This picture is one of myself (in the middle) with my driver and another American advisor along with some of my Iraqi soldiers and Iraqi Border Guards at the border checkpoint of Naft Khanan with the Iranian demilitarized zone on the other side of the checkpoint.

Since the last issue, I have been busy conducting combat operations with the new Iraqi Army. It’s kind of interesting going out on combat patrols where there are just two Americans and twenty to sixty Iraqis with automatic weapons. Most of the missions we conduct are traffic checkpoints where we search vehicles or we patrol the roads looking for mines and buried explosives.

We also do walking patrols through villages and raids on suspected houses belonging to smugglers, arms dealers, and terrorists. I consider walking through the villages and talking to the village elders and the rest of the people to be the key to success over here. Once the locals see that we aren’t a threat and we are looking out for their well-being, they are more than willing to tell us about terrorists and other suspicious individuals. Under the tutelage of the American advisor team, the new Iraqi Army has madevast improvements in both their capabilities and professionalism. They have also captured large amounts of weapons, ammunition, and explosives.

Currently, my division (4th Infantry Division) is redeploying back to the United States and should be back by mid-April after a year of combat in Iraq. We are very anxious to see our friends and family along with being able to eat a decent meal and have a cold beer. As history will record, the American forces in Iraq have made huge strides toward the peace and stability in the Middle East along with passing the torch of freedom to an entire nation. None of us have any doubts that it will be a long , and perhaps painful, process for Iraq to fully mature into a respectable nation-state, nonetheless it is a worth-while undertaking and one that we are proud of.

[ AGR News | SICKLE & SHEAF | AGR's Home Page | @g online ]