downed Aircraft Recovery Team (DART) is pretty much what

it sounds like,” added Register. “When a bird goes down in the

field, 16 of us fly in on another Chinook and try to do the quick

fixes that will allow us to fly it back to where we can get it fixed

completely. It’s the kind of mission the unit hopes it never has

to do. But in a combat situation, with people shooting at them,

it happens.”

Register loves his work and, despite the lack of country bars,

he’s glad to be doing it in wartime. 

“I missed the first Gulf War, so I’m glad to be a part of this one.

I believe it’s a war we need to fight, and I get to help the troops

out there fight it,” said Register. “I know if I was one of those

guys getting shot at, I’d sure hope the people back in the rear

were busting their butts to make sure I got the food and

ammunition I need to stay alive. It’s definitely the kind of

mission that gives you the warm and fuzzies when you think

about it.”

But Register will be glad when he can get back home to his

longhorns, cacti and cold beverages in the Lone Star state. He

already knows that the first thing he’ll do when his plane

touches down in the U.S. is get his trusty Dodge pickup truck

out of storage and put some of the money he’s saved into fixing

it up — a new exhaust system, new tires and rims, and even

some power train work.

At a port in Kuwait, Cpl. Bryan Register inspects the tape that protects the blades 

of a CH-47D Chinook helicopter from the swirling desert sands. 

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO
School District, as he pounded in pickets for the fence line. 

British forces turned control of the camp over to the 800th

Military Police Brigade, which has now handed responsibility

for this part of the camp to the 724th.

“We’ve been trained for this, and there are lots of prisoners over

in the temporary facility. However, you never know what it’s

really going to be like until you’re the one dealing with them

every day,” said Spec. Yolanda Isaac with the 724th, a physical

therapist from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “Will they make it

harder for me because I’m a woman? That’ll probably be the

biggest challenge. But I’m just going to do what I have to do to

get my job done. I won’t be mean to them, but I won’t let them

be mean to me either.”

take care of the major construction. However, it was up to his

squad to get the work started. And his sergeant considered a

little construction work to be good for morale.

“I’ve got 18 soldiers under me who are going to be responsible

for watching as many as 1,500 Enemy Prisoners of War (EPWs).

Guarding EPWs is difficult, pressurized work. These guys have

been waiting for this for months — from home to Kuwait to

here. I think a little manual labor like this helps burn off some

of the stress and gets them ready to go,” said Sgt. 1st Class

Alfonzie Brown from Moorehaven, Florida.

“Of course, I’m a little more used to this kind of work,” added

Brown, who is the maintenance man for the Glades County

28 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

Spec. Jose Lopez, a sheriff’s deputy in Broward County, Fla., and a colleague put up 

some concertina wire along a yet-to-be-built fence line as Army Reserve soldiers with the

724th Military Police Battalion find themselves pitching in to build the new EPW facility

they will be guarding.

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

Sgt. 1st Class Alfonzie Brown of Moorehaven, Fla., pounds a picket as 

Spec. Yolanda Isaac, a physical therapist in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., waits at the ready 

with a coil of concertina wire. 

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO
Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 29

oners of war captured during the fighting. It also acts as a

bustling supply connection for U.S. troops stationed throughout

the war-torn country.

“We do accountability for prisoners more than anything else.

Counting heads and making sure everybody goes where they are

supposed to,” said Lt. Matt Garcia, the unit’s executive officer

and a Tampa insurance salesman. “We also have some military

intelligence people upstairs just in case anyone important comes

through. And we help when the planes and helicopters stop here

to refuel or unload.”

So far, things have been pretty quiet. However, that doesn’t

mean the members of the 320th can relax. Recently, there 

was a firefight about a mile beyond the perimeter of the

airbase when several Iraqis attempted to ambush some

Marines who were entering the base from the north with a

load of prisoners. Fortunately, the Marines successfully captured the Iraqis, who were then led into the airbase in their

own vehicles.

“With all of the prisoners of war coming through here, 

I’m getting an education — in the culture, the people, and the

language. It’s the kind of experience that will help me down the

road,” said Sgt. Emiliano Carrero, a Puerto Rico native and

Orlando, Florida, resident, who never intended to be an Army

Reserve soldier. After eight years in anti-terrorism with the

Marines, Carrero switched to the Army in an attempt to get into

a Special Forces unit. His unit got called to Iraq just before he

was slotted to join the Special Forces.

“Most of the prisoners are pretty compliant,” said Lt. Col. Lee

Coulter, the 724th commander of the camp. “They realize they

are protected here. They get food, water, and medical care —

even cigarettes. And they know they won’t be here forever.

When you think of how most people in Iraq have been living,

it’s not surprising that we have some people come here saying

they’re soldiers and wanting to get in.”

For Brown, everything about this mission — from the scorpions to the sandstorms to the fence building in the hot desert sun

— is an experience to be cherished.

“I’ve been in the military for 27 years, and this is the first time

I’ve been deployed,” said Brown. “I’m thrilled. This is history

in the making. Everything I see, everything that’s happening,

will be in a history book someday. Our country is doing the

right thing in this war, and we’re out here doing our part. Some

of these young guys may not fully appreciate it right now. But

they will.”

ST. PETE ARMY RESERVE SOLDIERS GUARD

CAPTURED IRAQI AIRBASE

Three weeks after a fierce battle between Iraqi loyalists and the

U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division forces resulted in the capture

of “Bush International Airport,” Army Reserve soldiers with

the 320th Military Police Company from St. Petersburg,

Florida, were called upon to guard the base. Located in Tallil,

the airbase is strategically situated halfway between Baghdad

and the Iraq-Kuwait border, an ideal way station for Iraqi prisA guard with the 320th Military Police Company from St. Petersburg, Fla., mans a

makeshift outpost at Tallil Air Base in central Iraq, watching as prisoners of war are transferred onto buses for transport to the coalition’s internment facility near Umm Qasar. 

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

Pfc. Theresa Roman of the 320th Military Police Company from St. Petersburg, Fla., 

uses a battery-powered fan to help battle the heat atop a second floor guard post at Tallil

Airbase in central Iraq. 

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO
30 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

following his college graduation, Watkins completed both his

basic and advanced individual training. Two weeks later, he was

deployed to Kuwait to help out with the war effort. His skills

and enthusiasm have earned him praise.

“His experience in the theater, as well as his audio technology

skills and his grasp of audio editing help out the group a lot,”

said Staff Sgt. Joe Boz. “In addition, he does his job with enthusiasm, and that’s great too.”

According to Watkins, the messages he records are not about

controlling the prisoners, but about relieving the prisoners’

stress and the anxieties that come from being in unfamiliar surroundings. He also is using his talents to help out the other

soldiers in his group. One activity involves designing a slide

show video on his computer to send back home to the families

of his battalion so they can see what it is like in Iraq.

At night, Watkins runs a makeshift movie theater, playing

movies pooled from the other soldiers on an outdoor projection

screen where sound is projected through speakers so that both

American and British soldiers can enjoy the movies and relax.

While he may be a world away from mixing music and acting in

plays, Watkins is using his talents to make life easier and more

comfortable for the prisoners in Iraq. It is a job he finds rewarding — and, of course, there is nothing a born performer likes

more than a captive audience.

Army Reserve Spec. Ben Watkins of the 13th Psychological Operations Battalion dubs a

tape the EPW camp in Iraq will use to disseminate information to the detainees. 

PHOTO: SPEC. CORY MEYMAN, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

Lt. Judy Hall, 3rd platoon leader for the unit, views the experience somewhat differently. “Would I rather be at home with my

daughter? Sure,” said the Clarksville, Tennessee, transplant.

“But my country called and this unit needed a lieutenant. So,

I’m here to do whatever they need. If they’d just give me a mop,

I could do wonders with this place!”

DESERT DJ PLAYS FOR IRAQI POWS

Ben Watkins was a disc jockey mixing music tracks for his local

state college’s radio station this time last year. These days, he is

still mixing tracks. However, this time he is doing it for the

Enemy Prisoners of War (EPW) camp in Iraq. Watkins, an

Army Reserve specialist from Mankato, Minnesota, is part of

the 13th Psychological Operations Battalion from Arden

Hills, Minnesota. His mission in the EPW camp is to record

simple instructional messages to help the prisoners understand and follow the rules of the camp.

“I was a DJ for weddings, parties and the college. I also did radio

advertising. Growing up in the nineties helped because I

learned half of this stuff simply by being around video game

consoles and stereo equipment all the time,” said Watkins.

At the camp, Watkins records tracks of his own voice in Arabic

telling the prisoners what to do, where to go, and how to

respond in the event of an emergency. He also helps design

posters and handbills to support his recorded messages.

A theater major in college, Watkins first learned about the Army

when one of his fellow actor friends, who also is an Army

recruiter, said he thought Watkins’ skills would make him an

ideal candidate for psychological operations. So, the summer
Capt. Krispian McCullar of Virginia

Beach, Virginia, and 1st Sgt. Dale

Blosser of Mt. Sidney, Virginia, were

the first to break through the fiveinch thick wall made of brick and

mortar that housed the currency —

40,000 tightly packed and bankwrapped $100 bills.

Several soldiers said their interests

were piqued by the small wire cages

that lined two sides of the bunker,

apparently to hold small guard dogs or

chemically sensitive birds. They also

were puzzled by the presence in the

enclosed courtyard of a new glass-walled room

that seemed to be a guardhouse. The cages and

guardhouse all suggested close surveillance of the bunker

and its contents.

After everyone was given the opportunity to fondle the money,

Col. Blackledge rounded up every packet and made sure the box

went to a secured location. 

ARMY RESERVE SOLDIERS RESCUE VALUABLE 

ART IN BAGHDAD

Aided only by flashlights and a few Iraqi civilians, members 

of the Army Reserve’s 308th Civil Affairs Brigade from

Homewood, Illinois, successfully rescued more than 350 paintings from the basement vaults of the Iraqi National Museum of

Antiquities in Baghdad. 

“This museum is the equivalent of the Smithsonian in the

United States,” said Col. Vincent Foulk from Urbana, Illinois.

“The paintings all are from the modern era, created by artists

such as Hofaid Al-Drobi, Laila Alattar and Albed-Alkader

Alrasam, and many are considered masterpieces.”

The paintings were put in the basement when the museum’s

curators feared they might be stolen during rioting. The

museum already had been ransacked several times since the war

began, with vandals stealing or destroying many valuable artifacts. There even was evidence that looters had tried to remove

toilets, breaking them en route as they struggled to get away.

So the curators were greatly relieved when the members of the

308th offered to let the Iraqis use their vehicles and soldiers to

help move the paintings to the Saddam Cultural Center, where

they would be protected from further damage. 

MEMBERS OF THE 354TH 

STRIKE IT RICH

Army Reserve soldiers from the 354th

Civil Affairs Brigade from Riverdale

Park, Maryland, have struck it rich.

In a compound that had been home

to Special Republican Guard officers, the soldiers found at least $4

million in crisp U.S. bills that had

been hidden in sealed compartments

in an L-shaped bunker.

“I’m just awed,” said Col. Dave

Blackledge, Commander of the 354th,

which had just arrived in Baghdad to assess

war damage, and support relief and reconstruction

efforts. “I guess we can rebuild Iraq now,” he joked.

According to a statement written in Arabic and witnessed by

five men whose signatures attested to the contents of the compartments, the money was hidden on March 16, just three days

prior to the start of the war.

Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 31

Col. Joseph Rice from Glendale, Colo., along with members of the Army Reserve’s 

308th Civil Affairs Brigade, helps transport paintings from the Iraqi Museum of National

Antiquities in Baghdad.

PHOTO: SPEC. CORY MEYMAN, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

Several

soldiers said their

interests were piqued

by the small wire cages

that lined two sides

of the bunker...
RETURNING BAGHDAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 

TO THE STATUS QUO

The 490th Civil Affairs Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from

Abilene, Texas, is moving toward returning Baghdad

International Airport to the Iraqi people — an important step in

helping Iraq regain its footing as a normal, thriving city.

“When we first came here, the terminal was in very bad shape.

Most rooms were in disarray,” said Maj. Kevin Countie,

Commander of the 490th. “There was no power or water, and the

support vehicles were in a bad state.”

Members of the 490th quickly cleaned up the area and restored

electricity and water. More importantly, they restored many of

the ground support vehicles used to assist the arrival and departure of civilian aircraft. Aided by Iraqi civilians employed by the

airport, the 490th has repaired many of the cargo-handling vehicles, air conditioning trucks, airfield tugs, and water and

lavatory trucks.

Fortunately, the 490th has several soldiers with civilian experience in aviation maintenance. Staff Sgt. Raymond Baker, the

490th’s public works team’s non-commissioned officer in

charge, works for Eagle Aviation in Abilene as an aircraft technician. In addition, he has training in automobile maintenance,

which has proved especially valuable for repairing the ground

support equipment essential to restoring civil aviation operations at the airport.

The short-term goal is for Baghdad International Airport to

be able to support limited operations, including local Iraqi

flights, regional Middle Eastern flights, and international carriers, such as British Airways, which had flown into Baghdad

in the past.

The first flights are being limited to government or businessrelated flights in support of civilian-managed humanitarian

assistance operations. However, the unit’s long-term goal is for

the airport to again serve the Iraqi civilians who wish to fly in

and out of Baghdad.

“As soon as the airport restores its civil aviation operations, a lot

more humanitarian aid will be able to come in,” said Baker,

“which will speed the job along and get us home faster.”

ARMY RESERVE SOLDIERS TRANSPORT 

SEVEN RESCUED POWS

Spec. Cory Caranza is part of the four-man ambulance crew that

transported seven recovered American POWs from a Kuwaiti

hospital to a plane that would take them to Germany. For him,

all of the passengers were a high priority.

After documenting the paintings, they were loaded onto a Light

Medium Transportation Vehicle and driven to the Cultural

Center, accompanied by an armed guard. The members of the

308th also helped Center workers, who openly wept when a particularly valuable and undamaged painting was displayed to the

curator, unload the artwork.

“We feel safe now that our art is being protected by the soldiers,” said Donny George, curator of the Cultural Center. “At

first, we were afraid Iraqi soldiers and looters would just burn

the place down. Now, with the arrival of the American soldiers,

we are getting the help we need.”

“We had no problem volunteering for this mission,” said Spec.

Jennifer Pritchard from Dixon, Illinois. “I feel honored to be

able to help save a part of this country’s culture.”

Spec. Cory Caranza, an ambulance medic with the Army Reserve’s 437th Medical 

Company, shuts the door of his ambulance while waiting to transport a patient outside 

a hospital in Kuwait. 

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

32 ★ Army Reserve Magazine
And while a patient is a patient is a patient, what makes it special

for these Army Reserve soldiers is that the patients relying on

them are fellow soldiers.

“You’re out here because your country needs you,” said Spec.

Paul Nakamura. “But you love it because the troops need you.

We’ve seen a lot of casualties, a lot of people in pain. But

when they see us, they’re happy. They know they are getting

out of there.”

“We see the most hard-core soldiers at the weakest moments,

and we’re there to help. It’s an honor for me to be out here. Not

many people can go home and say, ‘I’ve been to Iraq, been to

Kuwait, came out here and fought for something better.’ I can,”

added Caranza.

This story is in honor of Spec. Paul Nakamura, 

who died in June during an enemy attack on his vehicle. 

ARMY RESERVE SOLDIERS HELP ENSURE 

PUBLIC SAFETY

In the battle-torn city of Baghdad, distributing important public

safety information to its more than five million residents can be

a difficult, if not daunting, act. However, this has not deterred

the members of the 315th Psychological Operations (PsyOps)

Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from Upland, California, from

getting the job done.

“In the time that we’ve been here, we’ve transported thousands

of patients — with gunshot wounds, shrapnel, sucking chest

wounds, broken limbs,” said Caranza, an Army Reserve ambulance medic with the 437th Medical Company from Riverside,

California. “Being an ambulance medic requires steely nerves, a

cool head and lots of training.”

It helps that this Army Reserve medic, like most others in his

company, has seen it all before. Back home in Redlands,

California, Caranza is a full-time ambulance medic, as well as a

full-time student in fire technology trying to rise to the top of

the stack of applications for the San Diego Fire Department.

Sgt. Sergio Delgadillo also is an ambulance medic at home in

Orange County, California, where he handles all kinds of

medical transfers.

“Out here, our mission is to do the same things we do at home.

So, we’re well-trained and experienced. That helps a lot,” said

Delgadillo. “The only difference is the schedule.”

“Back home, you work a 12-hour shift. When you’re done,

you’re done. Out here, it’s 24-7. You’re off when no one is calling

for you,” he said. “Our very first mission here, we’d just gotten

our ambulances, and we had a run that started at 11 a.m. and

was supposed to be over by 1 p.m. Next thing we knew, two

hours had turned into a twenty-four hour ordeal.”

Spec. Andre Cisneros, a student in Riverdale, California, said,

“You’re always waiting, always listening for the radio. It can

wear you out. But what keeps you going is that everyone is

relying on you.”

PHOTO: SPEC. CHAD D. WILKERSON, 372ND MPAD

Members of the 315th PsyOps Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from Upland, Calif., distribute safety information to the Iraqi people. 

Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 33
circle. The children, laughing and having fun, seemed oblivious

to the thousands of people who work and live in the densely populated area. But what appeared at first to be a happy, peaceful

scene soon turned into a nightmare as people realized the children were homeless and living on the streets around the traffic

circle.

The children, ranging in age from about 6 to 16 years, were not

only homeless, but orphans as well. Many had been living in

orphanages before the war, but had been released or managed to

escape during the fighting in Baghdad. They had been on the

streets almost two weeks before their plight was brought to the

attention of the civil affairs soldiers.

Simms immediately contacted the U.S. Army’s 113th Medical

Company from Stanton, California, another Army Reserve unit

stationed in Baghdad that specializes in combat stress control.

Among other specialties, the unit includes psychologists and

social workers, all trained to deal with these kinds of situations. 

Together, members of the 422nd and 113th questioned the

children with the aid of locally hired Iraqi translators in order

to determine if, in fact, the children were homeless, and to

place as many of them as possible in orphanages where they

would at least receive shelter and food. After contacting five

local orphanages, Simms was able to find only two that would

agree to take a few of the children — but only for a period of

one week. Administrators at the orphanages were concerned

that the children might be delinquents who would cause disruption within the orphanages. Simms and his team also made

arrangements to deliver donated food and other supplies to

the orphanages.

“Our mission basically is to encourage mine and unexploded

ordnance (UXO) awareness primarily through leaflets, posters

and face-to-face communication,” said Sgt. Stephen Ray Cook,

an assistant team leader with the 315th.

The leaflets, two-sided flyers containing computer-generated

illustrations of various types of UXO and instructions on what

to do if you encounter it, are being distributed to individuals of

all ages. Children, in particular, who are at the highest risk from

UXO hazards, have become a major focus of the mission.

“We want to make the civilian population aware of the dangers

of UXOs and mines left behind from the conflict in order to

avoid any future civilian casualties,” added Cook.

“They are the ones who are suffering, and that’s why we are

here,” said Staff Sgt. Tomas Brousseau, team leader for the

315th. “I am glad to be serving here. I think it definitely is a

worthwhile mission.”

ARMY RESERVE SOLDIERS WORKING TO HELP

HOMELESS IRAQI CHILDREN

A U.S. Army Reserve civil affairs team, with the assistance of

mental health soldiers, is working to help homeless orphans in

Baghdad. However, according to Cpl. Stacey Simms from

Rochester, New York, who is serving with the 422nd Civil

Affairs Battalion from Greensboro, North Carolina, the task has

proven both rewarding and frustrating. 

Shortly after fighting was over, passersby noticed a group of

about two dozen children playing around a pool in a traffic

Army Reserve soldiers provide aid to homeless children in Iraq.

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

34 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

Homeless Iraqi children play in a pool in the middle of a traffic circle in Baghdad. 

PHOTO: STAFF SGT. CONRAD COLLEGE, 372ND MPAD
IRAQIS THIRST FOR WATER AND INFORMATION

Sgt. John-Paul Kilanski, an Army Reserve soldier with 

the 822nd Military Police Company from Arlington Heights,

Illinois, is in charge of security at the front gate of Camp Bucca,

the coalition’s new internment facility for Enemy Prisoners of

War (EPWs) captured in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His job is

supposed to be pretty simple — protect the EPWs and the U.S.

Army Reserve soldiers charged with their care from the forces of

Saddam Hussein outside. 

However, the war is almost over and the enemy doesn’t come

around much anymore. What Kilanski is dealing with these

days is more of an occupational hazard — maintaining order

among the Iraqi men, women and children who come to the gate

for information about family and loved ones.

“One of them says he has a letter from a colonel promising him

information about who he is looking for. I’m trying to get somebody to come out. But they’ve got to stay away from the gate. I

don’t want a vehicle driving out and running one of them over,”

said Kilanski, who his fellow soldiers refer to as a soft touch.

In the meantime, a translator with the Free Iraqi Forces has

come forward with language skills, as well as three bottles of

water. But with temperatures reaching 105 degrees in the shade,

three bottles of water are hardly enough. Many in the crowd are

desperate for food and water. 

Staff Sgt. Daina Carauskas joins Kilanski at the gate — bringing

with her a few more bottles of the unit’s own limited supply of

In another act of kindness, Simms and the combined team of

soldiers from the 422nd and 113th also rounded up more than a

dozen more children, who they transported to a U.S. Army compound for further evaluation. Once at the compound, the

children were provided with food and water, and were met by

various Army Reserve psychologists and social workers. Sadly,

most of the children did not know their last names, who their

parents were, or even how old they were.

It was clear that life on the streets had been rough for these children. One young homeless girl was pregnant, and did not know

who the father of her expected child was because she had been

raped. This was the second time in her short life that she had

been raped. 

A second young girl had a dislocated shoulder, and her sister,

Aswan, had a hairline fracture of her right arm. When asked

through a translator what she would want if she could have anything at all, she replied, “To live with the Americans.”

Unfortunately for these children, there are no facilities in Iraq

to house them. And, even those children who were placed for a

week in the two orphanages expected to be out on the streets

within a matter of days because they feared a repeat of the beatings they were forced to endure in other orphanages throughout

their childhoods. 

“I would rather be free, even if I have to live in the streets,” said

one child. It’s a reality that is difficult for Simms and the other

soldiers to bear. 

Staff Sgt. Daina Carauskas of the 822nd Military Police Company from Arlington Heights,

Ill., daubs the chin of an Iraqi girl suffering from dehydration outside the gates of the U.S.

Army Reserve run EPW internment facility near Umm Qasar, Iraq. 

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

Cpl. Stacey Simms of the Army Reserve’s 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion from Greensboro,

N.C., coordinates donation efforts to Iraqi orphanages. 

PHOTO: SPEC. CHAD D. WILKERSON, 372ND MPAD

Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 35
darkens with printed names. However, as the day wears on, the

list is not enough. More in the crowd ask for food and water as

the sun continues to cover the area with relentless heat.

Suddenly, there is a shout from the back of the crowd where a

man sits on the ground cradling a small girl’s head in his lap. 

“She’s dehydrated. Come with me,” says Caraukas, as she leads

the father and daughter to the shade and Kilanski ducks into the

guard post to dig out a bottle of water from his own allotment for

his 12-hour shift. As the girl revives, Kilanski heads back down

the road to deal with the crowd.

“I wish we could do more,” he says. “But there just isn’t enough

for everyone inside and all of them out here too. At least, not yet.

We are just doing the best we can.”

ARMY RESERVE SOLDIERS HELP DISTRIBUTE

DONATED GOODS TO ORPHANAGES IN BAGHDAD

The Iraq office of DHL Worldwide Express, working with

members of the Army Reserve’s 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion

from Greensboro, North Carolina, has donated more than

$20,000 worth of food, bottled water and other supplies to five

orphanages in Baghdad. The goods were transported in two

cargo trucks furnished by the 422nd, who also helped load and

unload the trucks.

The donated goods included staples such as rice, beans, sugar,

salt and some canned meats, as well as milk, bottled

water, tea, disposable diapers and cleaning 

supplies. They even threw in a few new

toys and soccer balls for each 

orphanage. The total cargo weighed

12 tons and completely filled two

40-foot containers.

According to Cpl. Stacey

Simms, the 422nd’s civil

affairs team leader, who was

assisted in delivering the

goods by Staff. Sgt. James

Muldoon and Spec. Denise

Brundige, the staff and children at each orphanage were

clearly happy to receive the

donated food and other supplies.

“Some of the directors of the

orphanages were very surprised to see

us pull up with these two big trucks,” said

Simms. “Others said they were really relieved

because they were running low on food, drinking

water and supplies for the children.”

water. Soon, she and Kilanski are deep in conversation with the

English-speaking Iraqi spokesman explaining what is going on

inside the gate.

Six thousand prisoners, at last count, are being held in 

the camp, which is being changed over from British 

to American control. This means six thousand

faces must be photographed and six 

thousand identification tags created.

Eventually, six thousand International Red Cross family

notification cards will be mailed

out to concerned Iraqis, such as

those outside these gates,

letting them know their loved

ones are alive, well and

getting the care called for by

the Geneva Convention.

“I can tell you that whoever is

inside is being cared for,” says

Carauskas. “They’re getting

food, water and medical care.

But the notification process takes

time. We’re doing our best.”

To help pacify the growing crowd of

Iraqis, Carauskas passes around a piece of

paper on which they can write down the names of

the people they want to know about. The paper quickly

36 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

Sgt. John-Paul Kilanski of the 822nd Military Police Company from Arlington Heights, Ill.,

does his best to deal with a crowd of Iraqi civilians outside the U.S. Army Reserve run EPW

internment facility near Umm Qasar, Iraq.

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

The

donated goods

included staples such as

rice, beans, sugar, salt and

some canned meats, as well as

milk, bottled water, tea, 

disposable diapers and

cleaning supplies. 
Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 37

Other Army Reserve soldiers helping out in the effort included

Staff Sgt. Doug Hopkins, Spec. Robert Paul and Spec. Eric

Harvey, all with the 422nd, as well as Capt. Hugh Reusser and

Capt. Suellyn Mahan, both from the 113th Medical Company

(combat stress control) from Stanton, California.

Since the war, operations at orphanages throughout Baghdad

have been hampered by a lack of electricity, safe drinking

water, and many other necessities. But thanks to the efforts of

Army Reserve soldiers all around the country, public utilities

are starting to work again, the Iraqi population is getting back

to work, and the country gradually is returning to a state

of normalcy.

BRINGING A SMILE TO A CHILD’S FACE

Some say that bringing a smile to a young child’s face is the most

gratifying experience on earth. That is just what the members of

the Army Reserve’s 411th Civil Affairs Battalion from Danbury,

Connecticut, did for the children at the Al Radu Children’s

Hospital in Baghdad, when they arrived with much-needed

items such as diapers, clothing and toys.

“This is the whole reason we are here,” said Sgt. Ryan Roa, a

member of the 411th. “It feels great when you can put a smile on

a child’s face.”

The children, all bed-ridden and under the supervision of their

mothers, were clearly delighted with the gifts.

According to Roa, the unit had been assisting the hospital for

about a month and a half when they were asked to deliver the

more than $500 worth of items purchased for the children out

of discretionary funds from the 2nd Armored Cavalry

Regiment. In addition, the unit has been handling other

forms of civilian assistance, such as distributing food, reporting missing persons, setting up neighborhood advisory

counsels, restructuring the police force, and coordinating

garbage collection.

“This is the whole reason we went into civil affairs. To help

people,” added Roa, who described the unit’s primary mission

as to act as a liaison between the civilian population and the

military. 

“It feels great when you can put a smile on a child’s face. I think

that’s what everyone wants to do.”

Sgt. Ryan Roa with the 411th selects children’s clothing to be donated to a local 

Baghdad hospital. 

PHOTO: SPEC. RYAN SMITH, 372ND MPAD

Sgt. Ryan Roa with the 411th and an interpreter negotiate the price of children’s clothing

the unit is buying to donate to a Baghdad children’s hospital. 

PHOTO: SPEC. RYAN SMITH, 372ND MPAD
38 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

ARMY RESERVE SOLDIERS FROM THE 422ND

EVALUATE BAGHDAD’S FIRE DEPARTMENT

As military operations in Iraq shift from combat to stabilization

activities, Army Reserve soldiers with the 422nd Civil Affairs

Battalion from Greensboro, North Carolina, are conducting

assessments of, and coordinating support for, various agencies

in Baghdad. Among the members of the 422nd making a real

contribution is Maj. Brent P. Gerald, a captain in Greensboro,

North Carolina’s Fire Station 11 Hazardous Material Special

Team and an expert in evaluating potentially hazardous fire

conditions.

During a meeting with Dr. Ali Saeed Sadoom, General

Manager of Civil Defense of Iraq, Gerald learned that 13 of the

city’s 25 fire stations were operable and, of the normally 700

fire department employees, more than 430 had returned to

work. Three of the city’s ladder trucks and 30 of its 96 tanker

pumpers also were available. So, is Baghdad going to burn?

“No,” says Gerald.

“This city does not have a lot of fire-load — things that can

burn. There is very little extra space in homes and, therefore,

few storage items that could prove hazardous. In addition, the

houses are made of cement,” adds Gerald.

Most of Baghdad’s approximate 2,200 fires last year occurred in

refineries and power facilities. And, fortunately, almost all of

those facilities were isolated from the general population. So,

does that mean all is well with the Baghdad fire department?

Not necessarily.

According to Sadoom, probably the biggest problem facing the

city’s fire department these days is providing payment for the

fire fighters. 

“The average entry level pay for a fire fighter in Baghdad is $3

per month. And, while the fire fighters have received checks for

this month, what good are the checks when the banks are

closed?” asked Sadoom.

While Gerald said that some emergency funds might become

available for the fire fighters, that decision would be made

through diplomatic channels based, in part, on reports such as

the one Gerald will be filing based on his review.

A father of two, Gerald said he is enjoying his time in Iraq.

“It’s good to be able to do this. I feel great about working on

something that relates to my civilian profession and something

that is so exciting and rewarding.”

A $20 emergency payment was given out to each 

of Baghdad’s city firefighters on May 8, 2003, 

by the soldiers from the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion.

Iraqi firemen respond gratefully to receiving an emergency $20 payment. 

PHOTO: SPEC. CHAD D. WILKERSON, 372ND MPAD
Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 39

As for the hundreds of former police officers lining up every day

to be rehired, the 422nd knows that membership in Saddam’s

party was compulsory. Not every former cop is a bad cop, and

circumstances simply don’t permit the 422nd to risk merely

casting them aside.

Capt. Timothy Popek and Capt. Mike Self, 422nd soldiers who

are both police officers back in the Greensboro area, are in

charge of deciding which applicants get a chance to start fresh.

“We talk to people we’ve learned to trust, people who have been

with us since we got here,” said Popek, a Guilford County

policeman back home. “Our two bodyguards here were with us

for our first bank robbery, shooting right along with us. When

they say someone’s all right, we believe them.”

However, applicants have quickly surmised that the way to get

in with the Americans is to finger someone else, and the wordof-mouth screening method rapidly has become 

confusing.

“Everyone’s pointing at everyone else,” said Self. “A lot of it

comes down to intuition. It’s really got to be what they do from

here that matters. Then we’ll take it case-by-case.”

“I don’t really know exactly what police culture they had here

before,” added Self. “We just want to impress upon them the

idea of trust. If you’re not regarded as being honorable and trustworthy, you’re in the wrong business.”

CIVIL AFFAIRS TEAM TRAINS NEW BAGHDAD POLICE

For civil affairs soldiers, the whole idea is to be soldier-diplomats, to act as the instructive and transitional link between

war-fighting military commanders and the civilian population,

which eventually must be left to its own devices. The invading

3rd Infantry Division is still in charge of Baghdad’s security.

The job of the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion from Greensboro,

North Carolina, is to enable it to someday withdraw in good

conscience, in good faith, and with good feelings all around.

Currently, members of the 422nd are assisting interim Baghdad

police chief, Gen. Zuhair al-Ne’amy, in bringing order back to

Baghdad. Ne’amy has the word “interim” in his title for two

reasons. First, in democracies, a city’s police chief is appointed

by an elected mayor. Ne’amy was installed in the position by the

Marines and kept on by the 422nd, and the U.S. military does

not want to give the impression that it is calling the shots here.

Second, Military Intelligence is still conducting a background

check on Ne’amy. The 422nd knows full well that anyone who

carried a badge under Saddam Hussein may not be the kind of

cop they want policing the new Iraq. However, with looting and

crime still rampant, they know there is little time to waste.

Ne’amy had the faith of the Marines and has been regaled as a

“good man.” For now, that has to be enough.

Army Reserve Maj. Vincent Crabb of the Greensboro, N.C.-based 422nd Civil Affairs

Battalion looks on as two Iraqis working in the new Baghdad Police Department 

bend over a map of the city. 

PHOTO: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO
police station is its former police academy — a dusty, dingy,

white-walled building with low ceilings and long corridors, a

facility where neglect and looting have taken their toll. The

phones and computers have been stolen, the light fixtures torn from the ceilings, and the doors

removed and windows broken. However,

every day, another office gets cleaned up.

Another problem being confronted is

pay. From the translators and the

bodyguards to police officers and

even Chief Ne’amy, every Iraqi back

on the job is working for free. 

And even Baghdad’s new “finest”

cannot be expected to choose

integrity over food forever. The

422nd hopes to cut through some of

the red tape by using confiscated cash

from robberies, etc. to pay wages as well

as fund other activities.

“The funds also could be used in a reward

system to pay citizens who bring in ill-gotten

gains and to pay for information on where criminals are

hiding,” said Popek. “In addition, there’s the basic stuff of

policing — communications, computers, bars for the new

station’s windows and locks for its doors, and new light fixtures

— that any force policing a city of five to seven million would

be lost without.”

We’ve got a wish list that we’re bringing to the ORHA (the

White House’s recently appointed Office of Reconstruction and

Humanitarian Assistance) to sign off on,” added Popek. “That’s

all you can do — go through channels and bring your requests.

That’s the way it’s got to be done.”

In the meantime, Popek, Self and

the other members of the 422nd

are concentrating on what they

can do with what they’ve got —

taking applications and encouraging the growing ranks of Iraqi

police officers to keep working on

faith and doing what they can for

themselves. Progress is evident.

“The public hates the police here,” Popek said. “And the

police know it. Some of these guys will take off their uniforms

right outside the gate and walk around in civilian clothes.

Then they walk back in here and put their uniforms back on.”

So one of the 422nd’s very next priorities

is new uniforms, which hopefully will

help convey to the public that things

are different now.

Another difference is the military

accompaniment all new police

officers are bringing on their

patrols. Recently, members of the

519th Military Police Battalion

from Fort Polk, Louisiana, began

going out on patrols with the new

Iraqi policemen, training them in the

techniques and tactics that MPs bring to

similar peacekeeping and civil-order missions.

Like the 422nd, the 519th wants to train the new police

force to make its own decisions in the field. However, they also

are empowered to impose their own policing standards on their

Iraqi partners — arresting anyone, including the officers themselves, who get out of line.

The arrival of the MPs also has enabled the civil affairs crew to

concentrate on the new station house. Baghdad’s new central

Interim Baghdad Police Chief Zuhair al-Ne’amy, followed by an entourage of officials, walks

through the parking lot of the new Baghdad Police Department. 

PHOTOS THIS SPREAD: SGT. FRANK N. PELLEGRINI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE PAO

40 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

[Right] Army Reserve Capt. Timothy Popek of 

the Greensboro, N.C.-based 422nd Civil Affairs

Battalion demonstrates an American-style 

police stop on the streets of a Baghdad 

neighborhood, holding an imaginary gun on 

his Iraqi bodyguard while his translator 

and another bodyguard look on. 

Like

the 422nd, the

519th wants to train

the new police force to

make its own decisions

in the field.

PERSCOM in early 2002, it is responsible for tracking casualties

from Afghanistan to Djibouti, Africa,” said Staff. Sgt. Torrey

Moore, a 3rd PERSCOM soldier with eight years of service, who

works as a computer technician and manager of a Double Quick

convenience store in Indianola, Mississippi.

According to Moore, the CAC has processed more than 750

hostile casualty reports and 2,000 non-hostile reports, mainly

dealing with accidents and illnesses since Operation Iraqi

Freedom began.

CAC also has responsibility for casualty and patient tracking. In

casualty tracking, all casualties more severe than NSI are tracked

and reported to Brig. Gen. Sean Byrne, Commander of 3rd

PERSCOM.

According to Price, casualty tracking also involves keeping units

informed about the status of injured troop members, as well as

helping injured service members keep track of their personal

belongings.

Patient tracking keeps tabs on patients in Level 3 and Level 4

hospitals, which are progressive care facilities that offer procedures such as lab work, surgery, dental treatment, and physical

therapy as opposed to simple healthcare antidotes. Patient tracking continues as patients are moved out of theater — usually to

Landstuhl, Germany, or Rota, Spain — and then onward to their

home unit where tracking stops.

TRACKING SERVICE MEMBERS 

INJURED IN BATTLE

One of the worst aspects of war is the inevitable casualties that

result. Tracking those casualties is the responsibility of the 3rd

Personnel Command (PERSCOM) Casualty Area Command

(CAC), which must submit a report of all current casualties each

day to the Casualty and Memorial Affairs Operation Center, a

part of the Army Personnel Command in Alexandria, Virginia.

“The CAC reports to the Department of the Army, which notifies the service member’s next of kin,” said Chief Warrant

Officer 4 Sharon Price, a military personnel technician with 

the Army Reserve’s 678th Personnel Services Battalion,

Detachment 4, from Louisville, Kentucky, who is a contract

specialist with the Army Corp of Engineers in her civilian life.

“It is important that, within 24 hours, the report goes forward

to the Department of the Army so that the next of kin can be

informed in a timely manner.”

CACs are divided into primary and alternate commands, with

the primary CAC responsible for the initial reporting of a casualty, while the alternate CAC adds supplemental and

progressive information not in the original submittal.

Progressive reports are done every five days until the person has

become an NSI, or non-serious injury.

“The primary CAC for the Central Command area of responsibility is located at Camp Doha, Kuwait. Established by 3rd

Spc. Donia Gullion reads over a memo while working casualty tracking for 3rd PERSCOM 

in Kuwait. 

PHOTOS THIS PAGE: STAFF SGT. THOMAS ORME, 3RD PERSCOM

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Sharon Price annotates a document as part of her work at the 

alternate casualty area command in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. 

42 ★ Army Reserve Magazine
Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 43

Ackerson, who was in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War

organizing chapel services for soldiers, said the services usually

are a morale-boosting experience for the soldiers.

“For many of them, it’s definitely a plus,” he added. “They

get to go to services, and we read letters from Hebrew schools

and Jewish day schools throughout the United States that

echo the warm feelings of all Americans around the world for

our soldiers.”

According to Ackerson, when the soldiers are forward deployed,

it often is difficult for them to have religious services, especially

in minority religions where there are fewer chaplains. So, these

kinds of services provide a strong boost to morale. They also

offer a sense of community.

“It is important to identify with your community, and these

weekly services are a good way for the soldiers to meet and get

to know the rest of their Jewish soldier community,” said

Ackerson. “I believe people should have the right to pray,

wherever they are and regardless of their faith. So, we are just

doing our job — taking care of the soldiers’ needs the best

that we can.”

“There have been days when I didn’t want to come in because

I didn’t want to see the casualties from the night before,” said

Spec. Donia Gullion, a personnel specialist with the 678th

and business marketing major at Indiana University

Southeast. “You just have to separate yourself and keep in

mind that we are tracking for units and reporting to families

about their members.”

RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES ASIDE

The first U.S. military Jewish chapel service was held in May at

Baghdad International Airport. Eight Jewish worshipers

attended the Sabbath morning service.

“It’s part of our American way to say that, whatever faith group

you are, you have the right to worship,” said Lt. Col. Mitchell

S. Ackerson, brigade chaplain for the 220th Military Police

Brigade, an Army Reserve unit from Gaithersburg, Maryland.

“I think that is part of why we are here.”

The first U.S. military Jewish chapel service is held at Baghdad International Airport in May 

led by Lt. Col. Mitchell S. Ackerson, brigade chaplain for the 220th Military Police Brigade. 

PHOTO: SPEC. CHAD D. WILKERSON, 372ND MPAD
44 ★ Army Reserve Magazine

“People should understand how hard these soldiers work,”

added West. “Seeing the mounds of mail, you would think it

was an insurmountable task. But we get it done every day.”

Working in two shifts, 28 soldiers from the 755th are being

assisted by about 30 soldiers from 3rd PERSCOM and by several

mail clerks from the 800th Military Police Battalion from

Uniondale, New York. For Cpl. Charles Nash, a personnel specialist with the 3rd PERSCOM from Jackson, Mississippi, the

work is not a problem.

“For me, it’s comfortable because I worked for UPS back home.

It’s good training for understanding the postal system,” he said.

Recently, mail being sent back to the United States has increased

dramatically, with postage sales rising from an average of $2,500

to more than $4,000 daily. This is a result of the decrease in

fighting, and soldiers having more time to write letters.

With the high flow of soldiers in and out of Camp Arifjan, West

notes that it is important for units to leave a forwarding address

that will allow his soldiers to expedite the flow of mail.

“Whether the unit is moving north to Iraq or redeploying to the

States, they should fill out a change of address card. Also, to cut

down on the amount of ‘locator’ mail, soldiers should let their

family members know their new addresses,” said West.

Locator mail, or mail sent to units that have since moved on, can

still be routed to its proper destination using a computer locator

database designed by Capt. Jeffrey Clements, a member of the

755th and a computer programmer in his civilian life. The software is continuously updated when units move, requiring a new

routing scheme for mail to reach the relocated soldiers. 

GETTING THE MAIL OUT

While combat units continue to battle sporadic enemy 

elements in and around Baghdad, 3rd Personnel Command

(PERSCOM) soldiers battle to stay ahead of the mountains 

of mail flowing in and out of Camp Arifjan, Iraq. The work 

is all part of an elaborate mail distribution system set up to

deliver between seven to 11 cargo plane loads of mail 

weekly to soldiers deployed in support of Operation Iraqi

Freedom.

The Camp Arifjan Army Post Office (APO) currently provides mail services for more than 17,000 soldiers, which

amounts to approximately 40,000 pounds of mail daily. That

is the equivalent of about three completely loaded 40-foot

trucks. In addition, the facility also provides postal finance

services.

“We provide support for mailing packages, letters and buying

stamps,” said Capt. Treva West, Adjutant General Postal

Detachment commander for the 755th, an Army Reserve unit

from Texarkana, Texas. “And, while we don’t do money orders

yet, we plan to in the future.”

On any single day, there can be more than 70,000 pounds of

mail passing through Camp Arifjan, coming into the APO via

airplane, DHL-Direct truck delivery and other APOs for intratheater transit.

Sgt. Joe Washington of the 755th Adjutant General Postal Detachment helps a customer at 

the Army’s postal facilities at Camp Arifjan. 

PHOTO: STAFF SGT. NATE ORME, 3RD PERSCOM PAO
Volume 49, Number 2 ★ 45

JUST ONE OF THE GUYS — AN IT GUY THAT IS

Army Reserve Maj. Edward McGowan is one of those IT guys.

The ones who know everything and anything there is to know

about computer networks and system configurations. However,

in McGowan’s case, he also knows a whole lot more. As the

information management officer at 3rd Personnel Command

(PERSCOM) in Jackson, Mississippi, it is his job to ensure that

all of the information technology used in support of Operation

Iraqi Freedom operates smoothly.

It is a job full of bits and bytes. First, there is the massive 

personnel database known as ROAMS (Replacement

Operations Automated Management System),

into which every person who arrives in

theater is entered. Then there are the

secure Web sites that 3rd PERSCOM

constantly checks to arrange the

transportation necessary to get

replacement troops from home,

casualties returned to duty, and

just about everyone else wherever they need to go. And there

is the email — both classified

and garden-variety — that keeps

everybody in touch with everybody else. 

Ordering components, building

networks, keeping systems up and

running — all of this is the responsibility of McGowan and guys like him. And 

it is a job that makes them rather popular.

“They call us the smart guys. They all know our names.

We’re always in great demand,” joked McGowan.

“We’re truly dependent upon the computer networking systems

to do our job,” said McGowan’s boss, Lt. Col. James Mason,

supervisor of replacement operations for 3rd PERSCOM and a

Europa, Mississippi, high school principal. “If you don’t know

at least a little about computers, there are very few places left for

you in today’s military. And, without people like McGowan, the

military’s almost not going to function.”

McGowan is more than qualified for his job. A computer sciences graduate from Jackson State University who interrupted

work on his M.B.A. to go to Kuwait, McGowan manages the

information systems at Education Service Foundation, a major

provider of student loans based in Jackson. He also runs his

own one-man consulting business, Information Technology and

Systems Consulting, Inc., from his home.

None of that, however, prepared him for what he faced upon his

arrival in Arifjan in February — an empty office in an empty

building.

“In my business, I subcontract most of the work — find out

what a company needs and set it up with the right vendors,” said

McGowan. “Here, though, this place was just being set up. I

basically built our system from scratch — ordered the parts, ran

the cables, configured the satellite phones, hooked up the

laptops. Pretty much everything.”

These days, McGowan’s work primarily involves maintaining

the systems — ensuring everything works. But with

new units continually arriving that need to be

integrated into the system, McGowan still

needs to keep the connections coming.

“The good thing is that I’ve learned

a lot about management here.

That’s going to help me with 

my M.B.A.,” added McGowan. 

“It’s been a great experience in 

that way.”

According to Brig. Gen. Sean

Byrne, commander of 3rd

PERSCOM, everyone who

arrives in theater is scanned into

the system and, when they move,

the database is updated so that everyone back in the rear can have access to

where they are and who they are. 

“We’ve got more than 99 percent accountability of

everyone here — Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, civilian

contractors, civilian media, Department of Defense employees,

everybody. The technology, as well as our IT guys, have made all

the difference,” said Byrne.

“When I get back to my business, I’d like to do some consulting

work for the military. I know exactly what they need,” added

McGowan. “After all, there’s more than one way to serve your

country.”

“The

good thing is that

I’ve learned a lot about

management here. That’s

going to help me with my

M.B.A... It’s been a

great experience.”
46 ★ Army Reserve Magazine
Soldiers from the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from

Danbury, Conn., deliver meals to displaced families living in the former Al-Rashid 

military complex.

PHOTO: SPEC. RYAN SMITH, 372ND MPAD
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