Mullen Talks Change, Leadership With Troops in Mosul

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

MOSUL, Iraq, Aug. 1, 2011 – Navy Adm. Mike Mullen today got a taste of the ground truth that American service members live every day in this northern Iraqi city.

It was more than 125 degrees outside when the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke to about 400 service members at the Marez gym here. He thanked them for their service, and said America was “blessed” to have them.

Mosul was a concern when he took office in 2007, the chairman noted. “Mosul was in really, really tough shape,” he said. “The violence was high, and it was al-Qaida Central.”

The change in the city is striking, Mullen said, and he thanked the service members for what they do day in and day out to give the Iraqis the chance for a democratic and free future.

The chairman also spoke to the 1st Cavalry Division’s 4th Advise and Assist Brigade about change. “There are opportunities in change, but change can also be very challenging,” he said.

The service members have made changes in Mosul, the chairman added, but change also is going to be felt in the U.S. military writ large. “Change has become a way of life for us across the board,” he said.

Mullen told the troops that a deal had been struck in the debt-ceiling debate, but that the message of the debate will have far-reaching effects for the military, repeating an opinion he frequently has expressed.

“I believe that debt is the biggest threat to our national security,” he said. “We cannot keep increasing our debt and expect the Pentagon … to get the resources we need.”

While the nation will get through these debt problems, Mullen said, the money for national defense is not an unlimited pot. “There will be tough decisions to make,” he added. “It is the first time we have been through a cycle like this when we have two wars, an all-volunteer force, the numbers of deployments and the challenges we have to deal with this.”

Retention and recruiting are high, but they will be constrained, he said. The services must keep the best people, he told the service members. He urged them to diversify their experience and get more education, because the services need highly qualified, highly educated personnel to weather this cycle.

Today’s force is the most combat-experienced force in American history, with many soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines serving multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. “One of the questions is ‘How do we sustain this over time?” he said.

Leadership will see the military through a lot of these problems, the chairman said, adding that he wants leaders at all levels to step forward.

“Anybody who is out there … [in the] front, middle or back can make a difference,” he said. “You’ve seen that in combat, [and] you’ve seen it in peace.”

Part of leadership at all levels is taking care of each other, the chairman said. All, he added, must work to eliminate sexual assaults in the military and to help service members contemplating suicide, and all have to work to eliminate any stigma associated with seeking help for post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.

Mullen told the noncommissioned officers in the audience that they had succeeded because someone made a difference in their lives. “I ask that you do the same,” he said. “Figure it out. Pay it back that way.

“Prepare them,” he continued. “Give them opportunities for leadership, give them opportunities for responsibility, [and] give them opportunities for education and training.”

Gregory A. Fowler Named Special Agent in Charge of the Portland Field Office

Director Robert S. Mueller III has named Gregory A. Fowler the special agent in charge (SAC) of the FBI’s Portland Division. Mr. Fowler has most recently served as the SAC for counterterrorism in the FBI’s New York Division.

Mr. Fowler entered on duty as a special agent with the FBI in April 1988. Upon completion of training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, he was assigned to the New York Division, specializing in organized crime and drug investigations. In February 1998, he was promoted to supervisory special agent and assigned to FBI Headquarters, where he managed the Organized Crime/Drug Enforcement Task Force and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area programs. Mr. Fowler also traveled abroad to provide training to foreign law enforcement officers on organized crime and drug investigations through the International Law Enforcement Academy.

In February 2000, Mr. Fowler transferred to the Seattle Division, where he supervised the organized crime/drug squad, the Special Operations Group, the cyber squad, and two resident agencies. He also supervised the division’s Evidence Response Team and Hazardous Materials Response Team. In August 2004, he was temporarily assigned to Baghdad, Iraq, where he served as the deputy on-scene commander in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Mr. Fowler was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Chicago Division in August 2005, assigned to lead the operations of the division’s counterterrorism program, which includes the Joint Terrorism Task Force. His duties also involved oversight responsibility for the intelligence, cyber, bomb technician, hazardous materials, weapons of mass destruction, crisis management, and special events programs.

Face of Defense: NCO Leads by Example in Iraq

By Army Spc. Andrew Ingram

U.S. Division North

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq, July 21, 2011 – Army Sgt. Cynthia Philip prides herself in mentoring soldiers as she serves her third deployment with the 1st Cavalry Division’s Company E, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, supporting Operation New Dawn.

“I care about my soldiers,” said Philip, a training noncommissioned officer who hails from Albuquerque, N.M. “Looking out for them is my No. 1 priority. I do my best to do the right thing every day so I can be a good example for them.”

Philip, originally one of the battalion’s signal support specialists, assumed the role of training NCO to maintain up-to-date training and awards records for Company E soldiers and is able to display leadership by example.

“When I first started working in the training room, things were very disorganized,” she said. “A lot of our soldiers’ paperwork was outdated or wrong, so right now we are just trying to get everything organized and corrected.”

Her company commander, Army Capt. John Mohundro, said he has come to trust and rely on Philip to consistently get the job done.

“Sergeant Philip is probably the best junior NCO in our company,” said Mohundro, a College Station, Texas, native. “She is very intuitive and is able to solve a lot of issues before [we] even realize there is a problem.”

Philip stands out as a soldier who strives to go the extra mile and figure out new ways to assist the mission in addition to her assigned tasks, Mohundro added.

“Even as a junior NCO, Sergeant Philip took the role of the headquarters platoon sergeant,” he said. “Then she assumed the role of training NCO because she wanted to make sure the soldiers were properly taken care of, and she keeps adding jobs to her repertoire without giving any up.”

Mohundro said he doesn’t know how Philip handles it all, but that it’s impressive.

“She really loves soldiers,” he said. “She has been able to guide and mentor a few soldiers who were displaying some problems, and thanks to her, they are out in other units and doing very well.”

Philip stands out as a role model and mentor for the junior enlisted soldiers of the company, many on their first deployment, said Army Pfc. Maria Teresa Alvarez, a chemical operations specialist with Company E.

“It is very important for us to have female mentorship,” said Alvarez, who calls Maui, Hawaii, home. “It makes this deployment a little bit easier, because we know that she has been through all of this before. Sometimes females need mentors that can understand their unique problems, and I’m glad we have Sergeant Philip.”

Philip said she looks forward to seeing her soldiers grow and succeed as the deployment continues.

“I have a great group of soldiers,” she said. “No matter what mission they give us, no matter how impossible it seems, somehow we always get it done. The soldiers in this company surprise me every day, and I am proud to be a part of this unit.”

Mullen: Army Looks to War College for Leaders

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2011 – If the military takes care of its people and their families, then the future will be assured no matter what it brings, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told students at the Army War College today.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen spoke at the Commandant’s Lecture Series at Carlisle Barracks, Pa. He told the students that they cannot underestimate the scope of the change the military has been through in the past 10 years.

”We’re depending on leadership in these extraordinarily challenges times,” he said. The past decade has changed the services and now is the time to sort through that change to answer the question of “who we are right now,” he said.

The military has gone through rough times in the past decade, he said. He challenged the students to examine the change and see if “the ethical compass is true, is our overall compass true? Where are we going in the future? What have our young ones … learned about us that we need to address as leaders, and what do we need to teach them as they mature? Are we keeping our best young officers?”

The chairman said that as budget time approaches, most people measure it in the missions given and the equipment bought. “The missions and stuff make no difference in our health in the future,” he said. “(Our future is) guaranteed in terms of good health if we keep the right people.”

One fundamental change in the military over the last decade is the role that military families have played and the relationship of the services with those families. He said a ground forces junior officer in 2001, has probably deployed five or six times in the past decade, forcing families to cope with long absences.

The services have put in place programs to help families and redeploying personnel. But as budget pressures begin to grow – and they are growing now, Mullen said – the family programs are the first to unwind.

“I don’t want to do that,” he said. “I think we would do that at our peril. The challenges keep coming and we can’t seem to get them off the plate.

In yesteryear an issue would come up, we’d deal with it as a country and we’d move on,” Mullen added. “Now the plate isn’t getting any bigger, but they won’t go away. You as the future leaders of our military must understand it.”

The chairman discussed the nature of the change and the issues around the world. He told the students – almost all of whom served multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan – that the military must continue to change and adjust.

He said they need to examine all of the world. The preponderance of resources today flow to U.S. Central Command, Mullen said. As it should with American troops are involved in two conflicts there. “But this means there is an inability to invest in small ways in other parts of the world, and if this continues, this can be very dangerous,” he said.

He told the students that American forces will be out of Iraq at the end of the year, and said those who served there should be proud of the work they did. “There is a night and day difference every time I visit,” he said. Iraq has formed a government and they are dealing with politics and not with war as they move forward.

The major U.S. effort is now, of course, in Afghanistan. “In a very tough fight, but it’s better there,” Mullen said. “But as I said many times it’s not just security, there has to be a level of legitimacy in the government of Afghanistan. That’s got to be created over the next three to four years.”

Mullen also praised the efforts of Army Lt. Gen. William Caldwell’s NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan. He said they have built the training infrastructure, trained the instructors and developed the curricula for the Afghan Army and police. “On average we have 30,000 to 35,000 trainees at one time,” he said. “Two years ago that number was miniscule.”

This was Mullen’s third trip to the Army War College, and he spoke of his 43-year career. “To cycle from the war we were in when I was first commissioned, to the wars we are in in the last decade in a position of leadership has truly been an extraordinary opportunity,” he said. “It’s been a great ride.”

Shipmate of the Week – CDR James Robertson

Posted by: LTJG Stephanie Young

Coast Guard men and women deployed to Iraq are taking part in missions they will draw upon for the rest of their careers. For Cmdr. James Robertson, assigned to United States Forces-Iraq with the Port Advisory Coordinating Element, that life-changing mission just may be taking place outside of his official duties as he works to support the Umm Qasr Women’s Center, empowering local Iraqi women to make a difference in their communities.

As officer-in-charge of PACE, Robertson works with the government of Iraq, port authority and maritime industry to develop and implement a port security program that meets international standards. His four-member PACE team is constantly traveling to engage and mentor area leaders on port security and to assess Iraq’s seaports – vital to both the security and economy of this oil rich nation.

It was on a trip to Umm Qasr to survey community facilities for potential capital improvement projects where Robertson was first introduced to the Umm Qasr Women’s Center.

The Women’s Center is devoted to empowering women in the local community. At the center, women learn basic seamstress and accounting skills that prepare them to own and operate home businesses. The center also provides classrooms where their children can begin a basic education and a get reprieve from the streets of Umm Qasr.

“During my visit to the Center, I saw a great need for even basic supplies at the center,” said Robertson. “I was moved to action by the squalid conditions I encountered there.”

Motivated both by what these women were trying to accomplish and that they were struggling to succeed in the face of financial and societal hurdles, Robertson seized the moment. Through Operation Mailbox, Robertson reached back to his hometown in New Jersey and the Alaska community where his previous unit was based for help.

Combining his passion and relationships with Iraqi community leaders, Robertson’s efforts paid off, in the form of school supplies, toys, sewing materials and personal hygiene items shipped from friends and family back home to support the women and children of Umm Qasr.

Through his actions, Robertson demonstrated both compassion and a keen sense of foreign policy smarts.

“If the Iraqi people can understand that we truly care for their wellbeing, their safety and prosperity, it will open doors of mutual trust.”

Face of Defense: Officer Uses Teaching Skills in Iraq

By Army Pfc. Emily Knitter

U.S. Division Center

BAGHDAD, Oct. 15, 2010 – Army 1st Lt. Rachel Adair sits on a weathered, wooden picnic table here, shrouded in yellow light from a dust-covered lamp mounted overhead. Soldiers walk by through the dark, combat boots crunching on the gravel as they carry on with their evening.

Adair is a former middle school and high school teacher-turned Army transportation officer. Today, she serves in Iraq with the 3rd Infantry Division as executive officer for Company G, 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Advise and Assist Brigade.

Adair recalled how she decided to join the Army.

“When I finished high school, I wasn’t too sure about anything,” Adair, a Bonner Springs, Kan., native, said. “The stories of military life always fascinated me. My 12th-grade government teacher was a retired lieutenant colonel, and he used to tell the absolute best stories.

“All his stories really fascinated [the class],” she continued. “And it made you want to be in the military -- even just for a short time to say that you did it. I was definitely interested, but I wanted that college degree.”

Adair applied to the University of Kansas to pursue a career in teaching.

“I enjoyed working with kids, so it just seemed a natural fit,” she said.

While pursuing her education degree, Adair again ended up in class listening to a teacher tell stories of the military.

“The professor that we spent the most time with had great stories too,” she said. “He was never in the military, but when he spoke about World War II and Vietnam, there was always such passion behind him. When people do look at our military, [they see] the history behind our whole country.”

Even though she was still fascinated by the stories, Adair said, she never had any serious intent to join the military at that time. While completing her graduate studies, Adair taught seventh-grade geography and 12th-grade government, just like her own teacher years before.

“That last year I was teaching, I had my 12th-graders who were ready to go out into the world,” she said. “At 18 years old, they are kind of in that transition where some of them kind of know what they want to do, but they are still full of energy and they want to get out there and do something. A lot of them were joining the military.”

And then, Adair realized she still wanted to be part of the military.

“I figured that was a good time [to join the military] because I didn’t have a family yet and I could travel,” she said.

The Army was an easy choice when deciding which service to join, Adair said.

“I never really looked at the Marines,” she said. “At the time, I didn’t think Air Force, and I’m from Kansas so I definitely didn’t think Navy or Coast Guard. The way I looked at it, the Army is the military, just because it is so versatile and [it offers] the most opportunity. I could have done a whole slew of things in the Army.”

So in late spring of 2007, Adair officially became a U.S. Army officer.

“I am a transportation officer,” she said. “I was the distribution platoon leader for 22 months, and I got my chance while we were here in Iraq to be out on the road a lot with my guys, which was a natural fit.”

Adair said she quickly discovered she was even more suited for the military lifestyle than she expected.

“At the end of the day, being a teacher and being in the military is about the same amount of work, which is kind of scary,” she said with a laugh. “It [says a lot about] how hard teachers actually work.”

Adair said her training as a teacher helps every day, even when she may not notice it.

“The younger soldiers, I know what they are interested in and I can kind of relate to them,” she said. “Because all the conversations and all the classroom discussions I have had in the past, I know what they are going through at that age. With the added deployment, I can also relate to them as a soldier.”

Adair said the rewards of being in the military are even greater when she works with soldiers in a deployed setting.

“The soldiers here are relied on to do an awful lot,” she said. “It is kind of that same pride that a teacher would feel when their kids finally get that diploma. Except we get that on a much bigger scale over here because there is much more at stake.”

Among all the experiences Adair has had since joining the military, one will always stick out for her.

“I think the biggest and best memory I am going to have of this deployment is being out on the road with my soldiers,” she said. “After all the planning and all the days of training and load up, once you actually get into the truck and you leave the [base], that is the best feeling in the world. The mission is not even over yet, but you feel good because all that planning has already paid off.”

But there are downsides to every adventure, and for Adair, that’s being away from home.

“The challenge is, when you look at your military career as opposed to your personal life, there isn’t a whole lot of time for your personal life,” she said. “That has been a pretty big challenge for me, especially as a female in the Army, because you want to be a soldier, you want to be a leader. But at the same time, you also want the family stuff.”

However, Adair uses the examples set by her mentors in the military as inspiration.

“There are enough female leaders I have seen who have managed to juggle both, so that is my goal,” she said.

Adair said while having a family is a goal of hers, for now, she embraces each moment she gets to spend with her soldiers.

“The time you do get to hang out with the soldiers and talk to them is usually the best part of any officer’s day,” she said.

Adair said she plans to return to teaching eventually.

“I don’t know if it’ll be three years from now, or 15,” she said. “I think the Army is the life I want to stick with for right now.”

When Adair does go back to teaching, she said, she’ll have even more in common with her old high school teacher.

“[The Iraq War] is the stuff we taught, and now I have firsthand knowledge of it,” she said. “So one day when I do go back to teaching, the stories are going to be that much better.”

Face of Defense: Civilian Opts for Deployment to Iraq

By Elaine Wilson

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2010 – After 33 years of service as a government civilian, Barbara Eberly easily could have called it a day. She could have let her career wind down and looked ahead to ticking off the peaceful days in her small-town home in Pennsylvania.

Instead, the 58-year-old volunteered to serve in Iraq. The decision, she said, was met with a combination of shock and awe.

“While my family and friends were supportive, they … initially thought I was crazy to want to do this,” she said.

But Eberly had all her wits about her when she signed up to deploy. For 22 years she had watched her daughter’s Navy career unfold from the sidelines, offering unfailing support as her daughter headed out to sea for long periods of time or to new assignments across the nation. Her daughter, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Heather Kline, retires this month after a career that took her from enlisted to officer, from ship to recruiting office.

And Eberly patiently waited for her own adventure to begin.

“My mother always wanted to join the military, but she was a young mother and then became a single mom, so the opportunity didn’t arise for her,” Kline said.

That is, until now. Eberly, a mobilization planning specialist for Defense Logistics Agency Distribution in New Cumberland, Pa., learned about civilian deployment opportunities through a co-worker, who had deployed through the Defense Department’s Civilian Expeditionary Workforce program. The program trains and equips civilians to deploy overseas in support of military members and missions worldwide.

Eberly was hooked. She’d always wanted to deploy, she said, and figured this could be a chance to put her civilian environmental safety experience to good use.

Her supervisor, Sue Alpaugh, backed her immediately.

“When the [Civilian Expeditionary Workforce] light bulb went off for Barb giving her this great opportunity of a lifetime, she immediately signed up,” she said. “For me, even though we miss Barb in the office and what she brought to the table every day, I am glad for her that she punched her ticket before she retires.”

While her co-workers offered immediate support, her family and friends, concerned for her welfare, questioned her decision and ability to take on the task at her age.

“I was kind of shocked she wanted to do this so late in the game, so close to retirement,” her son, Michael Eberly, said.

But age isn’t a number to Eberly, it’s a state of mind.

“Of course I did have reservations about, ‘Will I really be able to do this?’” she said. “But I’ve always learned that it’s not age or gender that stops a person from finishing a tough challenge. It’s a lack of will.”

Despite initial reservations, her long-time partner, Mike Miles, gave his seal of approval.

“She’d been wanting to do something out of the ordinary,” he said. “She’s always done anything she can to support the country and the military. I told her, ‘Go ahead and do it. Have an adventure.’”

“She’s always been a go-getter,” added her mother, 84-year-old Bertha Henry, who has been known to brag about her daughter at Bingo nights. “I’m proud of her.”

After attending a two-week predeployment training for civilians at the Camp Atterbury National Deployment Center in central Indiana, Eberly flew to Iraq to support the 199th Garrison Command public works department on Camp Victory. She now wakes up each morning, not to the cool, lush landscape of the Northeast, but to the austere scenery and sweltering heat of the desert.

“U.S. citizens should count their blessings every day for their freedom,” she said. “As the saying goes, ‘You’re not in Kansas anymore.’”

Although pushing 60, Eberly handles the hefty protective gear and physical demands her job requires without a problem. She’s learned to “pack light or carry a heavy load,” she explained.

And to ease her loved ones’ minds, she stays in constant contact with her family back home, who have grown accustomed in time to the idea of her deployment.

“I love sharing the story,” Kline said. “I still get raised eyebrows and ‘Did you say your Mom is deployed?’

“But I’m extremely proud of her,” she added. “If anything happened to her I’d be crushed, but proud of her sacrifice. She’s willing to put herself where others wouldn’t. I love that about her.”

As for Eberly, she’s determined to live each day of her yearlong deployment to the fullest.

“I wanted the opportunity to walk in a warfighter’s shoes, and now I’m doing things most civilians only dream about,” she said. “I’m truly looking forward to it being one of the most awesome experiences of my life.”

This article was sponsored by Police Books.

Conference Marks First Step Toward Inter-Faith Reconciliation in Iraq

By Tim Kilbride
Special to American Forces Press Service

June 24, 2007 – A meeting of Iraqi religious leaders from various sects and faiths has opened a door for further progress on reining in factional violence in Iraq, said the top U.S. chaplain in the country. The Iraqi Inter-Religious Congress, held June 12-13 in Baghdad, brought together 55 representatives of the most influential clerics and religious dignitaries from around the country. In doing so, it potentially set a precedent for continued dialogue on how to reconcile the Iraqi people, Army Chaplain (Col.) Micheal Hoyt, command chaplain for Multinational Force Iraq, said during a June 21 conference call with online journalists.

Hoyt said the gathering comprised the "largest representation of faith groups and geographic dispersion from north, south, east and west in Iraq at a religious conference in 37 years." As such, "it was a pretty historic event," he observed.

Delegates to the congress were selected by the country's various faith groups to include people with national-level influence, Hoyt said. He emphasized that despite Defense Department funding, it was an Iraqi-led event, encouraged by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as a way to potentially slow the spread of bloodshed in the country.

"He was overwhelmingly supportive of this event," Hoyt noted. "The agreement (reached by the congress) was the first of its kind to receive the personal endorsement of the prime minister."

Representatives of Shiite clerics Ali al-Sistani and Muqtada al-Sadr attended, as did delegates from the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars. Other notables included the Iraqi minister of human rights, an advisor to Maliki, and 11 members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, Hoyt said.

Together they forged a resolution Hoyt characterized as "the first broad-based religious accord to support and recognize the legitimacy of the government of Iraq."

The delegates also rejected terrorism and sectarian violence, the chaplain said.

Their agreement was the first to "publicly renounce al Qaeda by name, and to publicly declare that the spread of arms and unauthorized weapons is to be viewed as a criminal act in Iraq," Hoyt said.

"It's the first religious accord that provides a way ahead for a committed public action by religious leaders to denounce violence, deny terrorism, demonstrate support for democratic principles and the constitution, and to display national unity," he continued.

An equally important insertion, Hoyt noted, was a call for action to the Iraqi government, urging it to build on the good will generated by this and other reconciliation conferences, past and present.

The government was requested to look back at some of the secular gatherings that have taken place at the tribal level and "see what (can be brought) forward out of them into an overall package of reconciliation," Hoyt explained.

Other national conferences will follow, the chaplain said.

"It's part of process, a prolonged process," he noted, "to build this grass roots religious leader voice, so that the government of Iraq and the religious leaders of Iraq ... (can) have a platform to establish a dialogue."

In addition, he said, those leaders will direct a host of regional-level conferences to follow up on the national dialogues.

Despite the consensus for peace that came out of the gathering, Hoyt cautioned against a rush to optimism.

"The Iraqi Inter-Religious Congress is not the silver bullet. It's a part of the ammunition belt used to help stabilize this country," he said.

Whether there will be concrete progress on reconciliation "just remains to be seen," Hoyt said. "We'll just see if we can get a voice loud enough and good enough to actually make something happen, or if it's kind of overwhelmed by other events that are also of national and international (strategic) importance."

Still, he added, "I have to believe that their message is having some level of decisive impact on the restraint of violence."

Maintaining an interfaith dialogue and translating it into government action and political reconciliation is the goal of his own outreach efforts, Hoyt explained. In the wake of the congress, he said he remains encouraged progress can be made.

"Before there just wasn't anything to build off of; now there is," he said. "Where it's going to go is anybody's guess, but it couldn't have gone anywhere had this not occurred."

(Tim Kilbride is assigned to New Media, American Forces Information Service.)

Success in Iraq Determined at 'Macro Level,' Enlisted Leader Says

By Tim Kilbride
Special to American Forces Press Service

June 18, 2007 – Individual roles, actions and operations are essential components of the Iraq war effort, but it is the sum of those parts that defines success in the war, the top enlisted leader in theater said last week. To determine whether the coalition is winning or losing in Iraq, it is necessary to consider three points, said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill, senior enlisted leader of Multinational Force Iraq, during a June 15 call with online journalists.

The first target, he said, is "a government that (is) able to take care of its people and be self-sustaining" while generating economic growth.

For the second measure, Hill said, "you can define winning by improving the life of the Iraqi people and bringing some form of normalcy back" to them.

The last element, he explained, is building, training and equipping "an Iraqi security force that's capable of providing security for its people."

Progress against those three measures is best measured through "atmospherics," Hill said, taking the pulse of the environment within a certain area to get a sense of normalcy and functionality. Without such context, he noted, numbers and other specifics can sometimes lose meaning.

"I don't think it's about what we do for ourselves while we're over here," Hill said. "I don't think it's about how many hours an aviation unit has flown, or how many missions an infantry unit has done, and how much fuel a petroleum unit has pumped."

Rather, he explained, the usefulness and efficacy of those actions is measured in how they support the mission of assisting the Iraqi people.

"If you're playing a role in that and if you can see progress in that, I think you can say that you are winning," Hill said. "But through your efforts, if you don't see a change in the atmospherics -- if you see the government moving so slow that it appears that they're going backwards, and if you see an Iraqi security force that exists just to exist and not exist to take care of its people, protect its people -- then we are not winning."

That type of contextual balance is often missing from the descriptions of Iraq provided to the American public, Hill said; there is typically a missing link as to how individual actions or events relate back to the central strategy or reality on the ground.

"From the soldier perspective, probably from some of our leaders, I think we just speak in a language that the American people don't understand," he said. "If you were a ... servicemember you understand, 'Okay, I flew more flight hours than such-and-such.' Okay? They're saying that's pretty good, but still, that's whoop-dee-doo, you know. Well, what did the flight hours ... enable? And once we can say that, then people say, 'Oh, I get it.'"

Unlike the relationship with the U.S. public, communicating with the Iraqi public involves more direct interaction, Hill said. Rather than words, U.S. and coalition soldiers communicate with the Iraqis through actions, he explained.

He described the notion of the "strategic corporal" - a young service member, "mid-grade or junior grade, who's out there on point, whose actions ... would have strategic implications, whether it be positive or negative."

Coalition troops are such critical messengers with the Iraqi public, he said, because of their regular engagement with that public. Generic messages regarding normalizing the security situation and improving Iraqis' quality of life are directly communicated through the coalition's day-to-day activities, Hill said.

"They can tell them that through flyers, they can tell them that through interpreters, or they can tell them that through action," Hill said.

The action piece, he noted, is "assisting in cleaning up neighborhoods, assisting in getting schools open, assisting in getting playgrounds built, assisting in securing the market areas."

They are assisted in that mission by the Iraqi security forces, Hill said. The addition of the Iraqi police and army to the fight are, in fact, one of the biggest developments in the war in the past three years, he noted.

"Now we are partnered with someone, someone who has a vested interest in the Baghdad security plan working, and ... our fight and our cause over here actually working," Hill said.

But it is not an easy mission, especially for the Iraqi police, he said. Because of the severity of the security situation, reports of their performance must be evaluated in context, he explained.

"They are constantly under threat. And they're trying to cure a local population and have law and order, but they are constantly under threat themselves," Hill said.

Understanding that point, Hill said, also makes it possible to understand the U.S. mission of helping stabilize the security situation to a point where the Iraqi police are able to function independently.

Thus, establishing context is once again a central goal and challenge of communication on Iraq, Hill said.

In the case of U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq, Hill explained, that challenge entails maintaining their faith in their leadership. For the troops to effectively execute a mission, he said, they must have absolute confidence in their chain of command and their fellow servicemembers.

Hill noted that anytime he is around a soldier's reenlistment ceremony he raises his hand and recites the oath of enlistment. "It just gives you a feeling of being something much, much larger than yourself," he observed.

"I think that serves as a reminder to our young servicemembers that we're enlisting; it serves as a reminder that, 'Hey, as a leader I've got your back and I got your best interest at heart because I need you to blindly obey my orders,' Hill said. "And so in order for you to do that, you've got to know that I've got your back."

(Tim Kilbride is assigned to New Media, American Forces Information Service.)

Gates, Pace: Local Leaders Critical to Success in Iraq, Afghanistan

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

May 24, 2007 – Though strengthening the central governments is critical to success in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today, it's also important to build relationships with local leaders who play key roles in their communities. Gtes told Pentagon reporters he's been concerned that the U.S. and coalition efforts in both countries may be focusing too much simply on bolstering the central governments.

He said he has wondered since taking office in December if the focus has stopped short of recognizing the "cultural and historical, provincial, tribal and other entities that have played an important role in the history of both countries."

"I think the reality is that we need to continue our efforts to strengthen the central governments and the ministries in both countries," he said. "But I think reaching out and working with these other groups is also important."

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, joined Gates in pointing to Iraq's Anbar province an example of what this effort can accomplish.

"It was local leaders in al Anbar who made the decision that they were tired of al Qaeda (and) that they wanted to partner with coalition forces in getting rid of al Qaeda," Pace said. Working together rather than at cross-purposes, these groups have "been able to change the atmosphere in al Anbar significantly," he said.

Pace said the Anbar experience offers a lesson for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. "The military leadership should be paying attention to the political leadership's decisions and be ready to reinforce and help them as best they can," he said.

Gates said the benefit of this cooperation applies equally in Afghanistan, where "the importance of the village elders and others and the provincial governors is clearly important in progress."

As people tire of violence in their streets, they are more likely to collaborate with forces working to deter them, he said. "When these guys ... get impatient with the Taliban and others trying to muscle their way around their villages and begin to work more closely with (the NATO International Security Assistance Force) and with the Afghan National Army, then I think you begin to see real progress," he said.

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Corruption Ebbs as Iraqi Police Leadership Strengthens

By Tim Kilbride
Special to American Forces Press Service

April 19, 2007 – A firm commitment to professionalism and transparency from Iraq's political leaders are helping the country's growing civil security force perform well in "a highly challenging environment," a coalition training official said yesterday. British Army Brig. Gen. Rob Weighill, deputy commander of the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team, told online journalists that, with 200,000 Iraqi police officers trained in the past two years, his organization is well on its way in its mission to "generate, train and sustain the Iraqi police forces," so that they can shape a security environment favorable to democratic establishment.

Iraq's overall civil security force - including local police, national police, and border, ports, highway and traffic patrols - is about 300,000 strong, Weighill said.

But sheer numbers are only a part of the game, Weighill explained. He said Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad Bolani has repeatedly made clear he values quality over quantity in building the force, particularly in relation to skills and rights training.

To ensure new police officers have the necessary capabilities to operate independently, police training has been largely standardized across Iraq's various police academies, Weighill said. He pointed to the Numaniyah police training center, southeast of Baghdad, as an example of how such facilities operate.

Numaniyah, Weighill said, has the capacity for 2,000 beds, roughly matched to the size of an Iraqi police brigade. Recruits who graduate the four-week program are typically sent out as a cohesive unit.

"They come, literally, straight out of Numaniyah, in brigade size, and get put into Baghdad, sitting alongside and working alongside their Iraqi police brethren" and the Iraqi army, Weighill said.

The general commended the "standard, tried, and now tested, police training program," but acknowledged room for further growth.

Respect for human rights remains a perpetual concern, Weighill said. Rights training has been a part of the Iraqi curriculum since 2003, but the issue has become increasingly germane amid Iraq's tide of sectarian violence, he said.

"This is an important aspect of their policing duty because it fulfills the vital requirement for them to understand and implement what it means to treat people fairly and with dignity and respect," the general said.

In the past, he noted, "a lack of leadership, a lack of training, and therefore an absence of support and trust between the police and the community" led to situations in which Iraqi police officers stood by while crimes were committed.

With a reinvigorated Ministry of the Interior, Weighill said, such behavior, along with more egregious cases of corruption, is no longer tolerated.

Minister Bolani "emphatically states he will not put up with corruption," Weighill said, noting that senior ministry officials have been removed in cases of nefarious activities.

The maturation of robust internal affairs and inspector general's offices within the ministry over the past two to three years has led to a swell of investigations within the force, Weighill explained. These offices are tasked with "identifying fraud, crime (and) corruption" and punishing perpetrators appropriately, he said.

In January, about 1,200 such cases were investigated by the inspector general's office alone, Weighill said.

"Contrary to popular belief - that is that the Ministry of the Interior and the Iraqi police are heavily infiltrated from the sectarian perspective - the work that I've done... would suggest otherwise," Weighill observed.

"Of course there are infringements of the law" and those are "dealt with in accordance with Iraqi law," Weighill said.

These examples of strong leadership from the ministry are crucial to maintaining professionalism throughout the ranks, Weighill said.

"Principally through police training, the leadership element within the Iraqi police, national police, is improving all the time," Weighill said. "If that leadership is strong, then by and large, the levels and frequency of criminality - whether it's taking bribes, whether it's involved in corruption, or indeed involvement in sectarian violence - tends to diminish."

To help ensure adherence to standards, ethics and protocol, the general said, the Iraqi police just conducted a full spectrum inspection of all 47 police stations in Baghdad.

The review highlighted that among other areas, police infrastructure, vehicles, and overall processes and procedures all need improvement, Weighill said, though he noted anti-corruption procedures are far tighter than in the past, especially relating to funding and personnel payments.

Management and administration of the police force stand to gain from the gradual introduction of digital information management systems, Weighill said. He predicted the systems could be in place by late 2008.

In the meantime, shortages of capacity within the police training regime have actually led to a temporary freeze on police recruiting throughout Iraq, Weighill said, though he characterized the hold as a positive sign.

"There's no shortage of volunteers," he said. "In fact, we've had to... place a three-month moratorium on recruiting simply because we don't have the capacity and the training establishments at the moment to deal with the numbers that are volunteering to join the police."

For the existing police training facilities and programs, progress is unlikely to be affected by the Iraq funding debate in Washington, Weighill said.

"We in the police are probably in a slightly better position than the Iraqi army," he said, "in so far as the money that is spent by the United States in support of the Iraqi police is a smaller proportion of those funds than is spent on the Iraqi army."
"What is interesting," Weighill added, "is that the Iraqi central government budget for the police in 2007 almost doubled from 2006, so actually the Iraqi government is contributing significantly to the way in which business is conducted."

That type of strong Iraqi government commitment is largely behind the steady improvement of the police force, Weighill said.

"I work on a daily basis in the Ministry of Interior building with people... who are becoming good friends," he said. They exert "an enormous amount of industry to try and ensure that the Iraqi police can operate and function effectively."

Weighill said close contact with the police force in his first two months in Iraq have reversed what were negative impressions of their capabilities and efficacy.

"I came out here with perhaps the view that prevails in the United Kingdom - I can't speak for the United States - which is that the Iraqi police are emphatically infiltrated with sectarian issues," Weighill said. "They're not trusted by the population, that they have difficulties in undertaking their tasks. I have found the opposite to be the case," he added.

"Pretty much every contact that I've had with the police is that these boys... and these women are doing a pretty good job in highly demanding circumstances," the general said. "And I think as you would say in your country, as far as I'm concerned, they're patriots."

(Tim Kilbride is assigned to New Media, American Forces Information Service.)

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