Iraqis and 101st Keep an Eye on Each Other in Salah ad Din

Ft. Campbell troops working to rebuild Iraq are creating a set of checks and balances with that nation’s government-one that goes both ways.

Major Bill Rice of the 101st Airborne’s 1st Brigade Combat Team oversees the Army’s efforts to rebuild the battle-damaged infrastructure of Salah ad Din Province. He says Iraqi government agencies at every level tend to work in isolation. He attributes that do-it-alone attitude to years of violent infighting combined with the fact that it’s difficult to get in touch with others in the midst of a war.

Together with the US state department, Major Rice oversees efforts to restore connection and cooperation among Iraqi officials. They hold training events, arrange meetings, and even act as a backup chain of communication.

Rice says the efforts are paying off.

“We’re seeing more and more needs being met by Iraqi government funded and planned projects than we’d seen before. We’re seeing representatives of the ministries at the city level successfully connecting with their counterparts at the provincial level and getting supplies and funds and equipment and men to fix problems in their area.”

At the same time, Major Rice says Iraqis are increasingly serving as advisors on American-lead projects, giving input from start to finish.

“They’re catching errors that we have made, they’re catching careless mistakes or simply misunderstandings of their system and I think this has the potential to result in US-backed projects that are actually doing what the provincial government needs them to do for the people of the province.”

Salah ad Din province includes Saddam Hussein’s hometown, Tikrit, and Samarra, site of the Al Askari Shrine, the Shia holy site that was bombed in 2006 and 2007. The 1st Brigade Combat Team has been there since October of last year.

Over the next few months, WPLN will be speaking regularly with members of the 101st Airborne’s 1st Brigade Combat team stationed in Iraq.