TIKRIT, Iraq — The 1st

Infantry Division hosted a

ceremony July 10 for the first

class of Iraqi National Guard

soldiers to graduate from the

ING Training Academy here. 

The 309 graduates completed the 20-day course

taught by multinational

force and Iraqi instructors.

In the past, training was

done “in house” by the separate ING battalions. 

Maj. Gen. John R. S.

Batiste, the 1st Infantry

Division commander, told

the students that the “graduation is a major milestone in

your life and for the sovereignty of Iraq.” 

The course is modeled

after the U.S. Army ‘s basic

training.

ING recruits are instructed on wear of the uniform,

military customs and courtesies, drill and ceremony and

basic rifle marksmanship,

said Maj. Scot R. Bemis, the

ING Training Academy

commandant.

However, instruction is

based on the Iraqi Army’s

marching, saluting and even

weapons familiarization on

the AK-47, he said. 

Recruits are also taught

first aid, personnel and vehicle search as well as individual movement techniques.

The soldiers are recruited

by separate battalions

throughout the Big Red

One’s area of responsibility.

Each battalion is allocated

slots in each class.

Vol. 2, No. 30 Baghdad, Iraq July 23, 2004

SCIMITAR

An Iraqi National Guard recruit demonstrates individual-movement techniques while an ING drill instructor shouts words of encouragement July 6 at

the ING Training Academy in Tikrit, Iraq. 

ING academy graduates

first basic training class

Story and photo by 

Sgt. Roland G. Walters

196th Mobile Public

Affairs Detachment

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Mud

huts and bomb-broken buildings

dot the sandy barren horizon

near Mosul, Iraq. As in much of

the country, decades of war have

left a wake of rubble and looted

buildings at the former Al Kasik

Iraqi Army Base, here.

The base, which sat tattered

and empty for more than a

decade, stood as only a shell of

concrete, broken tile floors and

cracked plaster.

Yugoslavian contractors abandoned the base’s partially constructed barracks, dining facilities and motor pools in 1991 as

tensions in the area skyrocketed

in the days before Operation

Desert Storm. As the contractors and the Iraqi Army fled, the

unfinished infrastructure sat idle,

serving as a stockpile of wiring,

tile and building materials that

would be pillaged months later

after hostilities in the area

ceased.

Today, the broken floors have

been replaced, cracked plaster

has been patched and new electrical wiring brings light to what

has been dark for so long.

The renovation and construction is part of a $43 million

reconstruction project managed

by the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers that will create barracks space, motor pools, shopping exchanges, dining facilities

and firing ranges for nearly

11,000 new Iraqi army soldiers.

“We are essentially building a

city,” said Mike Cirian, the

Corps’ top engineering construction manager for the northern

half of the country. “When it is

complete in September, this will

be a complete city with its own

water and waste-water treatment

and power generation and will

help bolster the country’s security.”

Cirian, a civil engineer and

father of three from Madison,

Wis., deployed to Iraq in late

April to spearhead the reconstruction efforts. Since then, 12-

to 16-hour days are the norm,

managing the construction and

rehabilitation of two new Iraqi

army bases in the north and a

host of other infrastructureimprovement projects designed

to give Iraq what Cirian calls “a

new start.”

“This is brand new to them,”

he said. “Before (the multinational force) arrived, these people were shepherds. They knew

nothing about construction nor

were they equipped to do the

work.”

Hammers fashioned from

scrap steel and wood and drills

made from hand-bent rebar were

the only “tools” onsite when

Corps project managers and

engineers arrived to the base in

February. But the Corps, along

with its contractor Shaw

Environmental Infrastructure

based in Dubai, was adamant

about employing local Iraqis in

the construction.

“This is their country, and we

need to help them learn skills

they need to be successful and

to have a hand in rebuilding

their country,” he said. “We

also need to give them the

infrastructure they need for

their nation’s security.”

While multi-story barracks

construction and elaborate

water-treatment facilities were

far from the mud huts and water

buckets traditionally used by

the locals, the Corps and its

contractor have been able to

construct the facilities on

schedule and, at the same time,

teach hundreds of Iraqis basic

construction skills.

“It is a challenge at times,”

said Tom Dillon, the vice president of Shaw’s Dubai operations, who represents the contractor onsite. “We are investing

heavily in the local community,

and we have created a real sense

of pride for the local workforce.

“That pride has also greatly

helped us maintain our security.”

By Mitch Frazier

U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers 

Gulf Region Division

U.S. builds new military bases for Iraqis, 

provides foundation for new nation

Martial 

artists

Combat stress

What it is and

how to cope

Leathernecks 

in Babylon

Page 16 Pages 4 & 5 Page 8

See BASES, Page 10
Page 2 Scimitar July 23, 2004

WASHINGTON — The

Defense Department is changing

the way it handles detainee issues

and has created a new internal

organization to deal with Red

Cross reports, a senior official said

in the Pentagon July 16. 

Officials have created an Office

of Detainee Affairs that will be

responsible for strategy development and policy recommendations,

Principal Deputy Undersecretary

for Policy C. Ryan Henry

announced in a news briefing. 

An as-yet-unnamed deputy

assistant secretary who will report

to the undersecretary for policy

will head the office. The new

deputy will chair a joint committee

composed of the undersecretary

for intelligence and representatives from the Joint Staff, the

Office of General Counsel, the

Department of the Army and others who might be involved in

detainee affairs. 

The new office also will handle

reports from the International

Committee of the Red Cross,

Henry said. 

“Normally, in the past, ...

they’ve been left at the field level,”

he said. Now, such reports will be

forwarded to the deputy assistant

secretary for detainee affairs, who,

in turn, will convene the joint committee to review those reports and

then advise Defense Secretary

Donald H. Rumsfeld for his guidance, Henry said. 

“The deputy assistant secretary

and the Office of Detainee Affairs

will be the single focal point in

communicating with the ICRC on

DoD’s behalf,” he said. 

Henry said steps have been

taken to maintain the ICRC’s confidential nature. Without that confidentiality, free-flowing information and the collegial environment

that exists between the ICRC and

local commanders could be stifled,

he explained. 

In trying to keep Congress in the

loop, the department has made

parts of some ICRC reports available to House and Senate members. 

“This is part of an ongoing effort

that the secretary has directed in

keeping the congressional members informed and so they can

effectively have their oversight

function, “ Henry said. 

Asked if the creation of the

Office of Detainee Affairs and

other changes constituted an

admission by Rumsfeld and the

department that detainee operations have been handled poorly,

Henry replied that it was “part of

an ongoing effort by a learning

organization.” 

DoD creates Office 

of Detainee Affairs

By Samantha L. Quigley

American Forces 

Press Service 

New Baghdad gas station

WASHINGTON — The

Defense Department is taking a

hard look at the way it trains

service members to avoid capture and, if they do fall into

enemy hands, how to handle

themselves. 

A new “core captivity curriculum,” expected to be completed

this summer, is designed to

update training currently being

provided to service members

whose jobs put them at the highest risk of being captured, Air

Force Col. Mark Bracich, the

director of policy, doctrine and

training for the Joint Personnel

Recovery Agency at Fort

Belvoir, Va., told the American

Forces Press Service. 

Bracich said the curriculum is

being developed jointly by the

services for incorporation into

training offered at the services’

survival, evasion, resistance and

escape schools. If validated, key

concepts of the new curriculum

are expected to be introduced

into training for all service members beginning with their initial

military training, he said. 

The new curriculum is

designed to address the “asymmetric” modern-day battlefield

— one without clear-cut front

lines or clear distinctions

between friend and foe. 

It also considers peacekeeping, humanitarian and other noncombat missions today’s military

carries out. In these situations,

Bracich said, service members

are as likely to be taken hostage

by a splinter group as they are to

be taken prisoner of war by an

enemy army. 

As the battlefield has changed,

so, too, have traditional notions

about who is most likely to be

captured, Bracich acknowledged. For example, during the

first days of Operation Iraqi

Freedom, it wasn’t combat

troops who became the first U.S.

prisoners of war but, rather,

combat-support soldiers from

the Army Reserve’s 507th

Maintenance Company. 

“More people are being put

into more levels of risk in more

environments,” Bracich said. “It

raises the question: are we doing

the right thing for the right people at the right time? This is

something we’re working with

the services to figure out.” 

Army Chief Warrant Officer

Dave Williams, whose AH-64D

Longbow Apache helicopter was

shot down over Iraq in March

2003, said his 21 days of captivity reinforced the need for additional training for all service

members, regardless of their job

specialty. 

“When you go into a situation

like Iraq, there are no friendly

lines,” Williams said.

“Everybody is at high risk of

capture, regardless of your (military occupational specialty).” 

As a former member of the

Army’s 160th Special

Operations Aviation Regiment,

Williams had gone through the

Army’s three-week Survival,

Evasion, Resistance and Escape

School at Fort Bragg, N.C., in

1997. 

The course, he said, gave him

the tools he needed to evade capture as long as possible, along

with his copilot, Chief Warrant

Officer Ronald Young Jr. Once

they were captured and taken to

the Al Rashid prison in Baghdad,

Williams said, the course helped

him endure the hardships of captivity and, as the senior U.S.

prisoner, help his fellow soldiers. 

Williams said he established a

chain of command and “developed a fellowship with the other

prisoners,” who were Young and

five soldiers from the 507th

Maintenance Company. Their

captivity, he said, included torture and psychological abuse. 

Unlike Williams, the 507th

Maintenance Company soldiers

had no training in what to expect

or how to behave in a prisonerof-war situation, he said. Their

only training — and the only

training currently provided to the

vast majority of service members — was limited to a briefing

on the Code of Conduct during

basic training. 

Army Pfc. Patrick Miller, one

of the 507th captives, admitted

that he, like most service members who receive this training,

didn’t expect to ever have much

use for it. But not surprisingly,

Miller has since become a big

advocate of more training in how

to handle oneself if captured.

“Everybody needs it,” he said. 

Training developed to help potential captives

By Donna Miles

American Forces 

Press Service 

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Work on a new gas

station to be built on Baghdad University

property given to the Ministry of Oil kicked

off July 11. It will be only the sixth gas station

in the Karadah district of Baghdad, which is

home to a million people.

“It’ll be the first gas station that’s been built

in Karadah since 1967,” said Col. Kendall

Penn, the commander of 1st Battalion, 153rd

Infantry Regiment, a part of the 1st Cavalry

Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team in

Central Baghdad. “It will increase by 20 percent the amount of gas available to the citizens of Karadah.”

The number of vehicles in Baghdad drastically increased after the end of major combat operations last year, and so has the demand for fuel.

“The initial roadblock was finding a piece of

land. Baghdad University was gracious enough

to donate land here on the campus. We’ve since

gotten the Ministry of Oil to donate other

parcels of land in Karadah,” Penn said.

Three additional gas-station projects are

planned for the Karadah area, continuing

Karadah District Council efforts to improve

fuel distribution in the area.

“[These projects] will definitely help

improve the economy,” Penn said, “It gives

people more ability to travel to and from their

places of work.”

Brig. Gen. Sandy Davidson, the MultiNational Force-Iraq director of Civil Military

Operations, provided the $300,000 needed to

build the station from a pool of commander’s

emergency relief funds at his disposal.

“We would like to build seven,”

said Maj. Danny Hassig, the

leader of a 478th Civil Affairs

Team assigned to the 153rd’s 1st

Battalion. The 478th CA Team

works with the Karadah District

Council to organize projects such

as the gas station currently underway.

“Fuel distribution and infrastructure in Baghdad is a priority,

so hopefully we’ll be able to get

those funded as well,” Hassig said.

“Everyone understands the

need for fuel, and everyone

understands the frustration of sitting in a fuel line,” he said. ”It’s

an excellent way to show the

local community that the new

government is working hard to

meet their needs.”

Brig. Gen. Sandy Davidson, the Multi-National

Force-Iraq director of Civil Military Operations,

packs concrete into a column for a new gas station

in Baghdad’s Karadah district. 

Story and photo by 

Spc. Jan Critchfield

122nd Mobile Public 

Affairs Detachment

First new station in

district since 1967

See CAPTIVES, Page 10
WASHINGTON — More than 46,000

Soldiers have been able to continue their

education by taking online classes

through eArmyU, including many of the

Soldiers deployed in Iraq and

Afghanistan.

The Army launched eArmyU in 2001 to

offer eligible enlisted Soldiers the opportunity to work toward a college degree or

certificate anytime, anywhere.

Soldiers who have been deployed continue to be able to work on their degrees

from Afghanistan and Iraq. Of the 6,984

eArmyU Soldiers deployed in those theaters, 2,098 are now enrolled in eArmyU

classes.

eArmyU is an educational opportunity

for enlisted Soldiers to earn degrees online

from one of 29 educational institutions.

Soldiers can earn certificates, associate’s,

bachelor’s or master’s degrees in 146

degree and certificate programs. The

courses are Web based and allow Soldiers

to take classes at any time, no matter where

their location. In addition, Soldiers can get

full tuition reimbursement and a laptop to

take the classes with, which becomes their

own at the end of the program. 

As of June 11 there have been 729

degrees conferred and 122,763 course

enrollments. These numbers are up from

January 2003 when there were more then

30,500 Soldiers taking classes around the

world. The most popular eArmyU

degrees are business followed by criminal

justice, according to Director of eArmyU

Dian Stoskopf. Currently, 72 percent of

Soldiers participating are enrolled in associate-level programs, 21.1 percent are

signed up for bachelor’s programs, 1.7

percent are signed up for master’s programs and 5 percent are signed up for certificate programs.

Kelsey also said Soldiers can take their

laptops with them if they are transferred

and with eArmyU they can continue their

educational experience.

“It really is anytime, anyplace,” she said.

A number of degrees and programs are

available through eArmyU, including

associate’s degrees, a bachelors of arts, a

bachelors of science and various master’s

degrees. They range from an associate’s

degree in criminal justice to a bachelor’s of

science in professional aeronautics to a

master’s degree in business administration.

First Sgt. Dexter Dean, from Fort

Benning, has been in eArmyU for about

two years and has six more classes until

he completes his associate’s degree in

criminal justice.

“So far, it’s been a good experience,”

he said.

Dean also said eArmyU is easy if a

Soldier has a little computer literacy and

can follow a syllabus. While he has not

had to transfer bases while enrolled in

eArmyU, he said there should be no problems for Soldiers who may. 

Sgt. Erick Espinosa, from Fort

Wainwright, Alaska, said his experience

with eArmyU has also been positive.

Espinosa has been taking classes since

February 2003 and needs only a few more

classes to complete his associate’s degree

in criminal justice. He said some of it

depends on the teachers, also, and how

quickly they respond but the majority has

been good.

He said the biggest challenge he faced

was sitting down and doing the class work

while juggling his Army work.

“It is a great program; you get a free

education and laptop if you do your

work,” he said.

July 23, 2004 Scimitar Page 3

46K take eArmyU courses online

By Courtney Hickson 

Army News Service

WASHINGTON — A new labeling system at the U.S.

Postal Service is designed to expedite absentee ballots to

Soldiers deployed around the world. 

USPS employees will contact 3,000 county election

officials all over the country to coordinate mailing of

overseas absentee ballots. Once the blank local ballots

are printed, they will be sent by local post offices via

overnight Express Mail to San Francisco, Miami and

New York, the three military gateways. 

USPS will mail successive groups of ballots to military gateways daily and will determine the number of

ballots per location at the gateways. Then the ballots will

be sorted by destination and placed in containers specially marked for visibility and priority.

DoD’s Military Postal System will then give the ballots priority handling for delivery overseas, will ensure

they receive a proper, legible postmark upon return and

will place them in easily identifiable containers. The ballots will then receive priority processing for delivery

back to county election officials.

“If anything is moving, (the ballots) will be moving as

well,” said Mark DeDomenic, the assistant deputy director at the Military Postal Service Agency. 

The Army is asking that all Soldiers be registered to

vote absentee by Aug. 15, said Jim Davis, the Army’s

voting action officer. That way they should receive their

ballots sometime in September and can have them sent

out by the Oct. 11 deadline.

Davis said both of these deadlines are designed for

Soldiers in the theater of operations and he encouraged

all Soldiers to register and vote, even if they miss the

deadlines. Most states will accept absentee ballots until

the close of business on election day, Nov. 2, but the Oct.

11 deadline should ensure all ballots will arrive in time

to be counted. 

Each state has specified deadlines for receipt of absentee ballots. For example, absentee ballots for Louisiana

must be in no later than the day of the election while

New York requires that the ballots are postmarked by the

day before the election. North Carolina ballots must be in

by 5 p.m. the day before the election and Pennsylvania

absentee ballots must arrive by 5 p.m. on the Friday

before the election.

If those Soldiers, family or DA civilians are located

outside the United States send in their request for an

absentee ballot in sufficient time and didn’t receive their 

Postal initiative to speed absentee ballots to Soldiers

Maj. Gen. Mieczyslaw

Bieniek, the then-commander of Multi-National

Division Center-South,

salutes troops during a

Polish military police celebration at Camp Babylon,

Iraq, June 12. MPs celebrated their origins and

were recognized for their

outstanding performance

during their deployment to

Iraq in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Jose M. Hernandez, U.S. Army

Polish

MPs

praised

See POSTAL, Page 10

By John Runyan

Army News Service

CAMP BABYLON, Iraq —

Polish Army Maj. Gen. Andrzej

Ekiert took command of the MultiNational Division Center-South here

Sunday. 

Ekiert replaced Maj Gen

Mieczyslaw Bieniek, who discussed

some of the more than 1,200 projects

totaling more than $41 million

MND-CS has undertaken. The projects include rebuilding schools and

hospitals, support of agriculture and

water purification plants.

In his remarks, Ekiert said that the

most important tasks for MND-CS

are to help and support the Iraqi government and Iraqi people in their

aspirations to ensure security, stabilization and rebuilding of a free and

democratic Iraq.

Soldiers from all the MND-CS

troop-contributing nations participated in the ceremony. Among the

guests at the ceremony where the

Multi-National Forces–Iraq commander, Gen. George Casey; Polish

Prime Minister Marek Belka; Iraqi

Minister of Defense Hazim

Al–Shaalan; Polish Minister of

Defense Jerzy Szmajdzinski; the

Multinational Corps-Iraq commander, Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, and the

chief of Defense of the Republic of

Iraq, Gen. Amer Bakir Al-Hashimi.

MND-CS is headed by the Polish

and has had contingents from a variety

of countries under its command,

including Bulgaria, Denmark, the

Dominican Republic, El Salvador,

Honduras, Hungary, Kazakhstan,

Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia,

the Netherlands, Norway, Philippines,

Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain,

Thailand and Ukraine.

Center-South switch

Submitted by Multi-National

Division Center-South

Public Information Office
Page 4 Scimitar July 23, 2004

Editor in Chief

Staff Sgt. Christopher Land

Managing Editor

Sgt. Brian Stockhoff

Staff

Spc. Jeffrey Hillery 

MNF-I Commanding General

Gen. George Casey

MNF-I PAO

Rear Adm. Gregory J. Slavonic

Command Information Chief

Maj. Patrick A. Swan 

The Scimitar is an authorized publication for members of the Department of Defense. Contents of this

paper are not necessarily the official views of or endorsed by the U.S. Government or Department of

Defense. The editorial content of this publication is the responsibility of the Public Affairs Office of

the Multi-National Force - Iraq. Stars and Stripes newspaper is not affiliated with MNF-I and acts only

as a distributing source for the Scimitar. Questions and comments should be directed to the editor at

cpiccmdinfo@baghdadforum.com.

The Scimitar welcomes columns, 

commentaries and letters from readers.

Send submissions to

cpiccmdinfo@baghdadforum.com.

We reserve the right to edit for propriety, clarity

and space.

The Scimitar can also 

be viewed on the Web at

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/

coalition-news/publications.htm

Battle fatigue. 

War neurosis.

Shell shock.

These colorful names from earlier

wars all refer to the condition that today

we call “combat stress.” 

Combat stress refers to the emotional,

mental and behavioral effects that come

as a result of intense armed conflict and

from the many horrors that surround it –

being terrified by the risk of losing one’s

own life or being permanently injured,

seeing friends hurt or killed, viewing disfigured and dead bodies

of the enemy and innocent civilians, ear-shattering noises from many

sources, glaring lights,

sickening smells and so

on and so on.

As in all wars, these

experiences are part of

the very fibre of the current conflicts in Iraq and

Afghanistan.

The terrifying aspects

of war impose a heavy

burden on the performance capability and

well-being of service

members. If left untreated, combat stress reactions can devastate

a unit’s performance for future engagements, shatter morale and the quality of

life in camp, create excessive numbers of

psychiatric evacuations of service members out of theater, and haunt the Soldier,

Sailor, Airman or Marine with the agony

of “post-traumatic stress disorder for a

lifetime.”

Those most likely to suffer combat

stress are less combat-experienced personnel or those new to a unit as well as those

who have participated in an unusually

large number of or high-intensity combat

situations. Nevertheless, any combatant

can suffer it. While a critical problem

requiring immediate and effective treatment, combat stress is not a true psychiatric diagnosis. Instead, combat stress is a

generally temporary state in normal people

dealing with an abnormal situation. 

What does combat stress look like?

Combat stress can assume dramatically

different forms depending on the background and personality of the victim, the

number and nature of stressful events

and other factors that remain only poorly

understood. Often the person will be

“hyper vigilant,” overreacting to any

sound and being easily upset and scared.

He or she may display a variety of physical symptoms associated with stress such as

rapid heartbeat and

breathing rate, excessive sweating, shaking,

diarrhea, frequent urination, problems sleeping and nightmares.

Victims of combat

stress may be very irritable and depressed. In

more affected cases,

their speech may be

confused and incoherent, their fear may be

nearly overwhelming,

they may have problems following even

simple conversations and they may emotionally “freeze up” and “blank out” the

memories of details related to the traumatic experience. They may even

attempt suicide or refuse or be unable to

follow military orders. 

How can combat stress be managed? 

The first line of defense against combat stress is with the service member.

Maintaining proper rest, nutrition and

physical conditioning can decrease the

risk of a combat-stress reaction occurring

and may reduce its intensity and duration

if it does occur. Learning specific stresscoping strategies also helps. Combat

skill proficiency, confidence in one’s

abilities, trust in unit leadership and having close friends to talk about concerns

with life in general and combat in particular can make a huge difference.

The second line of defense against

combat stress is with the military unit

itself. Rigorous and realistic training,

preview discussions on the nature of the

likely combat stressors to be confronted,

unit cohesiveness/team spirit/camaraderie/morale and a buddy system are

powerful antidotes against stress in all of

us. Supervisors and fellow unit members

need to look for early signs of stress and

offer assistance in dealing with them.

They need to assure that the fundamental

needs of their peers and subordinates are

being met and that they can freely bring

up personal worries and issues. It is also

important that leaders actively encourage

service members to seek professional

assistance outside of the unit when needed and support the efforts of service

members in making positive changes. 

Mental-health providers, medical personnel, chaplains and specially trained

combat-stress-management teams can all

play important roles in helping the service member manage and resolve combat

stress. Depending on their orientation

and expertise, these professionals can

provide the individual with tools needed

to learn to manage and understand the

stress reaction, can help him or her to

talk thru the painful experience and,

thus, keep it from coming back later to

haunt the service member. If necessary,

short-term medication can be given to

aid sleep and reduce anxiety.

Combat stress teams have been

assigned throughout Iraq and

Afghanistan and are in other theaters of

operation such as Bosnia and Kosovo.

These teams consist of a variety of specialists including clinical psychologists,

psychiatrists, social workers, occupational therapists, other medical specialists

and mental-health technicians. Combatstress-control units are force multipliers

since they help to maintain the fighting

strength of military units. They offer a

range of practical services going from

assessment, outpatient treatment, classes

on various aspects of stress management

(such as coping-skills therapy, anger

management, techniques to aid sleeping

and suicide-prevention strategies) and

consultation with the unit commander, to

intensive treatment in a short-term, military-focused restoration facility in theater. To offset their fears of possible stigma and since stress is a fully normal

response to combat situations, service

members who seek care through a combat-stress-control unit do not usually

have their military records so annotated.

Combat stress control teams have proven

quite effective, and 70 to 90 percent of

the service members they see are

returned quickly to duty. 

Combat-stress teams and other service

professionals also aid personnel in dealing with stresses not specifically related

to combat situations but, rather, associated with long term overseas deployments.

They train service members on behavioral strategies to manage anger and

unhappiness, deal with boredom, sleep

better, handle unit- or job-related stress

and manage relationship problems with

significant people back home.

Stress in combat is a given and happens, at least to some degree, to almost

everyone. With well directed efforts

from service members, their leaders

and mental-health professionals the

effect of combat stress, however, can be

managed, thus making units more

effective in combat and helping their

members to cope with the the very real

rigors and horrors of war. 

Coping with combat stress

PERSPECTIVES

Guest Column

Lt. Col. John P. Allen

Lt. Col. John P. Allen is an Army

Reserve officer assigned to the

785th Medical Company (Combat

Stress Control). He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and

recently retired from the National

Institutes of Health.
July 23, 2004 Scimitar Page 5

WASHINGTON — The military member who goes to combat and the one who comes back

are never the same person, the

Defense Department’s director

of mental health policy said

July 14. 

“No one comes back

unchanged,” said Army Col.

Tom Burke in an interview with

the Pentagon Channel and

American Forces Press Service. 

Burke and other DoD health

officials try to reach out to those

returning home from Iraq and

Afghanistan who may be suffering from combat-related mental

health problems or post-traumatic stress disorder, he said. 

In early July, the Army

released a first-of-its-kind medical report that showed frontline action had adversely affected the mental health of some

service members. Burke, who

advises DoD leaders on mental

health issues, said combat veterans and their families should

watch for changes in behavior

that can range from mild

depressive and anxiety symptoms to trouble sleeping and

nightmares. 

“In the majority of the cases,

these symptoms are transient;

they are common and diminish

with time,” he said. The service

member may have the occasional sleepless night or memories

that come back out of nowhere

for years, “and that’s normal,”

he added. 

Other symptoms to look for,

he said, are sad and withdrawn

moods, tearfulness, problems

sleeping — too much or too little — and problems with

appetite, memory loss and concentration. Drug and alcohol

abuse also are symptoms of a

problem, he added. 

But the problems aren’t

always mild, and the symptoms

are not always subtle. “If a person starts talking about hurting

themselves, killing themselves,

it’s important to not panic but to

take that kind of talk very seriously and get them to help,”

Burke said, “even if it involves

calling 911.” 

Burke said that mental problems can go on for years if not

treated, and that symptoms of

combat-related mental illness

don’t always happen right away.

“They develop over time,” he

said. 

An Army study published in

the July edition of the New

England Journal of Medicine

stated that 6 percent of Soldiers

and Marines returning from

combat duty experienced mental-health problems. 

Burke said the low number

didn’t amaze him, based on

what the Army has learned from

studying prisoners of war suffering from post-traumatic

stress disorder. 

“The number of 6 to 12 percent is not surprising,” he said.

“The experience in the past

among POWs,” he said, “is

(that) about 50 percent have

PSD; among Vietnam veterans,

over the years, about 30 percent; Gulf War I, 10-15 percent,” he said. 

He said that declining percentage of combat-related mental-health concerns might be

attributed to the military’s

approach to getting better mental-health services to soldiers

before, during and after deployment. 

“I would like to believe that

part of that is because of the

proactive care on the battlefield

and the full range of services by

the military healthcare system,”

he said, “and the proactive preventive services that are provided by the combat-stress-control

units that are assigned with the

combat units.” 

Also, he said, screening now

takes place before deployment,

preventive service is provided

during deployment, followed by

more screening during redeployment and follow-up care at

treatment facilities. 

Burke said the low percentage

also indicates that the majority

of service members surveyed

are faring well under combat

conditions. That may be due to

realistic training and having the

“best equipment in the world,”

he said. 

He said that tougher training

and better equipment, along

with a more stable rotation

schedule “has contributed to the

resilience of the service member and their ability to handle

the stresses of combat.” 

Burke said that DoD doesn’t

“want to see the Soldiers of

today live through years of suffering when there’s help available now.” The military has a

number of resources to help

those seeking help, he noted,

starting with the service member’s chain of command. He

also encourages service members to talk with comrades or

their chaplains. 

He added that DoD “really

cares” very much about its service members and their families,

and he encouraged them to take

advantage of the various programs that are available. 

“The help doesn’t work if you

don’t come in to use it,” he said.

“Mental health problems are

problems that have solutions.” 

Service members can get confidential counseling service

through the military services’

“One Source” program. The 24-

hour-a-day service is for service

members and their families, and

provides quick, professional

assistance with problems. 

In-theater treatment available to troops

suffering combat-stress symptoms

By Sgt. 1st Class 

Doug Sample

American Forces 

Press Service 

WASHINGTON — The increased demands of the

war on terrorism aren’t hurting recruiting and retention

for America’s combat forces, Army and Marine leaders

said here July 15. 

In the active Army, retention rates are still at or near 100

percent of the service’s goals, Army Vice Chief of Staff

Gen. Richard A. Cody said in an interview with American

Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel. 

Likewise, the Marines expect to meet 100 percent of

their re-enlistment goals by the end of this fiscal year, Lt.

Gen. Jan C. Huly, that service’s deputy commandant for

plans, policies and operations, said during a separate

interview. 

The Army also has increased its accessions goal by

30,000 soldiers over the next three years, Cody said,

adding that the service is on track to meet recruiting

goals for this year. 

Cody acknowledged that the war on terrorism has

stretched the Army’s capabilities, and he said service

officials are keeping a close eye on both recruiting and

retention issues. 

“We’re going to keep watching it,” he said. “We’ll provide more benefits (and) bonuses as we can. But quite

frankly, it’s been the selfless service and the patriotism of

great young men and women ... who have raised their

right hands and said, ‘Send me.’” 

Both leaders attributed the services’ success in recruiting

and retention to the high quality of the all-volunteer force. 

“I think what we’re really experiencing is we’re reaping the benefits of the all-volunteer force,” Huly said.

“The quality young women and men that we recruit, the

training that they receive ... and just what great young

Americans they are.” 

Cody said soldiers’ “warrior ethos” also helps keep the

Army’s ranks full. “I think it goes back to the leadership

investment we’ve made with our noncommissioned officers,” he said. “But it also goes back to an all-volunteer

force of young soldiers who joined the Army, many right

after 9/11, who fully understand that this country was

attacked, fully understand the dangers of this war and the

dangers of this world and have had the courage and the

patriotism to step forward and say, ‘We’ll fight for

America, and we’ll fight for our freedom.’” 

Both leaders also noted the support of ordinary

Americans is important for troops to feel like their work

has meaning. 

“They all need to know that Americans across this great

nation absolutely are proud of what they’ve done,” Cody

said. “The fact that Time magazine took the American

Soldier and made it the Person of the Year should tell anyone in uniform how America feels about them.” 

Huly said Americans’ support “makes an awful lot of

difference” to troops who are deployed. He said whenever he and other Marine leaders visit troops, the one

question they get asked the most is “Does everybody

know what we’re doing, and are they still supportive of

our efforts? And the answer is always a favorable and

resounding ‘Yes.’ And it makes you feel good to be

able to say that and to know that the American people

are behind you.” 

Demands not hurting recruiting, retention

By Kathleen T. Rhem

American Forces Press Service 

Register and request your 2004 

General Election ballot now. 

Make your vote count!

See your unit Voting Assistance 

Officer for more information.
KHSOUM ABU HALAN, Iraq — With a

recently rehabilitated medical clinic, this village

is well on its way to having access to medical

care that is right down the street.

The 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne)

from Fort Bragg, N.C., and 118th Air Support

Medical Battalion from Ohio, opened the village’s Khashoom Hallan Medical Clinic July 9. 

Also on that day, the units performed a civil

military medical operation for the village’s residents and handed out medical supplies.

“A civil-military medical operation is the

Army’s chance to truly help out the Iraqi people

by providing medical aid and supplies that they

would normally not be able to get,” said Maj. Alan

R. Kabakoff, the 16th MP civil affairs officer. 

Kabakoff added that this mission was coordinated directly by the commissioner of the Iraqi

Highway Patrol, Col. Abdul Ghafwor.

“The IHPs provided all of the security

throughout the day and played an integral part

in the mission’s success. We couldn’t have done

this without their help,” said Kabakoff.

Kabakoff said the CMMO was the first medical-aid mission the brigade has done.

“This is the first joint, multinational exercise

that the 16th MPs have put together since getting in country,” said Kabakoff. “Today, we had

people from the Air Force, the Army National

Guard and the IHP helping out. I’ve got to say

that this was a great day.”

Not only is the brigade trying to give the village outstanding medical aid, Kabakoff said

they are also trying to establish a relationship.

“We are trying to show that we care. We want

these people to understand that we truly do have

compassion for the Iraqi people, ” said Sgt.

First Class Rueben Raybon Jr., a civil affairs 

Page 6 Scimitar July 23, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq — As the Iraqi citizens continue to celebrate the June 28

transfer of authority, the U.S. Army Corps

of Engineers continues pursuing projects

to increase Iraq’s electrical capacity,

resulting in more lights turning on

throughout the country as additional

power-generation units continue to come

online.

In the last week of June, and since the

transfer, in places throughout Iraq from

as far north as Mosul to as far south as

Zaferina, 38 megawatts of electricity

have been added to the national capacity.

This increased capacity will allow longer

periods of electricity for the country

which now shares the national capacity

equally.

At the Zaferina project, four generators

came online in late June to add 7 MW

(derated), and two generators soon followed, adding another 14 MW to the grid.

At Taiji, unit number 4, a Frame Five

generator came online June 29 to add 10

MW.

Most recently, north in Mosul, unit

number 8, another generator, came online

July 12 to add 7 MW to the grid.

The national capacity continues to

climb with total-load generation for a

single day going over 100,000 MW

hours on July 11. And it reached an alltime post-liberation peak June 19 of

4,963 MW, the highest level seen in a

generation for much of Iraq. However,

as capacity has increased, so has the

demand as more Iraqis purchase air conditioners, freezers and other appliances

as markets have opened under the liberation. 

Since September, the Restore Iraqi

Electricity effort has added 1,355 MW to

the national grid and is on track to add

2,000 MW total by the end of summer.

As part of a nationwide effort, Army

engineers — Soldiers and civilians —

working with contractors and Iraqi

workers on sites throughout Iraq to

restore the dilapidated power infrastructure and improve the quality of life for

all of Iraq.

Repairing damages from more than 30

years of neglect under Saddam Hussein,

Corps teams are restoring transmission

lines, improving or replacing switching

facilities and building or restoring more

than two dozen power-generation projects

to produce a capacity not seen in this

country before. For more information on

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ reconstruction efforts in Iraq to support the

U.S. Mission Iraq, including additional

photos, visit www.grd.usace.army.mil and

http://baghdad.usembassy.gov/ .

Corps continues to put megawatts on the grid

Submitted by the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers 

Gulf Region Division

BAGHDAD, Iraq — More

than $1.3 million has been

invested in communityenhancement projects in the

Taji, Iraq area. Making an

assessment of projects currently

ongoing within their area of

operations, Soldiers of the

489th’s Civil Affairs Battalion’s

Team-5 visited seven of their

nine project sites July 3.

Currently, the team is responsible for projects ranging from the

refurbishment of two schools to

the construction of roads linking

several villages to major roadways. But as civil affairs specialist Sgt. John Hultquist explained,

the emphasis is on projects with

an agricultural focus.

“This area is part of what is

known as the Fertile Cresent,”

explained Hultquist.

Historically, he said, the Fertile

Crescent is defined as the area

beginning at the Persian Gulf,

bordered by the Tigris and the

Euphrates rivers, and ending in

Syria.

“Agriculture is the main form

of commerce in this area,”

Hultquist said. “Most of the

projects we’ve done have that

element in mind as part of the

planning. Even the roads we’ve

constructed are meant to connect villages with roadways to

local markets.”

At the core of any agriculture

project, especially in the arid

desert landscape of Iraq, is irrigation. 

“Of the nine projects we are

currently involved in, four of

them involve either building

irrigation canals or improving

existing waterways to more efficiently bring water to villages,”

Hultquist said.

Hultquist went on to explain

that only through working with

members of the Taji area councils

was his team able to identify the

need to bring relief to the area in

the form of agriculture projects.

“The sheiks and imams of the

councils were really instrumental in making sure that correct

locations were identified and

that money was put into those

projects that would pay the

biggest peace dividend,”

Hultquist said. “In this case, the

key was agriculture.”

As initiators, contract negotiators and overall project managers, civil affairs Soldiers help

ensure that standards are met and

projects are completed on time.

“Followup and oversight is as

important as starting a project,”

explained Maj. Terry Robey, the

team-5 chief. “Just like construction work and projects of this

magnitude back in the states,

ensuring that work is being done

and that a certain level of quality

is being meet helps guarantee a

project’s success.”

Robey and his team regularly

visit locations during a project’s

life cycle.

“We try and visit each site at

least once a week,” the

Knoxville, Tenn., resident said.

“The key to ensuring a successful project is consistent followup. We work hand-in-hand

with members of the Taji area

neighborhood and district councils, with each group [Soldiers

and council members] making

regular visits.”

Community investments

spur agriculture in Taji

Submitted by 1st Cavalry

Division

MPs, medics team up 

to ensure medical care

Story and photo by 

Pfc. Jonathan Springer

16th Military Police Brigade

1st Lt. Carmelo Roxas, a doctor for the 118th Air Support Medical Battalion, uses

some eyedrops to help with eye pain that an Iraqi citizen has been having lately.

See CMMO, Page 10
July 23, 2004 Scimitar Page 7

Iraq in Brief

Police advisors, donated gear arrive for Iraqi police

AR RAMADI, Iraq — Three international police advisors

arrived at Camp Mahmudiyah to assist Marines in advising,

training and supporting the Iraqi police. The IPA will help build

a credible, ethical and competent Iraqi police force capable of

protecting and serving citizens of Mahmudiyah.

Marines delivered police gear donated by the Beverly Hills ,

Ca., Police Department to the Eskan/Iskandariyah police station.

More gear and vehicles are ready for delivery in Ar Ramadi to

be handed over to police in this region.

ING, police team up for cordon and search

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Iraqi National Guard and Iraqi

police marked a major milestone together July 18. 

For the first time, the ING and Iraqi police worked together on

a large-scale operation to search for insurgents involved in an

attack that killed one police officer and wounded two others. 

Approximately 90 ING troops cordoned off an area while nearly 300 police officers searched for insurgents. 

Several illegal weapons were seized during the operation. 

Philippines withdraws troops 

AN NASIRIYAH, Iraq — The government of the Republic of

the Philippines has announced its decision to withdraw their contingent from Iraq. 

While in Iraq, Philippine troops provided Iraqis with humanitarian assistance and medical help through civil-military cooperation activities. They were an integral part of the Multi-National

Division Center-South mission. 

10th Mountain Division Joins First Team

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Approximately 2,000 Soldiers from 2nd

Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort

Drum, N.Y., convoyed here from Kuwait this month to serve

with the 1st Cavalry Division at forward operating bases

throughout Baghdad. 

The 2nd BCT is under the leadership of Col. Mark Milley and

includes the Brigade Headquarters Company; 2nd Battalion, 14th

Infantry Regiment; 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment; 2nd

Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment; 210th Forward Support

Battalion; Company B, 10th Signal Battalion; and elements of

110th Military Intelligence Battalion. 

Iraqi Security Forces secure former Sadr Bureau

building

TIKRIT, Iraq — The Iraqi National Guard and Iraqi police

executed a cordon and search of the former Sadr Bureau building

near Baghdad July 16. 

The Diwaniyah governor had earlier ordered Sadr personnel

out of the building. After no response was received from the

Sadr personnel, ING troops and Iraqi police cleared and secured

the building. 

Iraqi Security Forces conducted the operation without requesting assistance from multinational forces, and Iraqi police are

maintaining the security of the building. 

Soldier virtually attends daughter’s first birthday

BALAD, Iraq — A 13th Corps Support Command Soldier

attended his daughter’s first birthday by video teleconference

from his multinational force base near Taji July 14.

Spc. Josh Strickland of Valdosta, Ga., sang “Happy Birthday”

to his daughter, Shelby, and saw her walk for the first time thanks

to the Freedom Calls Foundation. 

Freedom Calls is a nonprofit organization founded for the sole

purpose of providing free communication to deployed service

members and civilians. 

Freedom Calls provides high-speed Internet access, video

links and voice over Internet protocol phones at no charge to

more than 1,400 service members and deployed civilians per day. 

WASHINGTON — A former

Army prisoner of war who spent

21 days captive in Iraq before his

rescue said the Code of Conduct

provided the moral compass he

and his fellow prisoners needed to

get them through the ordeal. 

Army Chief Warrant Officer

Dave Williams, whose AH-64D

Longbow Apache helicopter was

shot down over Iraq in March

2003, said knowledge of the code

helped him keep faith through

loneliness — which he said

“damned near killed me” — and

provide leadership for six other

U.S. prisoners of war. 

President Dwight D.

Eisenhower introduced the Code

of Conduct in 1955, partly in

response to the North Koreans’

use of prisoners for political propaganda during the Korean War. 

Service members who have

been captured in the almost 50

years since its introduction have

cited the code as the foundation

that helped them through the

toughest times in their careers. 

“It’s a guide to live by if you

find yourself in the unthinkable,”

Williams told the American

Forces Press Service. 

The code is based on enduring

concepts and traditions, Col.

Mark Bracich, the director of policy, doctrine and training for the

Joint Personnel Recovery Agency

at Fort Belvoir, Va., told the

American Forces Press Service. 

Bracich said the code’s six articles outline the obligations and

responsibilities of U.S. service

members in harm’s way: 

* To defend the United States

and its way of life

* To avoid surrender and to

evade capture at any cost short of

death 

* To reject favors from the

enemy 

* To help fellow prisoners stay

alive 

* To avoid collaborating with

the enemy

* To avoid statements or writing that discredit the United States

or its allies 

* To maintain personal responsibility for all actions and 

* To trust the U.S. government

to care for your loved ones and

work toward your release

These principles, taught to all

service members during their

basic training, “ensure that they

know what’s expected of them” in

situations where they risk capture

or are taken prisoner, Bracich said. 

Williams said the Code of

Conduct helped him through “the

dark days” during his captivity

and gave him strength that he

shared with his fellow prisoners. 

Recognizing that he was the

senior-ranking officer among the

prisoners, he established a chain

of command. “I recognized that it

was my mission to help these guys

through their captivity,” he said. 

Williams said he constantly

reminded his fellow Soldiers —

as well as himself — that fellow

service members were looking for

them. “We knew that they had a

war to fight, but we knew it was

also a top priority for them to help

us,” he said. 

Even as coalition weapons

rained on Baghdad’s Al Rashid

prison, where the Iraqis were

holding the U.S. prisoners,

Williams said he never doubted

that his fellow Americans would

come to their rescue. 

“We as Americans look out for

our own,” he said. “You can never

lose hope.” 

By Donna Miles

American Forces 

Press Service 

Code of Conduct guided

U.S. POWs in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Task Force 1st Armored

Division Soldiers made free calls home before redeploying from Baghdad to Kuwait.

From July 3 to 8, Soldiers were offered the chance

to call the United States or Germany — which most

of the 1 AD troops call home when not deployed —

on MCI’s tab. They took advantage of the call center

to reach out and touch family members and friends.

“I’ve called home every day since (the phone center has) been here,” said Spc. Joshua K. Manglicmot,

a communications specialist with 141st Signal

Battalion, who called his fiancée, Kealani Preston,

and his mother and brother, all of whom live on the

island of Molokai, Hawaii. “I take as much time to

talk to them as possible.”

Manglicmot explained why the phone center was

popular with the Soldiers of 1 AD, who are wrapping

up a marathon 15-month deployment to Iraq.

“This keeps our morale high, getting to talk with

our families since we’ve been out here so long,”

Manglicmot said. “It’s awesome — one of the best

things I’ve seen since I’ve been out here. I’d like to

say thanks to MCI.”

Other Soldiers must have agreed with

Manglicmot, since more than 1,900 calls were

placed July 3 and 4, according to Sgt. Maj. Donald

A. Sarringer, the division’s chief signal noncommissioned officer. All service members at the base near

Baghdad International Airport were eligible to use

the phone center for the free calls.

“This had a great impact with the Soldiers,”

Sarringer said. “They could call home and say,

‘Happy 4th of July. I’m alright. Everything’s fine,

and I’m coming home soon.’”

Sarringer helped work out the details with MCI

since the company first brought communications

systems to the Iraqi theater in November 2003 for

the winter holidays, keeping a calling center nicknamed “Big Whitey” open until February. Big

Whitey went to the multinational force’s Camp

Victory, but when Old Ironsides’troops were extended in April, efforts to bring free phone service to the

Soldiers was renewed. 

Making communications available to troops is a

highly important task, Sarringer said.

“It’s a very important thing for the Soldiers to be

able to talk to the folks back home,” said Sarringer,

a Central Islip, Long Island, N.Y., native. “To me,

it’s a force multiplier to have Soldiers in the trenches be able to come back to a base to make a call back

home and have that contact with loved ones.”

Part of the deal for the 4th of July holiday was that

MCI provided 100 calling cards for Soldiers to use

to call home at no cost to the troops.

“I think this should be everywhere,” said Sgt.

Justin L. Johnson, a tank gunner on the Headquarters

and Headquarters Company operations staff. “The

other phone centers’ charges eat up a calling card

real quick, so everybody should have this opportunity to call home free.”

Soldiers call home on house

By Sgt. M. Trent Lowry 

U.S. Marine Corps

Multi-National Force-Iraq
Page 8 Scimitar July 23, 2004

CAMP BABYLON, Iraq —

Marines of Detachment C, 4th

Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison

Company can be spotted on

occasions buying souvenirs, or,

if they’re a little more daring,

pet scorpions inside a local Iraqi

market here. 

During off time, the Marines

are able to enjoy the ancient

lands and local people surrounding the headquarters of the

Multi-National Division CenterSouth, led by the Polish Army.

A little more than two months

ago, the leathernecks were at

home on the shores of the

Atlantic Ocean — residing close

enough to make their drill weekends at the West Palm Beach,

Fla., reserve center.

But duty called, and now

these weekend warriors are fulltime Marines, busy supporting

foreign militaries in Iraq by

coordinating air strikes to

destroy enemy targets.

The news did not come as a

shock to these Marines, though;

they knew replacements were

needed for 4th ANGLICO’s previous detachment. Their number

was plucked; it was time for

them to make good on their

promise of serving their nation. 

Maj. Stephen D. Danyluk, the

unit’s air officer, admitted that

activation does add a strain on

reservists because they are

pulled away from their civilian

jobs and families.

For him, it was not difficult.

He still has ties to active duty,

simply because his wife is a

lawyer with the Marines. While

she’s working at Quantico, Va.,

Danyluk is flying commercial

airliners out of Washington

between drill weekends.

Another family ANGLICO is

separated from is the “Green

Machine.” 

“One of the more difficult

parts is being away from other

Marines,” said Staff Sgt. Jose L.

Jimenez, a team chief from

Miami. “We are it out here.

We’ve had to be chameleons to

adapt to all the different foreign

nations and services. But being

alone like this has built our

camaraderie really high.”

The activation does have one

perk — the location from which

the team is operating.

In their idle moments, the

Marines have the luxury of touring through the ancient ruins of

the famed ancient city –

Babylon, or Babel, which means

gate of God.

First stop on the service members’ tour of the reconstructed

city is the Ishtar Gate. The

entrance into the reconstructed

palace of Nebuchadnezzar II is

detailed with mosaic drawings

of Babylon’s deities. Troops

look like ants while walking

through the massive arched gate.

U.S. and foreign troops wander through the maze of corridors and take photos for their

scrapbooks. Some mill about or

simply find a tree to relax under

and read a book. 

The best vantage point of the

ancient land is from Saddam

Hussein’s former palace. The

palace was constructed on the

highest elevation in the vicinity.

On the rooftop, nearly seven

stories high, one can easily see

the canal — dredged from the

Euphrates River — snake its

way through the camp and the

thousands of palm trees that line

its banks.

“It’s been a bonus to be stationed here,” said Lance Cpl.

William Meyer, a field radio

operator from Indianapolis.

“I’ve gotten into the history of

the land by reading up on it.”

Even in this historical land,

the Marines have etched out

their own space and brought

pieces of American culture.

Cpl. Jon Dearolf’s room is

smothered wall-to-wall in surfing pictures.

“My roommate and I decided

to start hanging up the magazine

pictures as soon as we got here,”

said the forward observer from

Tampa, Fla. “It’s just a little

taste of home and what we

miss.”

The only objects interrupting

this University of Southern

Florida graduate’s surfing display are pictures of his wife.

The two exchanged vows only a

couple of months before he

departed for Iraq.

“It’s really difficult to be

away from her right now,” said

Dearolf, who is considering pursuing a commission in the

Corps. “But you know what

they say — the hardest job in

the Corps is being a Marine’s

wife.” 

Missing family members is a

natural reaction for all Marines

on deployment; it is one of the

toughest challenges to overcome, but “I feel the Marines

have adapted real well,” said Lt.

Col. Thomas R. Morgan, the

commanding officer and a

native of Orlando, Fla.

Lance Cpl. William Meyer, a field radio operator with

Detachment Charlie, 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison

Company, walks through the Ishtar Gate at Camp

Babylon, Iraq. The gate is the entrance to the reconstructed palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of ancient

Babylon. Detachment Charlie Marines have been in Iraq

since May supporting the Polish-led Multi-National

Division Center-South in southwestern Iraq as part of

Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Reserve Marines serve in ancient land

Story and photos by 

Cpl. Matthew J. Apprendi

I Marine Expeditionary

Force

Above: Polish soldiers with the Multi-National Division

Center-South watch Marines with Detachment C, 4th AirNaval Gunfire Liaison Company complete convoy training

at Camp Babylon, Iraq

Right: Corporals Kent Almaral, from Deerfield Beach, Fla.,

and Jon Dearolf, a native of Tampa Fla., both members of

Detachment C, 4th Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Company

rehearse room-clearing tactics at their compound in Camp

Babylon, Iraq. 
July 23, 2004 Scimitar Page 9

TAJI, Iraq — With just three days in theater

under their belts, Soldiers sent to augment the

39th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry

Division lost little time adjusting to their environment and jumped right in to training.

Beginning with close quarters combat training,

the new Soldiers of the 39th BCT began a week

of training before moving to their new units.

As the Soldiers filed into the dimly lit training

facility, handpicked instructors from the brigade

began the training. The 20 Soldiers were broken

down into teams of four and assigned instructors.

“What we intend to do with the new troops is

to not only put them through doctrinal training

such as the close quarters combat they’re currently doing, but we also have convoy-lanes

training and a couple other classes scheduled,”

said 1st Lt. Marc Pierce, the officer in charge of

training. 

In addition to combat experience, many of the

instructors have spent time during their deployment training members of the Iraqi National

Guard, said Forrest City, Ark.’s 1st Lt. Vernon

Sparkmon, the executive officer for Company B,

3-153 Inf.

“We have some very fine instructors teaching

here,” Sparkmon said. “Their experience in

training the Iraqi National Guard, as well as the

continued development of their Soldiers, makes

these instructors some of the best we have.”

Soldiers were taught the basics of carrying

their rifles and room clearing, with emphasis

placed on entering and exiting.

“It’s extremely important that before you come

out of a cleared room that you yell out ‘Room

clear,’” Sgt. Keith Parris, of 3-153 Inf., said.

“You certainly don’t want someone to mistake

you for a bad guy. Anytime you participate in a

cordon and search or a raid, if you don’t know

what you’re doing, you could get killed.”

As the Soldiers prepared for another run

through, Parris explained that the intent of the

training was just to cover the basics.

“By no means can we teach these Soldiers

everything,” said the Olean, N.Y., resident.

“This is just an introductory course. For some

of these Soldiers, that’s all they’ll need, and for

others, once they get to their units, they’ll be

doing this stuff frequently, and it will become

very familiar.”

After the first training session, Soldiers

relaxed outside before the next class was scheduled to begin. Going over their experiences with

each other, the Soldiers traded tips and demonstrated what they had just learned.

“This was definitely good training,” said Spc.

Jared Woodmansee of Pine Bluff, Ark. “This

sort of stuff isn’t part of my normal [job] as an

intelligence analyst, but I’ve heard that we all

get to spend time outside the wire, and you just

never know. We should definitely do more of

it.” 

Sitting down in one of the few areas of shade,

Pfc. Courtland Faulkner of Little Rock, Ark.,

also said she thought the training was beneficial.

“The three weeks of training we received at

Fort Hood was good, but I really wished we had

spent more time doing training like this,”

Faulkner said. “Any training we receive just

goes that much further in making the adjustment

to being here that much easier.”

Above: Sgt. Keith Parris (left) of 3rd Battalion, 153rd Infantry, instructs Pfc. Amber

Rettstatt of Headquarters Company, 39th Brigade Combat Team, that while she was the

last person to enter the room, she will be the first person out. The drill was part of a

close-quarters-combat training session held for recently arrived 39th BCT Soldiers.

Left: Newly arrived Soldiers of the 39th BCT learn the basics of a “stack” formation.

The four Soldiers form a tight group and walk as a single unit before entering a

room. The lesson was part of the close-quarters-combat training the Soldiers

received before joining their units.

Story and photos by 

Cpl. Benjamin Cossel

122nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

New troops jump right in to training

Spc. Jared Woodmansee, of the 39th Brigade Combat Team,

leads a group of four into a room during an “enter and clear”

drill during a close-quarters-combat training session.

Soldiers of the 39th BCT attend a one-week

training course before moving on to their units
noncommissioned officer with

the brigade. 

Throughout the day, the

brigade handed out more than

200 soccer balls, first aid kits

and stuffed animals, said

Raybon.

“We came to this country to

help them out, and this CMMO

mission is our way of showing

the villagers what the U.S. Army

is all about,” Raybon said.

Sgt. First Class Robert A.

Ramirez, also a noncommissioned officer for the brigade’s

civil affairs section, said that they

have spent more than five months

rehabilitating the village medical

clinic after getting staffing

approval from the Iraqi government’s Ministry of Health.

“Since the brigade arrived in

country, we have spent over

$40,000 getting the clinic ready to

open,” said Ramirez. “We came

here to treat the villagers for acute

medical care and get a feel for

their needs. These people needed

medical supplies, and they are

getting looked at and taken care

of. It feels really good to help.”

Ramirez said all of the soccer

balls, toys and other gifts were

donated by Fort Bragg’s main

post chapel and the medical supplies were donated by the 118th

ASMB.

“This medical attention will

help us out a lot. We don’t have

any clinics near our village

here,” said Mohammed Ahmed

Al-Jebori, speaking through a

translator. 

“All of us that are apart of this

village are poor. By having the

Americans come out here and

give us medical supplies and the

doctors treating our problems is

a very good thing. We are all

grateful,” said Al-Jebori.

First Lt. Cermelo Roxas, a

doctor for the 118th and one of

the pediatricians for the CMMO,

said that he loved getting to help

the Iraqi children.

“I’m happy to help the kids

the most because they really are

the future of this country; it’s

great to put a smile on their

face,” Roxas said.

Throughout the day, Kabakoff

said, more than 98 patients were

seen and more than 300 gift

packs were given out.

“This is what it’s all about,

and this is the next phase of the

U.S. Army’s campaign here in

Iraq,” said Col. David E.

Quantock, the commander of the

16th MPs.

“We are providing excellent

medical care to these villagers

with the help of the IHPs; we are

working together to build a safer

Iraq,” said Quantock. “This

CMMO is just one example of

the Army building confidence

with the citizens of this country.”

Page 10 Scimitar July 23, 2004

POSTAL

Continued from Page Three

ballot, they can use the

Federal Write-In Absentee

Ballot. This form allows them

to write in their votes and

send it in by the deadline. 

“Voting assistance officers

at each overseas unit are

required to have stock of the

FWAB for this situation,”

Davis said.

Davis also said that if a

Soldier filled out and sent in

the FWAB and then received

a ballot, the local ballot could

still be filled out and sent

back in if it arrived in time. 

Currently, Davis said the

Army is trying to get the message to get registered to as

many Soldiers as possible. 

An AKO-all e-mail was

sent at the beginning of May

to 1.3 million recipients,

reminding them of the importance to register and the

details of how to do so. Davis

said the e-mail was the largest

ever sent out on AKO. 

Senior Army leadership has

directed an Army-wide

Personnel Asset Inventory be

conducted during the period

July 30 through Aug. 15. This

will be yet another opportunity to provide the Federal Post

Card Application to Soldiers

and to provide the necessary

support and assistance, Davis

said. 

“We’ve got an emphasis (on

this issue) from the secretary

of Defense all the way down,”

Davis said. “We want to make

sure all the Soldiers are provided with the opportunity to

register and cast their ballot.”

CMMO Continued from Page Six

Service members considered at “moderate” risk of

capture receive slightly more training, generally consisting of eight to 10 hours of videos about survival, evasion,

resistance and escape techniques and, sometimes, field

training, Bracich said. 

Only those service members whose duties put them at

the highest risk of capture attend their service’s survival,

evasion, resistance and escape school. There, they learn

fundamentals ranging from what’s safe to eat when

they’re in the field evading capture to how to resist their

captors’ attempts to exploit them. They also go through

realistic scenarios similar to what they might face during

captivity. 

“Everything I was taught in the course got applied in a

real-world situation,” Williams said. 

And while acknowledging that “nothing can fully

prepare you” for the hardship and loneliness of captivity, Williams is committed to sharing everything he’s

experienced and learned with his fellow service members in case they fall into a similar situation. He’s lectured at military posts around the country and recently

became the new officer in charge of the Survive,

Evade, Resistance and Escape School at Fort Rucker,

Ala. 

Meanwhile, Williams said he’s encouraged by the military’s effort to train more service members in how to

avoid capture and successfully endure captivity if necessary. 

“The more tools a soldier has in his rucksack when he

goes off to fight, the better off he’ll be,” Williams said. 

CAPTIVES Continued from Page Two

Nearly five months

after construction began

at Al Kasik, more than

500 Iraqis flock to the site

daily to install tile,

drainage systems and

concrete foundations

under the watchful eye of

Dillon’s and Cirian’s

teams.

The effort in the small

desert town is one of

many led by the Corps

designed to provide the

Iraqis a foundation for the

future and an opportunity

to learn marketable skills

needed in the new democratic society.

In Kirkuk, the Corps is

building a $47.5 million

training base for the new

Iraqi army that will

employ more than 1,000

Iraqis and upon completion will house three battalions of trainees.

“This is about giving

something to the Iraqi

people,” Cirian said, as he

walked the 10-kilometer

fence line July 12. “Using

local labor, we are able to

teach the people and create a long-term facility

that will help the Iraqis

well into the future.”

The U.S. Project and

Contracting Office, an

agency charged with

oversight of the $18.4 billion appropriated by the

U.S. Congress to support

the reconstruction of

Iraq’s infrastructure, is

currently working with

the Corps to construct

four additional new Iraqi

army bases, one Iraqi

Navy base and rebuild the

country’s Ministry of

Defense.

“The goal with all of

these projects is to give

the Iraqi military a platform to get back up and

running,” said Joanne

Milo, a project manager

with the Baghdad-based

PCO. “When that happens, the Iraqis will be

better able to protect their

people, and multinational

forces can go home.”

The projects, executed

by the Corps, represent

part of the Corps’ reconstruction efforts in the

country, an effort that

rivals the work of the

post-World War II

Marshall Plan in Europe.

“The easy thing would

be to bring heavy equipment in here and build

these facilities quickly,”

said Brig. Gen. Thomas

Bostick, the Corps’ Gulf

Region Division commander in Baghdad, “but

we have to think about

this from a different perspective.

“As we put local men

and women to work,

they develop skills and

build a strong, viable

workforce for the future

and a solid foundation

for the country.”

BASES Continued from Page One

TIKRIT, Iraq — Task Force

Danger units at Forward Operating

Base Speicher here held a ceremony in

the base gymnasium July 9 to award

branch insignia to warrant officers and

rank insignia for chief warrant officers

5s. 

The event and changeover coincided

with the 86th anniversary of the

Warrant Officer Corps’ founding.

The insignia for chief warrant officer 5 replaces the old master warrant

officer insignia that has been used

since 1988, said Chief Warrant Officer

Jamie Haas, the 4th Brigade safety

officer.

Originally, CW4s received the title

of master warrant officer with no promotion in pay grade. In 1991, the rank

of CW5 was recognized, and those elevated to that rank continued to wear

the insignia of master warrant officer,

Haas said. 

Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Mundt, the

assistant division commander for support, pinned the new rank insignia on

four of the task force’s six chief warrant officer 5s. 

Unit commanders then went into the

ranks of the all-warrant-officer formation and pinned branch insignia in

place of the “rising eagle” insignia on

the collars of the remaining warrant

officers.

Mundt addressed the honorees and

crowd and commended the warrant

officers for expertise and professionalism.

“You have had a right, ever since I

met you, to wear your branch insignia

on your collar,” he told the formation.

The change is Army-wide by order

of the chief of staff of the Army.

Warrant officers now align themselves

with their respective branches. 

Seventy-eight warrant officers from

13 Army branches received branch

insignia as fellow soldiers looked on.

The 1st Infantry Division Band provided music for the ceremony.

TF Danger pins warrants

By Sgt. 1st Class Chuck Joseph

196th Mobile Public 

Affairs Detachment
July 23, 2004 Scimitar Page 11

KIRKUK, Iraq — After years of

being smothered by the media restrictions of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Iraqi

people are now exposed to a variety of

internal and external information

sources. 

An unbiased source of information

comes from the U.S.-funded Iraqi Media

Network, which replaced the old Iraqi

media network into a modern media

organization for the Iraqi people. 

In Kirkuk, IMN established the Kirkuk

TV station. This station, like other IMN

stations, passes along local and national

news and entertainment to the Iraqi people.

Kirkuk TV is airing a live talk show

program that allows Iraqis to discuss

local issues with local leaders via telephone.

Local Iraqi and multinational force

leaders participate on this talk show

dubbed “Political Conversations.” 

Initiated by the information operations

cell of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team,

the talk show provides leaders the opportunity to eliminate rumors and limit confusion citizens may have within the

Kirkuk area. 

It is also a way for leaders, especially

on the Iraqi side, to earn the confidence

of the local Iraqi populace.

“The primary focus of starting this

show was two-part,” said Maj. Bill

Southard, the chief of the information

operations cell. “One part was to legitimize the Iraqi government, and the other

was to provide information to the Iraqi

people.”

Because of Saddam’s extensive use of

false information, Iraqi people are still

hesitant to believe anything from the Iraq

media, Southard said. This was his main

reason to create a talk show that would

be aired live.

“I wanted this [live] talk show so Iraqi

people could see their leadership, ask

them questions and make their own educated decisions on what’s going on in

their future,” Southard said.

The recent transfer of sovereignty was

the primary topic of discussion for the

first two episodes of “Political

Conversations.”

Kirkuk Coalition Provisional Authority

Coordinator Paul Harvey and Kirkuk

Governor Abdul Rahman Mustafa were

the guests for the inaugural show June

25. Most of the questions they answered

pertained to the June 28 transfer of sovereignty.

On the second show July 1, Lt. Col.

Eric Schacht, the 2nd BCT executive

officer, and the Kirkuk police chief,

General Turhan Yussef, joined together

to display that multinational forces are

still in Iraq even after the transition and

will continue their partnership with the

Iraqi Security Forces.

“I think it’s good to get this show

kicked off as we turn over sovereignty,”

Schacht said after the July 1 show.

“Eventually, we want this show to go

more into a format of Iraqi leaders talking to their public.” 

Besides working with the Kirkuk TV

station, the 2nd BCT information operations cell helps spread the multinational

force message through local newspapers,

weekly press conferences and media

advisories.

“We are doing everything in our power

to inform the Iraqi people of all the good

things such as projects, security and economic development within the Kirkuk

province. 

“Also, we are trying to get local Iraqis

involved with the national, regional and

local governments,” Southard said.

Lt. Col. Eric Schacht, the executive officer for Task Force Danger’s 2nd

Brigade Combat Team, and Kirkuk’s police chief, Gen. Turhan Yussef,

appear on “Political Conversations,” a live talk show that airs on Kirkuk

TV, the Iraqi Media Network station in Kirkuk, Iraq.

Story and photo by 

Spc. Sean Kimmons

25th Infantry Division 

Public Affairs 

TV show gives local Iraqis chance 

to talk with Iraqi, multinat’l leaders

TAJI, Iraq –America’s “First Team” announced that

the division met third-quarter retention goals on July 3.

One of the reasons the division met those goals was due

to Master Sgt. Joni Evans, 4th Brigade Combat Team

Warriors’ retention noncommissioned officer in charge. 

“This job is my life,” Evans said.

With 17 of her 25 years in the military dedicated to

career counseling, that claim is not made lightly.

“The years of experience really help,” Evans said. “I

can speak to almost every fear and concern that Soldiers

coming to see me might have.”

Evans said with the division deployed, retention within the 1st Cavalry Division has brought new challenges.

“Many Soldiers are worn out with the current operations tempo,” she said. “But when you sit down with

them and compare what their options might be in the

civilian world, where you don’t know for sure if you’re

going to have a job one day to the next, a job that you

are completely assured of — even with a high operations

tempo — becomes more appealing.”

Her approach must be working. Over the third quarter,

Evans has reenlisted 63 troopers in the 4th BCT. Evans

said she has also helped Troopers of 2nd Battalion, 7th

Cavalry Regiment.

“2-7 doesn’t really have a retention representative here

being they’ve been broken off from their home brigade

to augment the 39th BCT,” she said. “I also point

Soldiers of the 39th BCT in the right direction with who

they need to talk to regarding reserve component matters. So really, in some way, shape or form, I have a

hand in all the retention efforts on Camp Cooke.”

Attributing much of her success to those who support

her, Evans lauded the efforts of the command and senior

noncommissioned officers of the brigade.

“I have great support,” she said. “I don’t think there

has been a time when a Soldier has been in my office

and Command Sgt. Maj. Sanders (the brigade command

sergeant major) doesn’t stop in, talk to the Soldier, see

how they’re doing and just be there for them.”

Reflecting on her years as a career counselor and

plans for the future, Evans has plans to retire when she

returns home.

“I will certainly miss doing this for a living,” she said.

“In 17 years, my job has never been boring, it never gets

old. No single Soldier that walks through my doors ever

have the same needs, wants or desires. That has definitely kept it very interesting.”

Keeping ‘Warriors’ at full strength

By Cpl. Benjamin Cossel

122nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Retenti

Master 

her notes 

Public Af

Retenti

Cpl. M

Master Sg

upon reen

Retenti
Page 12 Scimitar July 23, 2004

CAMP MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq —

Chemical threats for Marines in Iraq

haven’t been a leading concern since

combat operations last year, but that

doesn’t mean anyone is letting his guard

down.

Marines from 2nd Battalion, 2nd

Marine Regiment held decontamination

drills to keep themselves ready to

respond to a nuclear, chemical or biological attack.

“During this three-day class, we spent

a few hours each day bringing the

Marines up to speed on detailed decontamination training for personnel and vehicles,” said Cpl. Jason L. Barton, a 28-

year-old NBC specialist from Wilson,

Kan. “After the class, they’re supposed

to go back and teach this stuff to their

Marines.”

The reason every Marine needed to

know how to supervise and participate in

a decontamination site was because you

never knew who would be available,

Barton said. Marines from Headquarters

and Service Company were chosen

because they would likely aid the rifle

companies who would be exposed to an

NBC agent.

“The Marine Corps is a winning team,

and we prepare for the impossible as

well as the probable,” Barton said.

“There’s no doubt this training could

save lives.”

During the training, the Marines were

shown how to navigate each station of

decontamination center. They learned

how to properly disrobe contaminated

Marines and clean them of all NBC

agents. Once the Marines were thought

to clean, they were tested with NBCdetection tools.

“The two things we use are the chemical agent monitor and the automatic

chemical-agent detector,” said Lance

Cpl. Peter W. Duffy, a 20-year-old NBC

specialist from North Hampton, Mass.

“There’s nothing hard about operating

these detectors. These guys can pass on

how to operate them, which will help if

we ever have an NBC attack.”

The Marines were expected to leave

the classes with a new appreciation and

understanding of NBC procedures.

Although the classes taught the Marines

some things they didn’t know and

refreshed them on others, practice still

makes perfect.

“We have plans for follow-on classes

to keep this information fresh in their

heads,” Barton explained. “We need to

maintain their skills so each of them can

properly operate a decontamination center.”

Handling NBC decontamination presents a concern to those treating other

Marines. In the event of an NBC attack,

Marines could be wounded and contaminated with agents. This problem was

addressed during the classes.

“Marines need to realize they’re going

through the decontamination center

before they go to the base’s aid station

here,” said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class

Christopher T. Brown, a 34-year-old hospital corpsman from Albany, Ga. “We

have to make sure they won’t infect the

sterile environment of the aid station.”

This doesn’t mean that wounded

Marines won’t get medical help in time.

“We have NBC stretchers we can use

to carry Marines through the decontamination process,” Brown said. “We’ll also

perform life-saving steps the whole time

if they’re needed.”

In addition, corpsmen can also stand in

for the Marines inside the decontamination center to help wash off NBC agents.

“Something I learned here was that

you can’t take their gas mask off until

they’re at that station in the center,”

Brown said. “Even if it would help you

treat him you could hurt yourself and

him more by breaking his gas-mask seal

before the right time.”

The site also gave the Marines the

added bonus of practicing in a set-up just

as it would be used in combat environment. This enabled them to obtain a

more real-life feel for the whole process. 

“It was just like walking them through

the real thing,” Barton said.

Marines keep

NBC skills sharp

Story and photo by 

Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes

1st Marine Division Public Affairs

Lance Cpl. Peter W. Duffy, a 20-year-old nuclear, biological and chemical

specialist from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, uses a charcoal pad

to wipe Cpl. Jason L. Barton’s protective mask. The NBC specialists

showed other Marines how to properly decontaminate others during a

three-day course at Camp Mahmudiyah, Iraq. The “train-the-trainer” program is designed to aid Marines in spreading NBC skills.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The day-in, day-out routine

of life in a combat zone has many Soldiers looking for

a diversion at the end of the duty day. 

Movies, video games, Internet and the gym are

some of the most popular pastimes for Soldiers, as

time permits. Some, however, look inward for a

source of recreation that is found only through their

own creativity. 

Camp Eagle here held its first “Eagle’s Cry” open

forum poetry event July 9. It was a chance for

Soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division stationed here to

showcase their creative talents in an open venue. The

event founder, Sgt. Wesley Williams, a chaplain’s

assistant with 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment

(Task Force Lancer), said he sees poetry as a way for

people to artistically express their views.

“I wanted to give everybody who is interested in the

field or area the chance to express themselves and

have another outlet to release their stress out here in

this camp,” Williams said. 

Like Williams, Spc. Steve McSwain, a communications specialist with the 13th Signal Battalion, uses

poetry to express himself. He said he started writing

as a way to relieve stress, but lately, most of his poetry

is written for his wife back in Killeen, Texas. 

“Back home, where I’m from, relieving stress is

joining a gang,” McSwain said about growing up in

Sacramento, Calif. “But for me, I took my aggression

out on paper.” 

Recently one of the poems written for his wife was

selected as an editor’s choice award and will be published in an upcoming book of poetry. 

Pvt. William Richie, a Paladin howitzer crewmember with Battery C, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery

Regiment, is another Soldier at Camp Eagle who’s had

poetry published. He’s been writing poetry since he

was in the seventh-grade, and more recently, he’s gotten involved with writing music with other Soldiers

from the First Team. 

Richie said if someone is interested in writing poetry or music, they should go ahead and do it without

worrying about what others might think. 

“As long as it’s good to you, it doesn’t matter what

anyone else thinks,” Richie said. “As long as you pour

your heart into it, and you honestly sit down there and

write something that’s compelling to you, it’s going to

touch the hearts of other people.” 

By Spc. Andy Miller

122nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Soldiers get creative with words
July 23, 2004 Scimitar Page 13

CAMP MAHMUDIYAH,

Iraq — It’s 9 a.m. and already

topping 90 degrees outside. 

Any normal person would be

inside sucking up the air conditioning, but for a group of

Marines with 2nd Battalion, 2nd

Marine Regiment, that’s not an

option.

They have to brave the heat to

make sure no one can launch

mortars or set up ambushes on

their comrades.

The patrols that circle areas

outside the base here are known

as Zone Zulu patrols. The

Marines who walk them every

day know them as something

else — six hours of dripping

sweat.

“We rotate the times squads

leave on patrol to always have a

presence outside the gate,” said

Sgt. Jonathan D. Calcamuggio, a

26-year-old squad leader with

Company G, from Owatonna,

Minn. “They only go for so

many hours because it wouldn’t

be feasible to carry all the water

we’d need for a longer patrol.

On a mounted patrol where we

drive everywhere, we can go

through 200 little bottles of

water in a day.”

The Marines left the base with

a supply of both water and

ammunition. The sights and

sounds of the busy highway near

the base quickly faded into the

quiet of the countryside. They

dispersed themselves as they

crossed fields and roads, circling

around their base.

The group of Marines found a

place to oversee the highway in

front of them and remain hidden. The sun was hidden behind

a cover of clouds. It just caused

the weather to be hot and humid.

“This is one of the best days

for weather we’ve seen since we

got to Iraq,” Calcamuggio said,

looking up at the sky. “The only

problem is we all look like we

took a swim in a river, as wet as

our cammies are.”

The squad watched the road

until it was time for them to

move again. They walked along

a canal road toward a large hill

where they could overlook the

ghetto of Mahmudiyah from

which the camp had received

mortar attacks. To get there, they

had to tackle the canal, and there

was no bridge to cross.

A metal pipe stretching from

one end of the canal to other

was the solution to their problem. It sat 20 feet above the

water and was their only access

to the other side, so they began

crossing it. Weighed down by

their water, ammunition and

protective gear, the Marines did

everything from stretch their

arms out for balance to stopping

to take a few breaths to cross it. 

“With all the gear these guys

have on, they’d sink like a stone

if they fell in,” Calcamuggio

said. “It’s a good thing we all

made it across.”

The squad took the hill by

digging their boots into the soft

dirt one step at a time, each boot

sinking into the earth as the

Marine inched higher. 

“The thing going through

everyone’s mind right now is, ‘I

hope they don’t get a fix on our

position and start dropping mortars on us,’”

Calcamuggio

said. 

The

Marines settled in under

what shade

they could in

the middle of

the day. The

temperature

was now past

115 degrees.

The heat

could take a

Marine out of

the fight as

fast as a bullet. The only

comfort was

the bottled water.

They remained unfazed as

shots rang out inside the city.

Every time they came near the

ghetto they could hear rifle fire,

usually being shot for celebratory reasons.

“We keep an eye out for anything suspicious going on in the

city, but we’re used to them firing weapons inside the ghetto,”

Calcamuggio explained. “It’s

just what they do.”

After watching the city and

the farms around them for an

hour, they moved on to their

next position inside a date tree

grove. Here, the land was wet

and muddy, shaded by the trees

and fed by primitive irrigation

systems. The mud clung to the

Marines’ boots in thick, heavy

clumps, dragging grass with

them as they trudged to their

position. 

The trees offered Marines

shade but no relief from the

heat.

“Being in this grove just

makes the humidity worse,”

Calcamuggio said. “The wet

mud and the heat combine to

make it miserable. I think the

thing we’re all going to do when

we get back is just stay in our

hooch out of the sun for the rest

of the day.”

The few people the squad saw

during their patrol had mixed

reactions to their presence.

Some of the children ran right

up to the Marines and others

were pulled inside by their parents.

“Some of the kids haven’t

seen Marines enough to be used

to them,” said Lance Cpl. Andre

R. Daigle, a 30-year-old from

Orlando, Fla. “It’ll get better the

more we’re out here.”

When the patrol was done, the

Marines were soaked through

with sweat and had

an inch of mud on

the soles of their

boots, but they

were happy. Hot

chow and rest

beckoned them

home. 

Their six hours

of braving the

summer weather in

Iraq paid dividends

they didn’t see,

however.

“If we didn’t

launch these

patrols, the frequency of indirectfire attacks would

increase. Our presence on these patrols deters the

bad guys,” said Maj. Brian W.

Neil, the battalion’s operations

officer and a Middletown,

Conn., resident. “The goal of the

Zone Zulu patrols is to disrupt

mortar-fire positions, and it does

that. They deter and disrupt.”

The patrols serve another purpose for the Marines on them,

however.

“These patrols really make the

time go by faster, even though

they’re tough,” said Daigle.

Story and photos by 

Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes

1st Marine Division

Walking the beat in Zone Zulu

Lance Cpl. Adam M. Groves, a squad automatic weapon gunner with Company G, 2nd

Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, peers from the bushes out at a field thought to be used

for enemy activity. The 20-year-old from Deale, Md., participates with his squad on

patrols that cirlce the perimeter of the base to deter mortar and ambush attacks.

With no bridge, Marines from Company G, 2nd Battalion,

2nd Marine Regiment had to cross this steel pipe spannng

the canal below. With more than 40 pounds of gear on

each of them, balance was key to not taking a swim.

“If we didn’t

launch these

patrols, the frequency of indirectfire attacks would

increase. Our presence on these

patrols deters the

bad guys.”

— Maj. Brian W. Neil
Page 14 Scimitar July 23, 2004

CAMP COOKE, Iraq —

The helicopters of the 1st

Cavalry Division’s 4th Brigade

Combat Team took to the air

with a vengeance in the spring. 

Flying missions that included

supporting troops on the ground

during combat operations to

transporting personnel between

forward operating bases, the

hours spent in the air quickly

accumulated. As aviation assets

fly more and more missions,

maintenance cycles and upkeep

on the precision equipment

becomes more and more crucial.

Responsible for phased and

unscheduled maintenance,

mechanics of the 615th Aviation

Support Battalion working the

night shift are part of a 24-hour

team that keeps 4th BCT’s birds

in the air.

“Each helicopter has a number

of hours it can be flown before it

must be taken off-line and put

into a phased-maintenance

cycle,” explained Capt. Cecil

Nix, a platoon leader with the

615th. “For the Apache, it’s 250.

For the Black Hawk, it’s 500.

And for the Kiowa, it’s 125.

After they’ve reached that

threshold, the bird is brought

into the shop, and my team

starts phased maintenance.”

Originally from Torrance, Ca.,

Nix went on to explain that

phased maintenance is a very indepth, complicated, lengthy

process. 

“When a bird does come in,

we check everything,” he said,

resting his hand on a stack of

technical manuals standing more

than a foot high. “Each one of

our helicopters has a series of

manuals detailing the exact manners and method of phased

maintenance. We take everything apart, check it over, fix it

if needs it ... oil, lube. It’s sort

of like bringing your car in for a

major overhaul.”

Nix said that a typical phasedmaintenance cycle takes about a

month to complete and is usually done once a year.

“The rate at which we’ve been

flying these birds has been astronomical,” he aid. “Back in garrison, we might perform a phased

maintenance once a year. Here,

we’ve been performing them

about every four months.”

Nix noted that in June alone,

4th BCT pilots logged 1,700

hours of flight time, the highest

amount for any of the commands in theater.

“That’s a lot of wear and tear

on a bird,” he said. “And if it

wasn’t for my guys in the hanger, we wouldn’t be able to get it

done.”

The awe-inspiring machines

that adorn the flight line stand in

stark contrast to the stripped

down shells that rest inside the

hanger. Power tools sound with

their “zip zip,” blending with the

cacophony of

metal on metal as

wrenches turn,

removing rotor

blades and adjusting transmissions.

“Everyone in

here understands

the importance of

their job,” said

Staff Sgt. Jose

Hernandez, a platoon sergeant with

the 615th ASB.

“And everyone

here does their

job incredibly

well.”

Hernandez said that completing phased maintenance is very

detailed work for his mechanics,

but they are getting it done in

record time.

“An Apache coming into the

hangar at Fort Hood, might take

30 days to get through a maintenance cycle,” he said. “But realizing how important this all is,

we’ve been getting the Apaches

back on the flight line in about

12 days. We have extremely

tight quality controls in place, as

well, ensuring that everything

that goes back into operation has

been checked, double checked

and triple checked.” 

Meeting mission requirements

of an increased workload and

expectations of quick turnaround

times has had a positive affect

on the mechanics.

“My teams are easily gaining

years worth of garrison experience out here,” Hernandez

beamed. “You just can’t simulate some of the conditions combat and the total

number of hours

flown puts these

birds under.”

Perched atop

the wing of an

Apache, Pfc.

Jordan Willburn,

an Apache

mechanic, calls

down for confirmation.

“We’re working on the transmission tonight,

right?” he calls

out.

“That’s right.

Open it up and get it looked

over,” comes a reply.

“The amount I’ve learned in

just four months is incredible,”

said Willburn, a native of

Maybearo, Texas. “Every time

one of these birds comes into

our shop, we know that the

safety and the trust of the pilots

is in our hands. If we don’t do

our job, and do it right, troops

on the ground don’t get support

and birds fall out of the sky.

That’s a lot of responsibility, but

we all take it very seriously, and

we do it right.”

Story and photos by 

Cpl. Benjamin Cossel

122nd Mobile Public 

Affairs Detachment

Lots of air time means lots of maintenance

Pfc. Jordan Willburn, an Apache mechanic with the 615th Aviation Support Battalion,

unwinds bailing wire that he will use to secure the transmission of an Apache helicopter

when he performs a diagnostic check.

Sgt. Aaron Hazelwood, an armored electrician with the

615th Aviation Support Battalion, works to prepare the 30-

millimeter gun mounts on an Apache helicopter during a

phased-maintenance cycle. Armored electricians are one

of the many mechanics and technicians that make up the

615th ASB’s night-shift mechanics platoon. 

A stripped helicopter sits in the 615th Aviation Support

Battalion’s hangar awaiting a maintenance crew to complete mandatory phased maintenance before it can be

put back on the flight line.

“Back in garrison, we might

perform a phased

maintenance once

a year. Here,

we’ve been performing them

about every four

months.”

— Capt. Cecil Nix
July 23, 2004 Scimitar Page 15

BAGHDAD, Iraq — One of the

greatest challenges facing multinational

forces is providing tangible evidence

that they came not only to remove

Saddam Hussein from power but to

restore Iraq in a manner that benefits

the people who suffered so long under

his dictatorship. 

A large portion of those visible

results includes not only restoring and

renovating the power grid, water and

sewer systems but developing housing

and commerce.

The 1,200 soldiers assigned to the

353rd Engineer Group, from Oklahoma

City, Okla., are meeting those challenges. Col. William Hagood commands the unit, and he knows the challenge well. As a civilian, he is senior

vice president of a civil engineering

and architecture firm.

“We do planning and design work for

infrastructure development,” said

Hagood. “It’s very similar to what

we’re doing here in Iraq.” Hagood said

his engineer assets are skilled beyond

the norm, and he credits the Army

Reserve.

“A lot of active-duty engineer units

are considered combat-heavy and are

designed to breach obstacles and provide support that closely supports the

forward combat-arms units,” Hagood

said. “In the Reserve, we’re more mission oriented to actual construction. I

have a lot of Soldiers who work in the

construction or engineering field in

their civilian occupations, like surveyors, builders, designers, architects and

civil engineers, so in this phase of the

stability and sustainment operation, we

are in demand.”

But even with the high civilian-skill

crossover apparent in Army Reserve

engineer units, the 353rd’s two battalions — the 411th from Hawaii and the

98th from Texas — were cross-leveled

at about 50 percent of their authorized

strengths due to earlier individual and

elemental mobilizations from the units.

“As a result,” Hagood said, “we have

Soldiers from all over the United

States, and that includes the ‘Pride of

the Pacific’ units from the 411th, which

covers Guam and Western Samoa. I

have a firefighting

unit here from

Puerto Rico. We

have flags displayed

in our headquarters

representing all the

states.”

Epitomizing

Hagood’s assessment

of the Army Reserve

engineer as a highly

skilled Soldier, Sgt.

1st Class Ronald Ice

has 15 years managing a construction

company. He’s

“knee-deep” in a

building-renovation

project at nearby

Forward Operating

Base FerrinHuggins.

“We’re working

with the Iraqi civilian population here,”

Ice said. “They’re

the ones who really

know what’s wrong

and how to fix it.

We’re just here to

help them.” Ice

noted that a lot of

the construction

work that was being done earlier was

fast and cheap – two criteria not known

for longevity. The soldiers assigned to

the companies of the two battalions, for

instance, are fully engaged in the renovation of a series of concrete housing

facilities that were hurriedly constructed by the Iraqis.

They were constructed so fast, in

fact, that the landfill they are built on

was not properly compacted and

allowed settlement time. Subsequently,

after the buildings went up and weathered the rainy season, the floors gave,

breaking all the water systems. The soldiers are now replacing those systems

and restoring the buildings, and the

Army engineers are also providing

input to contracting.

“Sometimes the low bid isn’t always

the best,” Ice said. “We’re now looking

at all the bids realistically, determining

the best contractor for the job and

sticking to our guns on quality.”

Maj. Curtis Woods is, by civilian

trade, the deputy commissioner for public works in Mount Vernon, N.Y., where

he oversees the city’s water, electric

and sanitation operations. Here, his

duties are similar.

“I’m working with my Iraqi counterpart,” Woods said. “We’re trying to systematically identify the problems and

develop solutions. It’s going to take a

while. I see much bigger problems here

than I do at home, but that’s going to

help me in the long run.”

Lt. Col. Doug Satterfield is the chief

design engineer for the 453rd. He said

he feels his soldiers are gaining more

from the deployment than exercising

their skill sets and developing new construction in Iraq.

“I’m proud of my Soldiers and what

they’re doing,” Satterfield said. “They

will be better people, both in terms of

professional skills as well as recognizing what is important in life – not just

in their jobs, but in their families and

religious lives, too. And the people of

Iraq will be better people, too.”

“We’re here to help the Iraqis get

back on their feet and supply essential

services so they’ll be able to use these

facilities in the future,” said Hagood.

“That’s really what we’re here for – to

provide them with the benefit and

knowledge of our experience ... and

give them a fresh start.

“I think the Iraqi people are very grateful for the work we’re doing with them.

It’s a new thing they’re experiencing – a

thing they haven’t experienced for generations. To be here working with the 1st

Cavalry Division is great. These construction projects are their main focus

now, and it’s very gratifying for us to be

involved. I think it’s going to win the

hearts and minds of the Iraqi people ...

and I think we’ll do it.”

Army engineers

develop Iraq’s

infrastructure

Story and photos by 

Master Sgt. Jack Gordon

U.S. Army Reserve Command

Public Affairs Acquisition Team 

Army Reserve Soldiers pour concrete for a housing complex renovation

managed by the 353rd Engineer Group from Oklahoma City.

An Army Reserve Soldier finishes concrete in a

Baghdad, Iraq, housing complex.
Page 16 Scimitar July 23, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Folks

walking from the International

Zone Post Exchange here to the

former Presidential Palace may

witness a vicious, right-hand

cross being delivered to a sparring opponent’s jaw every day.

The punch is on display, day or

night, because it’s frozen in time

by an unknown artist.

The martial mural is painted on

the off-white stucco exterior of

the Morale, Welfare and

Recreation’s CPA Fitness and

Recreation Center attracting

those interested in oriental forms

of exercise and discipline. 

One form offered is the Korean

practice of tae kwon do. 

“I came to the gym, saw the

mural outside, got the flier and

showed up,” said Army Sgt.

Jorge R. Paez, a B Company, 1st

Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment

medic from Fort Hood, Texas.

Paez, a Laredo, Texas native,

said he lives right across the

street from the fitness center and

has only missed two classes in a

little over a month. 

Paez said he started young,

around 9 years old. He also participates in aikido and the “sweet

science,” boxing. 

“It’s a good alternative to running every day,” said Paez. “It’s a

good aerobic exercise and keeps

me young.”

The physical-workout aspect

was one of the attractions for relative newcomer Army 1st Lt.

Kristina Houtz, the executive

officer for D Company, 57th

Signal Battalion, also from Hood.

“I’ve always been athletic,”

said Houtz, who claims

Columbia, Mo., as home.

Up until her senior year at the

University of Missouri, her exercise had come from soccer, softball and basketball, said Houtz.

TKD was more than just a way

to keep in shape for Houtz.

“I always wanted to be able to

defend myself,” said Houtz, who

learned the American Tae Kwon

Do Association style at Missouri.

Instruction at the fitness center

is in the World Tae Kwon Do

Association style and taught by

Grandmaster Sung Bok Nam, an

eighth-degree black belt. 

Nam has been an instructor

since 1960. He has taught in

Vietnam, Laos, Thailand Egypt

and the United States, according

to the MWR flier. 

“I am the coach for the Iraqi

National Team,” said the Koreanborn Nam. He said he volunteered to set up the class for the

local MWR.

In his 20 years living in the

U.S., he was the TKD coach for

the 1993 U.S. Olympic team and

is the president of the

Pennsylvania TKD Association,

according to the flier.

The flier seems to have been as

instrumental as the mural in getting those serving in the

International Zone to participate.

Houtz said the flier prompted

her to interrupt her year-long

drought and restart her martial

arts training.

Sometimes advertising is just

old-fashioned word of mouth.

“A guy in the CMO,

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Lister,

was taking the classes here and

passed the baton to me,” said Lt.

Col. Lemural Byrd, an educational specialist officer with the

350th Civil Affairs Battalion out

of Pensacola, Fla.

Byrd, who works at the

Civilian Military Operation

Directorate at the former palace,

said he started practicing martial

arts back home.

The Mobile County, Ga.,

native said it gave him something

to do with his grandchildren. 

In addition to the bonding it

offers, TKD is good for a cardiovascular workout, general exercise and flexibility, said Byrd.

Byrd said he also appreciates

the five principles of TKD: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, selfcontrol and indomitable spirit.

According to the Minnesota

Taekwondo Center Web site, “it

is these five qualities of spirit that

will keep the martial artist on the

mountain of life, regardless of the

body’s physical limitations the

years bring forth. To develop and

to cherish these qualities and then

to practice them will enable the

martial artist to face any and all

terrain on the mountain of life

where family, work, leisure,

friendship and spirituality flow

like streams into a lake, running

over with water for everything

living.”

All that, or maybe just give the

practitioners a good aerobic exercise or help them to escape the

routine of serving far from home. 

All interested folks should

pass through the door protected

by the still-form guardians and

ask for an application. The only

cost is sweat.

Above: Sgt. Jorge R. Paez (right), a combat medic with

Company B, 1st battalion, 9th Cavalry regiment, is

instructed by Grandmaster Sung Bok Nam, an eighthdegree black belt who coaches the Iraqi National Team.

Left: 1st Lt. Kristina Houtz, the executive officer for D

company, 57th Signal Battalion, practices a move as her

coach, Grandmaster Sung Bok Nam, looks on.

By Sgt. 1st Class

Peter J. Chadwick

Defense Information School

Martial-arts class offers change of pace

1st Lt. Kristina Houtz (left) practices the discipline of tae

kwon do as a means of exercise and for self defense. The

University of Missouri graduate began studying tae kwon

do as a college senior.

The martial-arts murial painted on the exterior wall of the

Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s CPA Fitness and

Recreation Center attracts those interested in practicing

oriental forms of exercise.

Petty Officer 1st Class Joel I. Huval, U.S. Navy

Petty Officer 1st Class Joel I. Huval, U.S. Navy

Petty Officer 1st Class Joel I. Huval, U.S. Navy

Petty Officer 1st Class Joel I. Huval, U.S. Navy