Barnes Blog
As the conflict in Iraq continues, U.S. News has dispatched Pentagon correspondent Julian E. Barnes for a frontline view.
Barnes, who has periodically reported from Iraq since the war began in 2003, is blogging his impressions for usnews.com.
An Iraqi twist on election-time 'meet and greets'
As the Iraqi election draws nearer, American forces are keeping a close watch on the polling sites for the December 15 vote. On a recent visit to the village of Hor al-Sufor, a small Arab Sunni town west of Kirkuk, soldiers from the 101st Airborne's 1-327 infantry battalion received some hard stares and discovered graffiti near the polling site warning that those residents who go to the polls will be killed.
And so before the break of dawn, the battalion's Charlie Company rolled into town to conduct a "cordon and greet," which the Army considers a politically correct way of saying it encircled the town and then searched all 73 houses in the village.
It was not until nearly the last house searched that the soldiers found what they were looking for: a sniper scope, a ski mask, and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Most disturbing perhaps were the 70 armor-piercing bullets and a list of candidates that the soldiers of the 101st said was stored in the ammunition bag.
Frontline Iraqi soldiers
On the early-morning operation in Hor al-Sufor, Charlie Company brought with them a platoon from the Iraqi Army. The Iraqi jundi, Arabic for soldiers, started out slowly. Lt. Pat Smith, one of the American platoon leaders, repeatedly asked the jundi to come with his soldiers to search the houses. But the Iraqis hung back, either not understanding the order or reluctant to charge ahead.
Charlie Company's third platoon had more luck. The plan had been to have the jundi search each house for weapons after the Americans had cleared the house of people. But the 101st has been trying to teach the jundi the proper technique for clearing houses. So the American platoon decided on the fly to have the Iraqis go first.
"This is the first time we've had them go first," said Staff Sgt. Rusty Lewis. "The only way they are going to learn is by doing." And at every house the platoon's noncommissioned officers urged the Iraqis forward. And with each successfully cleared house, the Iraqis appeared to grow more confident.
When it came to clearing and searching the homes, the jundi were not as disciplined or professional as the Americans. But the Iraqis have had only a week of training on how to clear buildings. And the jundi did remember the basic technique, moving into an uncleared room in formation and quickly searching and moving to the corners.
The jundi based in Huwija, a midsize Arab town to the west of Kirkuk, lag behind other Iraqi Army units. According to the Iraqis, the American military unit that previously oversaw the area did little training beyond marksmanship. In addition, the Iraqi Army soldiers in the Kirkuk area are former Iraqi national guardsmen. Before they were integrated early this year, the Army and ING were two separate forces, and the guardsmen received a shorter local training program rather than the long training program at the national academies. And, as former guardsmen, the Iraqi soldiers in Huwija all come from that town. And when it comes to doing raids or operations in their hometown, many in the force feel conflicted.
Staff Sgt. Brian Ross, one of the American soldiers assigned to the military training team, says the Huwija soldiers know what is going on in their town.
"They know everything," he says. "But they [the Iraqi Army soldiers] don't deliver a lot of information because they don't want it getting back that they were the source."
Still, Sgt. 1st Class Pete Chambers, a Charlie Company soldier overseeing the jundi during the Hor al-Sufor search, says it is important to get the Iraqi soldiers from Huwija to clean up their own town.
"A bunch of Kurds would clean house, but that would create animosity," Chambers says. "If we can get these guys to clean up their own backyard, then we will be making progress."
FOB food reviews
At Forward Operating Base Warrior outside Kirkuk, the living is pretty good. The Green Beans coffee stand is open 24 hours a day and serves a fantastic latte. The Burger King is not so great, serving hamburgers reminiscent of the public school lunches of central Maine. But the Warrior fobbits say the Taco Bell due to open this week should make up for the Burger King's problems.
The living is not so easy on Forward Operating Base McHenry, located near the Arab town of Huwija. There is an Internet tent, but many feel cut off from the news.
"I just learned this week that there were two vacancies on the Supreme Court," said one soldier. "I never see the news."
More problematic: the rocket attacks. The base has been shelled by insurgents about 20 times in the past week, according to soldiers who live here. On Wednesday, two white phosphorous rounds hit the base sending a plume of white smoke into the air and burning some lumber. Luckily no one was hurt.
Uniforms—from camo to combat
On their second deployment to Iraq, the soldiers of the 101st Airborne gave up their DCUs, or desert camouflage uniforms, for the new ACUs, or Army combat uniforms. The new uniform is light green and khaki blended together in a digitized pattern rather than the traditional camouflage swirl. Soldiers wearing the ACUs in the Pentagon don't look like they would blend well into the desert environment given how green the uniforms look. But in practice, the colors of the uniform work well in Iraq, making the 101st soldiers difficult to pick out, especially when they are walking down a dusty gray street.
But the new uniform is not without its problems. Soldiers have complained that the wash-and-wear fabric tears easily and does not stand up to the tough desert conditions. More embarrassing are the Velcro problems. When soldiers stand shoulder to shoulder at a review, their patches can become caught on the Velcro–in Army parlance, "hook and pile"–of the Joe on either side.
And in Iraq, soldiers have also found that when they enter a tent, the Velcro closure will often snag their shoulder patch.