A good assessment and I agree with the conclusion: It's time to attack in the other direction

Colonel Tim Reese is an advisor to the Baghdad Operations Center. Where I advise a Brigade, he advises the big heads two echelons up. He wrote a memo that was "leaked" to the press (New York Times, at that) explaining that US forces should declare victory and go home, since the current Government of Iraq (GOI) doesn't want us here anymore. Except to give them stuff. Militarily, we have ridden this thing about as far as its potential will take us.

Our team discussed the memo and for the most part we are in agreement. The Bike riding analogy towards the end is especially applicable. Maybe another appropriate analogy is a teenager with a car: He/she wants to drive, but doesn't want to pay for gas or insurance (or the car), doesn't know the limitations of the car and his/her ability to operate it, occasionally goes to unfamiliar neighborhoods and gets himself/herself into trouble and expects mom and dad to come and bail them out, then wrecks the car, and promptly demands a new one.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/world/middleeast/31advtext.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=middleeast

We are gonna start loading our containers now. Off to pack!!!
Ron

Today was very Orangey

Dust storm. Yuk.

Take care-
Ron

Today was one of those days where I wonder if they will make it

So we have another muslim holiday called Shabaniya coming up, which is about the birth of the 12th Imam (I think I got that right). It involves another bigass pilgrimage right down the street in front of where we live down to Karbala. "Millions" will walk over about a 7-8 day stretch, although today I learned many aren't as faithful as Arba'een, as it is hot as blazes here (around 115 every day), so a lot of people will drive it this time.

So anyway, we are expecting a lot of foot traffic, and in a humanitarian effort, we (the Coalition) gave some bottled water to the Iraqi Army Brigade for them to distribute during the march. It makes them look good, it is a nice non-sectarian guesture, and hopefully it will alleviate some of the walking casualties that will no doubt occur from the heat.

Well, it appears the Division Commander did not approve of his Brigade getting water from the Coalition; he thought it should go to him. So he sent trucks and a forklift to the Brigade to take all of the water-- 54 pallets of it. Water is not a big deal to us, our supply lines have it coming out our ears, but to Iraqis, water is life. The water in town is not very drinkable (think Mexico/3d world country) and the people in the countryside get theirs from the severely polluted canals, that is, when there is water in the canals. His rationale was that he was going to hold it and later distribute it to the Brigade so they could later distribute it to the people. He was said he worried the Brigade would keep it for themselves.

Sure you were.

A quick Iraqi Logistics 101 class: Most of the IA still runs on a cash-based logistics system: Each IA unit is paid on the amount of soldiers it has, and that's what the unit uses to feed, house, outfit its unit. If the Brigade Commander is a good businessman, he gets good deals on food, furniture, office supplies, etc, and has money left over for area improvements, infrastructure, air conditioners, and stuff like that. This system circumvents a very inefficient logistics system, which is the biggest problem facing the IA today. It is also a potentially corrupt system, as the unit commander can skimp on things for the soldier and pocket the money, or steer his business towards specific contractors in return for kickbacks. So when a Division Commander gets his greasy palms on 64,000 bottles of free water, he doesn't have to buy bottled water for a long time.

My opinion: Water (and supplies in general) is power, and Iraqis love to hoard stuff. Stuff equals power ('wasta') and if I have something you don't I can hold it over your head. They do the same with information: It makes me have value-- if you know what I know, what good am I? Usually I refer to this behavior as "The Junior High Syndrome" as its logic is quite juvenile. It's also why Iraqis in general are so meeting averse and information sharing averse, which totally goes against our current trend of being an information sharing-based society.

It makes you wonder how a society lasted this long. Oh yeah, that's right-- Brutal dictatorship.

Another day. Hope you are well.
Ron

90 And a Wakeup

As of today we have around 90 days left, which is a good thing. It is a chance to refocus and see if there is anything we still want to get after. It is also a chance to reflect and start thinking about sharing the experience with others who will follow us.

T.E. Lawrence had 27 Articles; David Kilcullen had 28 articles for Counterinsurgency. Ronald of Arabia should be no different, and I am up to 12 articles for my Counterinsurgency and Advising Experience:

1. Advising is Patience, Listening, Understanding and Timing/Opportunity. (I stole this from LTC Seagrist, former 9th IA MTT Chief, and it has become my common theme.) You must invest time in a relationship to be successful. Be patient, they will tell you their concerns, their problems, and what they want help with. What they want help with isn’t necessarily what they need help with. Take time to listen and really understand their position, and then seek the opportunity to pose solutions and recommendations to what needs to get fixed.

2. Relationships at all levels (ISF, Iraqis, adjacent unit, CF, BDE, BN, other MTTs, media, logistics people- everyone) are the key to getting things done as an advisor. Plan on being an extrovert.

2. It’s not about you. It’s not about your Coalition Force (CF) unit either. It’s not about numbers of named operations, numbers of bad guys the CF killed/captured, or how great of a job you are doing. American Soldiers are doing amazing things every day, but if you are not pimping your IA unit in everything you do, you are wrong.

3. You don’t own battlespace. It’s their country, and you should consult them if you are about to do something that they will have to conduct consequence management on.

4. This is not OIF 1, 3, 4, 7, or even 9. It's not OIF two months ago. It’s not like the last time you were here, it is completely different. What seemed like a good idea in 2005 is probably a really bad idea right now. Reassess often, and accept that change is good.

5. Vengeance will not solve the problem of the random explosion. Explosions are diversions to your real mission, which is focusing on the people and building ISF capacity.

6. Give the people what the insurgent can’t provide: Help the IA and GOI build capacity by working on Water, sewage, electricity, a shot at decent medical care, representation in government. If the ISF isn’t thinking in those terms, this is now your internal PSYOP campaign to influence them in this direction.

7. The people are the center of gravity. If the people are a cookie, the Sheiks are the extra special stuff in the middle of the Oero cookie. Don’t be fooled, they still run the show. Make sure you have IA/ISF representation when you deal with them, else they will either play you off against each other, or you will make a mess that the ISF will have to clean up/conduct consequence management on. It is also a good chance to put ISF In the lead. Besides, the ISF is way smarter than you when it comes to dealing with sheiks.

8. Think hard about giving the IA an enabler: Will they really use it? Or is it American technology designed to spy on the ISF? Does its injection inhibit the IA from doing it their way? If so, then don’t apply it. If it makes them look good, if it helps teach or reinforce a lesson, then by all means, offer them the moon.

9. The easy way is kinetic. The hard way is using the brain to figure out a solution that isn’t kinetic. “The violent way is the short way, and the peaceful way is the long way.” --COL Bill Rapp, Advisor to GEN Petraeus during the surge. I am convinced that long, boring and slow is how we will win.

10. American solutions and TTPs are just that: Solutions for Americans. Don’t get offended if the ISF don’t take your advice. Keep trying, throw more spaghetti at the wall and accept some of it will stick and some of it won’t. Reinforce and exploit success where the spaghetti sticks.

11. The IA leads everywhere. They are the most effective counter IED device in country.

12. Not everyone will hit their stride or start making an impact immediately, and this isn’t necessarily bad. It will take some on your team up to 9 months to have an impact. What will matter is the persistence of the advisor when confronted with continued negativity. Patience and persistence will win out, if you are patient and persistent enough…

I'll try to come up with more. For those getting ready to make the trip, I hope it helps.

Take care-
Ron

Captain Ross Boyce

I realized with the posting of Sonny Hinchman that when I posted a name in the subject line, it was for something bad. But instead, I want to highlight a great guy and his efforts here.

Ross Boyce was commissioned as an Infantryman, and he deployed here last with 2-7 CAV of the 1st Cavalry Division, where he saw much more than his fare share of bad things in Iraq. Ross did his time, served his country, and decided to get out and move in a different direction in his life. He enrolled in medical school in North Carolina, and was in his 3d year of med school when he got a set of orders in the mail: He had been recalled to Active Duty to serve with the North Carolina National Guard and deploy.

He could have gotten out of it. Many of these letters go unanswered. Many of the recalled show up to the mobilization centers out of shape and overweight, others with a litany of reasons why they should not have been recalled. But Ross didn't fight it. He likely could have got out of it due to his future as a doctor. He started going to unit drills, and he is currently the assistant S3 (operations guy) for the unit I am attached to. He does everything there, including some great work on the so-called 'nonlethal' side.

Using his medical experience, he branched out to meet with doctors at the local hospital who were frustrated with their lack of capability. Through patience and listening (a constant theme of advising), he was able to understand their problems, which primarily resulted in a lack of communication from the Ministry of Health (MOH), which for a while, expected 'The Americans' to do everything. Not the case anymore. But through listening, CPT Boyce noticed some areas that the Americans could help, and recommended to the staff at the hospital what they could do. The US efforts will now supplement the MOH efforts, all of which will work to get care capability to the people of our area.

The doctors, in turn, talked to the people, and more needs were assessed and determined, and the Coalition is now in a position to help with this too, providing the Iraqis take the initial lead. Future projects include a much needed emergency room expansion, a center for continuing medical education (their medicine is about 30 years behind ours), a local physician professional organization, and providing opportunities for local doctors to obtain more up to date equipment.

This is now the kind of fight we are in, and it is focused on self-sufficiency. Such a change from 2006 and 2007 in this area.

My hat is off to this guy. He has every right to be bitter, but is coming up with innovative solutions to difficult problems, and making a great effort in a place that still needs help.

Thanks for reading.
Ron

Two steps back: An example of frustration…

The other day was a bit odd. To set this up, it requires some background.

Since 30 June, the IA has gone at a breakneck pace in conducting operations. The operations were very visible, but they weren’t very intelligence focused; it was an effort to get lots of soldiers on the streets providing security. We did grab some stuff, but there weren’t any tips that led us to it, it was more blind luck and saturation of the area than anything else. So the IA is tired.

In an effort to continue the message of security, the Brigade Commander planned to meet with all of the influencers of this one town (sheiks, Sons of Iraq leaders, neighborhood muqtars, etc.) and deliver this message of security, and that the people should still be supporting the Government of Iraq. It was an excellent idea, and it was his chance to explain to them the temporary heightened security and the results it provided, and to perhaps co-opt some support for the cause and the IA. The meeting was set for 2:00pm. I told him I’d be there, and that the Coalition Commander, LTC Mellott, also planned to attend as a show of support.

I showed up the next day, on Vince Lombardi time (the American Standard-- if you are five minutes early, you are 10 minutes late) and it turns out he cancelled the meeting and went to Baghdad with the Division Commander. Sheiks poured into the Iraqi Army compound, only to be turned away, being told the meeting was cancelled. No explanation. It clearly did not sit well with many of them. No phone calls to anyone, he just up and left, and he really didn’t tell… Anyone. A chance to send a message and garner support was completely squandered.

It is an odd culture (by Western standard), where timelines and plans aren’t hard like they are in America. Many a mission we have agreed on a start time the night prior, and many a morning I have waited on average 30 minutes for the Brigade Commander to wake up and prepare himself for the operation, while my guys sit in the trucks and wait. This part of the job frustrates me immensely. What is even more frustrating is how Iraqis don’t realize how much it offends westerners. I go out of my way to make sure in my interactions with Iraqis that I am respecting their culture, yet he, a Brigade Commander, can’t respect a simple agreed upon time. We jokingly call it “Iraqi Standard Time.” Generally the overall Arab culture is very much a ‘if God wills it’ (insh’allah), but the western culture is more akin to shaping its own destiny by making plans and sticking to them. I guess that’s why they think Americans are impatient. And

I guess that’s why we think Arabs are lazy because they have no ambition beyond the moment.

I suppose it’s another good reason why Arabs lose wars.

Take care-
Ron

CW5 (RET) Sonny Hinchman

(CNN) -- A helicopter from private military contractor Xe crashed outside Baghdad on Friday, killing two crew members and leaving two other injured, a company spokeswoman said.The MD-530 "Little Bird" went down Friday morning at Butler Range, a training facility outside Baghdad, said Stacy Capace, a spokeswoman for the company formerly known as Blackwater.An investigation into the crash is under way, and it was not known whether there was any hostile fire in the area at the time, Capace said."On behalf of all the employees of Xe Services, our thoughts and prayers are with our four brothers involved in this incident and with their families," the company said in a statement on the crash. "We are reminded of the risk in serving our nation and ever more proud of the men and women who bravely accept that risk on behalf of all Americans."

Word travels fast, and I found out CW5 (RET) Sonny Hinchman was one of the pilots. I had the luxury of serving with Sonny when I was in 1-7 CAV at Fort Hood. He was a legend then-- an incredible pilot, a ball to be around, and a true patriot.

Take care, Sonny; your family is in my prayers.

June 30

Above, me, Staff Colonel Mohsen (my IA Brigade Commander), and LTC Jack Mellott, the Commander of 1st Battalion, 120th Combined Arms Battalion (North Carolina National Guard), the Coalition unit I am attached to, during a recent early morning neighborhood clearance operation.

The 30th of June was a big day for Iraq. It was the day that US forces were required to be out of the cities. Luckily for us, Mahmudiya doesn't really qualify as one of the bigger cities, so we still enjoy some freedom of movement. We do, however, make a conscious effort to adhere to the rules of the Status of Forces Agreement: All operations must be combined, which we have actually been doing for some time now.

The Iraqis are completely in the lead now, and they are doing a great job. The things you hear on the news are isolated spectacular attacks designed to scare people and disrupt the Government. (Editorial note: Northern Iraq is a different story. I can only tell you what it's like where I am.) Insurgents do get lucky from time to time. What the people are starting to get is that the insurgent movements don't have anything to offer the people, so they are not as easily swayed.

Tonight, the Iraqi soccer team defeated the Palestinian team 4-0 in Baghdad. It was a record crowd, as the stadium, built in 1966, had not been used for a big game since 2003. Admission was free tonight, and the Iraqi team victory may have been a symbol of Iraq's continuing progress. It is not always easy progress, and it is usually a bit on the ugly side, but at least it is moving forward.

Following our early morning operations, sometimes breakfast shows up. Here we are, getting fat (and sometimes mild dysentery). This is usually when we get our best mentoring and suggestions heard.

In my opinion, the 30 June mandate is what they needed, and it gives us license to empower the security forces.

The slightly unfortunate part is that some American units aren't quite ready to let go and give responsibility to the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). Some remember 2004-2005 when we tried it, and some remember the 21 soldiers killed in combat actions in and around Mahmudiya in 2006.

But I think it's time, at least for this area. We'll see.

Take care-

Ron

Hope you are well- take care.

Ron

Reputation is made in minutes, character is made in a lifetime

The above quote is on the wall at the B Terminal in the DFW Airport USO.

"The USO (United Services Organization, http://www.uso.org/) is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the troops by providing morale, welfare and recreation-type services to our men and women in uniform. The original intent of Congress — and enduring style of USO delivery — is to represent the American people by extending a touch of home to the military. The USO currently operates more than 135 centers worldwide, including ten mobile canteens located in the continental United States and overseas. Overseas centers are located in Germany, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Qatar, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Guam and Kuwait. Service members and their families visit USO centers more than 6.9 million times each year. The USO is the way the American public supports the troops."

I spent some time in the USO on my trips to and from Iraq. What they do is simply fantastic. They also really help out with the R and R flights by greeting you when you come back to the airport and by making sure you have everything you need to go back, to include some food. Inside the USO in DFW (there is actually a USO in all four terminals), there is a movie room, a sleep room, a place to get some food, a place to email/call home, a place to charge your cell phone (or video game/computer...) and a friendly face. All of the people who work there are volunteers, and only the upper management of the USO is paid. I have been in some other USO service centers in Kuwait, and up on BIAP, and received the same great reception and service. Everything they offer Service members is free, all paid for by donations.

Once I got back to Iraq, we finally had some entertainment make it down to us. Three USO-sponsored comedians hoofed it out to the boonies to see us, and they put on an hour show in 100+ degree heat. Scott Kennedy and Jackie Kashan from Comedy Central, and Nate Bargatzi (up and coming, had been on Late Show and some other stuff) were super. This was Scott's 31st time to visit Iraq and do shows for the Troops. The Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders and Steven Colbert only do the big FOBs. The comedians were very funny, and we very much appreciated their effort to make it out to us when many other groups had cancelled.

The USO exemplifies character and supporting the troops. Lots of people say it, and lots of people make money off of the 'support the troops' slogan, but the USO truly does it, and they do it very well.

If you are looking for a way to support the troops, make a donation to them. They truly make a difference.

Hope you are well- take care and stay cool.

Ron

Some going home stories

Going home was great. It is a good bit of effort in terms of travel, and the Government spends a lot of money on sending the fellas home for a few weeks. First, you have to get to Kuwait, which isn't as easy as it sounds. Many different things must happen for you to do this-- you have to be booked on a flight [all flights for Service members out of Baghdad International Air Port (BIAP) are USAF/Coalition aircraft], then you have to be manifested, then you have to build your baggage pallet, then you have to wait. Then the plane has to show up, then the plane has to not break. Then the weather must be good (dust storms are a mother around here), and then the pilots must feel like flying. I got out about a day later than I was supposed to, due to maintenance issues.

Once in Kuwait, the most powerful E4s in the Army (soldiers in the rank of Specialist; junior enlisted soldiers) take over. These kids are in charge of manifesting and loading charter flights from Kuwait to the States. They rush you through a very efficient process of getting you out the door to the states. That's all they do every day. If you have to stay overnight, you sleep in tents and find ways to pass the time. They have a good rec center, a USO (more on the USO later), and a great gym. They have some commercial restaurants- Pizza Hut and McDonalds, for example (they had a Subway, but it burned down on my return trip). I made it out of Kuwait with no issues.

R and R flights go to either DFW or Atlanta. Since I was going to Austin, I landed at DFW in the morning. DFW does a fantastic job of welcoming Soldiers home. As soon as you clear Customs, the race is on to get on a plane home. We are booked on flights prior to leaving Kuwait, but the 'big three' airline (American Airlines, US Air, Delta) policy is to book you on the first thing smoking out. I had a 2:00pm flight, but the guy outside of Customs had a roster of what was going out, and he told me to go check my luggage at the counter and then AA will book me on an earlier flight. To shorten the story, AA overbooks all of its flights, so you get Standby on the best aircraft you can. I ended up getting out of DFW at around 1:30 after trying to go standby on three other planes. To their credit, AA did stick me in First Class, and they did announce over the intercom that there was a service member returning from Iraq on board- the plane erupted in applause. I got home 30 minutes before I was supposed to, but I'll take it.

Normally I can't stand the DFW airport. I consider American Airlines to possibly be the worst run company on the planet-- whenever I fly them their planes are late, their flight attendants are lazy, and it usually isn't a pleasurable traveling experience. But the very cool part about DFW is how they treat returning Service members. As you exit the D Terminal to go check your bag and confirm your next flight, you have to go through a large foyer that was filled with probably close to 150 people welcoming us home. Lots of VFW folks, a softball team, bikers, boy scout groups, church groups all shake your hand, tell you welcome home, and pass you food (as you have not really slept or eaten in about 19 hours). I was moved that these folks take the time to do this every day. ABC News did a special on the guy who started the program a couple of years ago. (http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/PersonOfWeek/story?id=2845247) He was a Vietnam Vet who wanted to give back better than he got.

It was a great way to start the leave. If you ever have some time in DFW in the morning, go hang out at around 8 in the morning in the lobby outside Customs of the D Terminal and say hi to the fellas coming home. It means a lot.

http://www.dfwairport.com/heroes/

Future topics: Leave, the USO, Comedians, and back to work!

Take care-
Ron

And We're Back!

Nothing like hitting the ground running... Things are busy, particularly considering the 30 June SOFA deadline that pulls forces out of the city. It doesn't really affect us, but the operational tempo for the Brigade is very high right now. The IA Brigade has successfully executed several operations over the past week and continues to go out on their own, without Coalition prompting or really much assistance.

I have several leave comments, most which will come in the following days when I get some more time (and get over jet lag).

Hope you are well, and thanks for checking in.

Take care-
Ron