Hawai'i troops learn to adjust to major Iraq responsibilities

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

KIRKUK, Iraq — Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry is a Quick Reaction Force, ready to roll on 20 minutes notice to conduct a raid.

Capt. Bill Venable, commander of Company C, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, meets local clerics in a Kirkuk government building. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

And, oh, by the way, it's responsible for overseeing the reconstruction of everything from police and fire service to schools and roads in the southwest sector of the city, a mostly poor Arab part of town with 300,000 people.

Reconstruct is not what infantry soldiers usually do. They're trained to fight and kill with overwhelming force. But humanitarian assistance also is part of the mission in Iraq. And it means first lieutenants age 22 or 23 are in charge of city sub-sections.

"One of the greatest things about the U.S. Army is soldiers and leaders are taught at the lowest levels to solve problems on their own," said Charlie Company commander Capt. Bill Venable, 36. "In many cases it's a 23-year-old lieutenant who's in charge of 32 American lives or a couple of million dollars of equipment."

Soldiers are given an enormous amount of responsibility at a young age, and Venable thinks those lessons will lay the foundation for the execution of the responsibilities that lie ahead.

In Iraq, with the U.S. force total dropping from 130,000 to about 110,000, the reality is fewer soldiers have to go a longer way.

"If we didn't empower these junior leaders to get it done, it wouldn't work," said Col. Lloyd Miles, commander of Schofield's 2nd Brigade Combat Team in northern Iraq.

With the biggest area of responsibility for an Army brigade in Iraq — the 25th Infantry Division's operating region is the size of New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts combined — a lot of responsibility will fall on each soldier's shoulders.

First Lt. Nick Workman from Washington state, Charlie Company's 3rd Platoon leader, came to understand how much authority he'll have on a ride-along with 1st Lt. Tom Anderson, a counterpart from the 173rd Brigade. The Italy-based 173rd is in the process of redeploying home.

"Lt. Anderson ... said you have authority over even the police," Workman, 23, said. "You are judge and jury, the final say, which is pretty remarkable for somebody just two years out of college."

Workman will have autonomy over schools, police stations and neighborhood groups in his sector.

Reconstruction money

At a meeting with about 20 religious leaders, Army officials laid out the U.S. investment in At Tamim province around Kirkuk: 717 projects completed, including $6 million worth of public works projects; 101 school projects totaling $1.4 million; $5 million in public safety projects; and 20 small-business grants at $5,000 apiece for $100,000. Reconstruction money committed to the province is $19.2 million.

Venable, a 14-year Army veteran and former enlisted man who once worked for a Fortune 200 firm, is back in the business world to some degree in Kirkuk. That's the case when he's not taking part in raids.

"I see my role as sort of a managing director where I just help apply the right combination of expertise and energy and money to help solve a problem," said the Mississippi State University graduate.

Venable and other Schofield Barracks soldiers received some training for their reconstruction roles, including "some cultural awareness training and some vignettes — mostly roundtable discussions." Mock villages also were created on O'ahu with soldiers role-playing as villagers.

The Mississippi man and father of two, who has traveled extensively through Central and South America with the Army, only last week met some of the mullahs in Kirkuk, as well as police and local government officials.

Capt. Bill Bundy, 29, the commander of Company B, 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment with the 173rd Airborne, has had the job Venable is assuming since last April.

When the 173rd parachuted into the region, " ... there was no police, no municipal authority. Especially when we got here, we ran every aspect of the city."

No one was going to school, and huge ammunition caches were being stored in the buildings.

Bundy said when the 2nd of the 503rd got to reconstruction in Kirkuk, "It was unbelievably overwhelming. But you prioritize."

Economics lesson

Kirkuk became a lesson in Economics 101.

Restoring electricity helped with the production of gasoline, which puts it in the market and helps bring down the cost of gas. The lines for gas go down, which brings down the cost for taxis and buses, and that allows goods to get to market from farms.

"You talk to community leaders and people in the street and try to get a feel for what they really need in the sector," Bundy said.

The 2nd of the 503rd opened three police stations, a fire station, police academy, five schools and a health clinic.

Projects are nominated for financing. Three local bids are sought, and the battalion decides whether to finance the project. Soldiers then supervise the execution of the contract.

Future projects will include a $150,000 auditorium for the Kirkuk Police Academy, an $11,600 water-tank restoration, and a satellite police station at a cost of $13,000. In the southwest sector, there are about 60 schools, 17 of which are receiving U.S. financial assistance.

Meeting with mullahs

After the meeting with religious leaders, Shamal Jalal Azeez, a mullah for Kerdar Mosque in central Kirkuk, said through an interpreter: "They (Americans) promised us a lot of things, but they don't do it. They are too slow. We need a lot of things. They did a lot of things — but not completed."

The most important, he said, is the "transfer of power of the government of Iraq (to the people), because anything they do for us, the U.S. controls our country."

The Associated Press reported that South Korea is sending 3,000 troops to Kirkuk before the end of April, and the forces would be solely responsible for security and reconstruction.

Miles said yesterday he had heard the rumors, but "there's been nothing that has come down (from higher command)" indicating a different mission for the 25th in Kirkuk.

Company A of the 1-21 is working out of central Kirkuk and Company B in an eastern portion of the city from safe houses — residences that have been fortified with razor wire and sandbags. Headquarters and Headquarters Company and Company C will remain based at Kirkuk Air Base. Other 25th Division forces are based west and east of Kirkuk, and in Tuz, Mosul and Balad.

The southwest sector that Charlie Company will oversee is about 70 percent Arab, about 20 percent Turkmen, and the rest Kurds.

Bundy said Venable's biggest challenge is probably going to be employment, keeping people occupied "and with money in their pockets so they are out spending money and are happy."

"It's getting better now," he added.

Still, power is out about half the time in the city, and only about 20 percent of the people have phones.

Ethnic rivalry

Other concerns are ethnic rivalry, and outside influences from al-Qaida and Ansar al-Islam, a Muslim fundamentalist group centered in western Iran, at some points only 100 miles east of Kirkuk.

Charlie Company soldiers have been going out on raids for insurgents in Kirkuk, and say they are also ready for the reconstruction mission. One of the projects the 173rd's Anderson proposed was a nearly $500,000 plan for paved roads and plumbing.

"As a lieutenant, that's your own idea, you go ahead, make a plan and set it up," Workman said. "Whether it's accepted remains to be seen, but if it is, you can make a tremendous impact on the country.

"It's pretty cool to be able to put that on your resume when you get out. Hey, I built a school, or I gave a neighborhood running water, or paved roads working with these local leaders."