Letters From Iraq

By MAJ Donald L. Green, November 22, 2007

Today - I feasted on one of the best Thanksgiving meals I have had in a very long time.  The interesting aspect of the meal was it being my first meal on my first day in Iraq with a newly formed U.S. Army National Police Transition Team.  This is no slight to my family and friends, given the choice I would much rather be in their company; however, my family of immediate concern is here, an eleven member team of soldiers I am now living and working with for the next 356 days.  The family substitution is necessary for the time being and I hope that all will understand.
 

The Team’s specialties are broad for eleven men, each backing up the other as a second or third in tasks and knowledge.  Their base strengths lay in their key primary functions  consisting of an Engineer Officer, Military Police Officer, Intelligence Officer, Logistics Officer, Aviation Officer, Communication/Signal Specialist, Combat Medic, and four Senior Infantry Non-Commissioned Officers rounding out a very competent team.  These soldiers are some of the most tactically and technically proficient soldiers I have ever had the privilege to work with and most volunteered for this very special and important mission.
 

Transition teams are a critical part to the Department of Defense plan to improve the capabilities on Iraqi Security Forces in preparation for the eventual departure of U.S. Soldiers and governmental support.  Their mission is simply to advise and assist the Iraqi Army, National Police, and Local Police through training and mentoring in procedures and tactics that are similar to other democracies throughout the world - protecting the nation’s people without external help.  This training is crucial to self governing and becoming a nation by the Iraqi people for the Iraqi people.

Our team will spend the next year side-by-side with Iraqi counterparts conducting training and daily activities together in their country for their nation’s benefit.  During this time we will learn as much about them, as they do about us, both reciprocating the knowledge and sharing it with anyone we contact.  This eventually will lead to a much greater understanding of each other’s ways improving small portions of the big world we live in.

The mission is somewhat different than typical army missions as it requires a thorough understanding of the Iraqi culture, society, and people of whom we will work with.  Imagine going to a foreign country to teach graduate level theory without knowing the culture or language, then an understanding may develop of the gravity of our task.  We have been extremely fortunate to spend the last three months learning about the Iraqi/Arab culture and the Islamic religion and it’s affect on our mission.  The Army went to great length in exposing our team, and other teams like it, to the culture and language providing a better understanding of the people we will deal with as they have been struggling for true independence and national identity for quite some time.  Countless hours of training with Middle Eastern language specialists followed by realistic role playing under the tutelage of Iraqi nationals at Fort Riley, Kansas and Camp Buehring, Kuwait has made our training much more meaningful.  The people who we will work with may seem extremely different but in reality are more like us than we would like to believe.

Great things are happening in what is now being called the “Sunni awakening” but should more aptly be called the “Iraqi Awakening” as it is a national elemental movement versus a movement of individual favor.  These people want a better life (much like every free American) and are now taking back the country from the insurgent outsiders (Al-Qaeda) to make it their own.  With the help of the security forces that we are training, the Iraqis will control their own destiny and are expelling the outsiders who have hurt the innocent people they want to protect the most, their families.

The Iraqi people have a strong bond to family, community (tribe), and religion, the same social forces that drive our great nation.  Iraqi’s carry a huge importance in personal relationships and have great reverence for the extended family which impacts their daily lives.  It is more common for Iraqi’s to focus on the important factors of personal life before conducting any business.  When conducting missions, it is typical to spend a great deal of time discussing personal issues first and it would be considered rude and inconsiderate if they do not.  It becomes a great depicter of the kind of people that the Iraqis are and shows the inner workings of their society as perhaps an example to us.  This calling teaches the importance of family and individual that so often gets forgotten with today’s pace and methods.

Green is a 1985 graduate of Columbia City Joint High School, a 1995 Graduate  of Central State University, Ohio, and a career Army Officer.